How Can Remote Working Help You Save Money?
While the coronavirus pandemic drove about several changes, one of the most prominent that has endured is the practice of remote working. Despite this, remote working is still widely used today. Employees all over the globe have discovered that remote working is really useful, whether it’s because they feel more comfortable completing their job in a familiar location, because they don’t have to worry about commuting, or because they have more control over their timetable. Whilst these advantages are all well and well, remote working may also have a number of environmental benefits, particularly in terms of waste reduction.
Working from home may significantly reduce global waste in a variety of areas, including gas emissions, fuel usage, air pollution, paper and plastic trash. Making little changes to your daily routine may have significant environmental benefits, and this article will go into further detail on how working remotely can have environmental benefits.
The absence of commuting means less pollution.
When individuals work from home, they eliminate the need for a daily drive to the office, resulting in a reduction in the amount of pollution produced by automobiles making the daily journey to work. Due to the need for individuals to work from home in 2020 and part of 2021, there has been a significant decrease in the total emissions generated by automobiles during 2020 and some of 2021.
In addition to remote working, the pandemic has caused many other activities, such as going out and socializing, to become more distant as a result of the virus. During the pandemic, for example, popular footfall places such as casinos have experienced a surge in online usage. This has resulted in less individuals traveling to physical casinos and instead using casino bonuses at Top Mobile Casino instead, resulting in lower emissions as a consequence.
Paper use is reduced (and therefore waste)
Due to the digitization of documents in order to promote remote working, paper consumption by businesses all over the globe has reduced as a result of this trend. It has resulted in far reduced paper waste across the board, which was formerly a significant problem and an important contributor to the earth’s low carbon footprint due to its high levels of waste.
While the decrease in paper waste is a significant advantage, it is not the only one. Increasing the number of trees we chop down has a direct effect on the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide emitted by a single preserved tree may be reduced by up to 14.7 pounds, resulting in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Eco-friendly diets are now available to the public.
It is estimated that the production of meat accounts for 14.5 to 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, and as a result, adopting a more environmentally friendly diet has significant environmental advantages.
People who work from home will be more likely to make and consume healthier, environmentally friendly meals since they will have access to the resources required to produce such meals. Because most workplace kitchens are equipped with just a microwave and a kettle, making food is a lot more limited procedure than it would be if workers were able to cook it at home during their lunch break.
On this website, we’ve already discussed the advantages of working from home. When we consider all of the beneficial benefits that working from home may have on one’s life, it almost seems like a no-brainer if one is employed in a position that can be completed from a computer.
Because it saves you time, money, worry, and other things, working from home is quite beneficial. We wanted to go a bit further into the ways and reasons why working from home may save you money.
Over the last three years, we’ve done a lot of our work from home. These are some of our favorite strategies to save money when working from home, and we hope they will help you as well!
Commuting
When you work from home, saving money on your commute will be one of the most apparent methods to save money.
Gas, auto upkeep, and wear and strain on your vehicle will all be saved if you drive to work. If you reside in a city with a plethora of public transit choices, you may even be able to sell your automobile.
If you reside in a city and work from home (like we do!) you will not be required to purchase a monthly metro pass. It costs around $130 per month to get unrestricted access to the NYC MetroCard in New York City. This is money that each of us is saving every month by not having to pay for a car since we presently do not have a daily commute.
We still use the subway to go about, but we don’t have to use the train or the metro on a daily basis any more. Apart from that, while traveling short distances, we may want to consider walking rather than using the subway in order to save money on transportation costs. We’ve been jogging and bicycling to do errands and travel farther distances as part of our efforts to save money every month.
No matter how many days of the week you work remotely, you will be able to take advantage of the same commuter perks as if you were using a monthly pass, which will save you money in the long run. Employers that have recently made the switch to a remote workforce are also seeing a reduction in these sorts of perks..
A fun tidbit about me is that I relocated to New York City in 2013 and sold my automobile to make the relocation possible. In my previous life, I had been residing outside of Philadelphia and commuting to and from work every day.
Since giving up my automobile (and relocating to the largest city in the United States – a significant change), I have been able to remove my car payment, eliminate the requirement for auto insurance, and have avoided the need for car maintenance entirely. As a result of my decision to sell my automobile, I projected that I would save more than $500 every month. In addition, since the first apartment I stayed in was close to my company’s headquarters in central Manhattan, I was able to walk to work every day.
It is something that we practice: it has become a style that we have adopted while traveling, even including travel minimalist ideas and techniques into our packing list when we go.
