Work from Home Frugally

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

03 Apr 2008 11:21 AM

If you have the opportunity to telecommute or are thinking of taking advantage of a legitimate work at home opportunity, you might want to read this article. You might think that working from home can save you money, and it can. But it is also easy to fall into some common pitfalls that will actually cost you money. Digging your way out of these work at home pitfalls could actually cost you the opportunity to work from home. Let's take a look at some of the ways working from home can be frugal and some of the ways that working from home can be costly.

Working from home can save money by:

• Saving on your clothing budget. You usually don't need as may expensive suits or business clothes.
• Saving on the costs for meals because you can make inexpensive meals and snacks at home instead of buying them out.
• Saving on gas, since you won't have to drive to work.
• Saving on a second car and all of the expenses that go with it.
• Saving on time. If you are more productive, you have time for other frugal activities.
• Saving on day care expenses if you can work around your children's schedules.
• Saving on healthcare costs if you aren't as exposed to germs.

Working from home can cost money by:

• Spending on lots of expensive equipment that you might not need, such as the latest computer laptop. Instead buy the minimum amount of equipment that you need to get started, or of it applies, request equipment to work at home from your employer.
• Spending on time if you become distracted by laundry or other household tasks.
• Spending on extra electricity. Be efficient about the energy usage while you are working from home, such as shutting your computer down at night and replacing incandescent lighting with CFL or florescent lighting. Close off any unused rooms in your home to conserve heat.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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