On a regular basis, at home, we go through our closets to evaluate which items are still in style and which ones do not. We avoid hanging onto garments that we may be able to fit into in the future. As a rule, we don’t hang on to things that are out of style or haven’t been used in a long time.
The majority of our possessions are thought to have a purpose. When we are able to sell everything in a healthy and consistent manner, we donate what we no longer require to charitable organizations.
Even though we were both heading into our own workplaces every day, we would sometimes meet at H&M at the end of the day just to catch up.
We’d end up purchasing a new shirt or a new pair of shoes because we’d meet up there because we liked it.
Walking down the street in New York City, we’d see individuals and be motivated to put on new outfits to emulate their appearance, or we’d feel as if we required the newest fashions. Unlike most Americans, we were addicted to the shopping bug.
We knew that we would be comparing ourselves to others at our company and that we wanted to quietly wow them with new, stylish, well-fitting clothing to help us stand out from the pack. Because we were both working in workplaces with informal dress rules, this was not a problem for us.
T-shirts were acceptable attire for work, particularly for me. Like a result, I was fortunate to work in a casual atmosphere and only need one set of clothing, rather than two sets of ‘work clothes’ and a set of ‘non-work clothes’ as Becca did. When she went to work, she seldom wore the same outfit as she did on the weekends. Consequently, there is an abundance of (and Becca approves this message).
We were accustomed to merely packing and wearing what we needed since we traveled for extended periods of time while working from home. My paints were likewise the same for about a whole year, which I wore virtually every day.
When I met someone for the first time at a café or coworking space, they had no clue that I only possessed one pair of jeans. Simply try it out, and you will see that it is an effective method of conserving valuable closet storage space.
ADVICE FROM EXPERTS
When it comes to finding a fantastic pair of trousers, check out my guide to the best travel pants, which I’ve ranked based on factors like as functionality, wearability, adaptability, and overall comfort.
In the past, when I saw individuals traveling long-term with large luggage or with an abundance of clothing and accessories, I refused to take any of it since it would have meant that I would have had to carry it all. This implied that I would have been liable for the costs associated with it.
Back to the present: minimizing the quantity of clothing we purchase allows us to save money while also reducing the amount of excess clothing that accumulates in our wardrobe and closet space.
ADVICE FROM EXPERTS
Is it your goal to clear your desk? This is the tale of how we decluttered our modest flat, which also serves as our home office.
If we wore the same clothing over and over again, we learned that people couldn’t detect the difference. As a result of feeling obligated to replace our clothing, we overcame our desire and need for new garments.
By not purchasing new clothing, I estimate that I save between $50 and $100 every month on average. Items like as jogging shoes (see our home fitness advice if you work from home) and clothing to suit me when my size changes are the only items that I purchase.
The price of food
When I used to go to an office on a daily basis, I would often stop for lunch or a snack on my way home. In fact, I dropped 20 pounds when I began working from home because I eliminated anything that had been a “on the way” item.
It was really convenient to grab lunch with colleagues or place a group order for lunch delivery while I worked at my workplace. It was also simple to consume more than 1000 calories at lunch and feel terrible about it, knowing that I had overindulged and had just spent too much money on the high cost of dining out in Manhattan.
For a week, I’ve witnessed employees purchase a $15 salad every day. That works up to $75 per week or $300 per month! It’s just on SALAD.
HELPFUL ADVICE
Don’t get me wrong: salads are one of my favorite foods. In our advice for eating healthily when working from home, we go over everything you need to know about healthy eating.
We’ve been focusing on acquiring nutritious meals that helps us feel good since we began working from home. Did you know that one of our favorite remote work trends for this year is this?
We’ve also got some more advice on how to keep healthy when working from home. We’re going to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies.
We also appreciate purchasing frozen vegetables since they can be substituted with fresh vegetables when we run out. We consume a lot of frozen fruit. It lasts for a long time. Most of the time, it tastes like ice cream, but without the additional sugar and fat.
For me, a typical day of eating looks like this:
What I eat first thing in the morning
Peanut butter oatmeal with hemp seeds, frozen blueberries, and a banana This breakfast will set you back roughly $10 each week, according to my calculations.
I like to have two slices of bread with peanut butter and a banana every now and then. This breakfast costs roughly the same as the first, around $10 for a week’s supply of food.
Lunches that I have
My lunch changes depending on what I had at morning. I’ll try to stick to a salad if I’ve eaten a lot of carbohydrates. I make an effort to eat a lot of veggies at lunch in case I don’t get enough at evening (which I cook).
A Greek salad with cucumbers, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, avocado, chickpeas, and different nuts and seeds is a common meal. I’ll only purchase avocados at our local grocery if they’re $1 (paying more for avocados is tough after living in Colombia, where they’re so cheap!).
This meal is going to grow pricey, particularly if I add more veggies. To be cautious, I’ll estimate that my weekly lunch meal costs about $20.
What I eat for a snack
I usually eat carrots and celery throughout the day as a snack. I try to avoid consuming anything that is overly thick. If I’m very hungry, I’ll grab another banana and spread it with peanut butter.
What I eat at night
Almost every night, Becca and I have supper together. We’ll normally attempt to create something roasted, such as potatoes, along with scrambled or fried eggs and some fresh veggie. We normally include a grain, such as rice or quinoa, which we now prepare with our own vegetable stock (we make it from vegetable scraps that we keep in the freezer, and we learned it as a trick from YouTube food vloggers). We’ll acquire a bunch of lettuce, spinach, or arugula and prepare salads if the season is suitable.
I’ll grab for something sweet after supper, such as frozen blueberries or frozen mango.
Dinner costs about $15-$20 each week on average.
The total cost of food for the week
For the two of us, we normally spend roughly $80-$100 every week. With my calculations, I account for roughly half of it, or about $40-$50 each week in meals.
Now, if I went to work every day and ate lunch a couple times a week, I’d quickly blow over my weekly food budget.
We can easily save a few hundred dollars a month, if not more, by working from home and cooking all of my meals and minimizing the number of times we order in. This has been fantastic for both our health and our finances.
Reductions in taxes
We won’t go into detail about this area since we aren’t accountants, but we do know the advantages that some individuals may get from deducting a part of their home office for tax purposes.
You may be able to “write off” components of your professional charges like your phone bill, Internet subscription, and other office expenses depending on your job status, whether you’re full-time or operating as a freelancer.
When I was working remotely and traveling, I was allowed to deduct my coworking space, laptop, mobile phone bill, and even some travel expenses since they were all necessary for my job.
Our advise is to consult with your accountant about deducting your expenditures while working from home. When making these options, think about all of the office supplies you’ve bought for your home office.
Childcare
If you are part of a family with young children, child care may be a significant investment. Paying for daycare is a necessary aspect of life if both parents work.
Many individuals have lately had to make changes in order to care for their children or assist them study at home.
Given, we have no experience with this; but, we know others who have organized small groups to keep their children busy and/or educated while they work from home.
In certain circumstances, parents’ work schedules have been rearranged so that one parent may care for their children while the other works. Grandparents may sometimes assist with childcare if they are near by and in a position to do so.
Whether it is within our power or not, avoiding paying for professional childcare such as a live-in nanny or a daycare facility is a method to save money.
The expense of going to the gym
I used to leave the workplace punctually at 6 p.m. so that I could be to my gym by 7 p.m. with my prior working schedule.
I’d work out from 7 to 8 p.m. and then go home. It was generally 8:30 p.m. when I came home. I’d cook supper, attempt to unwind, and then go to bed about 11 p.m. This is something I would do every week from Monday through Thursday.
Except for those things, I had very little time after work to do anything else.
Gyms have been closed recently, and I haven’t missed them at all. As one of the best methods to keep active while working from home, I’ve invested a little in home gym equipment and have been jogging outdoors and getting lots of steps.
HELPFUL ADVICE
We purchased home gym equipment such as resistance bands, a YOGO yoga mat to keep in our living room permanently, and a kettlebell for strength training sessions at home.
My gyms were too pricey! I’m sorry to admit it, but I used to be a member of two different gyms. The cost of one gym was $200 per month, whereas the cost of the other was $70 per month. Both of these pricing are considered ‘quite excellent values’ in New York City.
CrossFit was the more costly gym, and I loved coming there for specific group exercises and the camaraderie. If the weather was bad and I didn’t want to go further to CrossFit, I would go to the second gym later at night to perform longer cardio. The sauna was included with the $70-per-month gym membership! I would often go there to stretch.
I personally save $270 per month by exercising at home. Depending on what you have previously invested in, most individuals may save about $70 each month. This might be more or less depending on where you reside.
For Becca, she had already found out that she could save money by performing yoga online for free during the winter instead of going outdoors to the metro and to a yoga class. In our remote work fitness advice guide, you’ll find some of her suggestions.
HELPFUL ADVICE
Since working from home and eliminating the commute from our life, we’ve both been jogging and bicycling a lot more — a lot more. We’ve had more energy and gotten more sleep as a result of this. We can credit all of the advantages of working from home for this, and you may feel the same way.
The cost of data on a cellphone
My phone bill is included in a family plan. My family (parents and siblings – we’re all “adults” now) has a data bank that we can all access.
When I was on the road, I had my own mobile phone plan and paid for my data consumption. It’s called Google Fi, and you can learn more about it on our list of must-have foreign travel apps and services.
I was very cautious to just utilize the data I needed, such as for Google Maps and other purposes. This means removing data-hungry social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Only use them while you’re connected to the internet!
I used to get bored while commuting and would sometimes check social media. I’d listen to an audio book or listen to a playlist. These data charges did pile up over time. I don’t have to worry about paying these extra data expenses for the entertainment I’d consume while I’m out of the home since I’ve eliminated my commute entirely.
For folks who have unlimited mobile phone plans, this isn’t a big concern. I believe that by not paying any additional costs for data use during a commute, consumers might save about $20 per month on data.
Coffee
When you purchase coffee at a café every day, it’s no joke that it adds up quickly.
Don’t get us wrong: we like cafés and coffee shops, particularly for working remotely and sampling various coffee brews from across the globe. You can rely on us to assess coffee shops in Mexico City, Taipei, and Brooklyn, among other cities.
However, stopping for a coffee, whether it costs $1 (coffee cart in NYC) or $7 (crazy expensive latte in San Francisco), will pile up week after week, month after month, and, without a doubt, year after year.
The existence of a book titled the Latte Factor is no joke. Becca is presently reading it, which I purchased. While the book’s main message isn’t about coffee (it’s about how to save money smartly and that anybody can do it), a $3 coffee five days a week, 20 days a month, and 50 weeks a year adds up to… $3000.
We hadn’t calculated those figures previously!
However, stopping for a coffee, whether it costs $1 (coffee cart in NYC) or $7 (crazy expensive latte in San Francisco), will pile up week after week, month after month, and, without a doubt, year after year.
The existence of a book titled the Latte Factor is no joke. Becca is presently reading it, which I purchased. While the book’s main message isn’t about coffee (it’s about how to save money smartly and that anybody can do it), a $3 coffee five days a week, 20 days a month, and 50 weeks a year adds up to… $3000.
We hadn’t calculated those figures previously!
That’s not to imply you shouldn’t drink coffee, go wild with your savings, or never reward yourself — none of these things are true. We say this because on your way to work at an office, you pass by a coffee shop and purchase coffee because you’re on your way to work.
What we’re suggesting is that with enough instruction, you can learn to make excellent coffee and then become your own barista. When you work from home, it might become a part of your routine. It’s possible that you’ll look forward to it.
We propose our favorite ‘coffee gadgets,’ such as a Chemex and French Press, in our guide on setting up a home office. These one-time investments may help you create new habits and perhaps wow your buddies with your YouTube-learned barista abilities. Working from home can also save you $3000 each year.
Haircuts There are a few ways to think about haircuts as a strategy to save money when working from home. Simply said, since you’ll be on Zoom, your employees won’t notice if you don’t have a new haircut or if you have any dead ends. That is a proven truth.
Second, if you live with someone you can trust, start learning how to cut hair (you can learn how to do this on YouTube) and invest in what we did:
Dan’s WAHL men’s haircutting buzzer, which works excellent as a general haircutting tool for men Becca’s professional haircutting shears, which are fantastic for cleaning up and trimming
What we’re both saying is that we used to go to hairdressers near our workplaces only because they were nearby. We effectively let our workplaces choose our hairstylists, so why should your workplace choose where you get your hair cut?
Dogwalkers
It’s typical in New York City (where we reside) and the suburbs to pay for a dog walker to walk your dog while you and your partner or spouse are at work.
If you don’t want to pay for a dog walker every day, you might pay for doggie day care. In any case, when you start paying for services to let your dog out while you’re at work for 10 hours, the fees start to build up.
Consider this scenario: you’re at home all day, working, and you decide to include dog walking into your work-from-home routine. The money you’ve saved begins to stack up. You are able to reintroduce time with your canine companion into your daily routine. If you and your partner both work from home, you may start taking lunch breaks together to walk the dog(s). This sounds fantastic!
While working from home might be distracting, the fact that you aren’t out for the most of the day can reduce the need for unnecessary services, which allows you to save money more readily.
Bars & booze
When we commuted to Manhattan workplaces, alcohol was a component of our expenditures in two ways:
as part of ‘decompressing after work,’ visiting some bars with colleagues and meeting up with other friends who worked in the neighborhood for happy hour or drinks after the day was done
Without a doubt, both of the aforementioned are enjoyable! When you go out to bars as a pastime, a method to mingle, and a way to keep sane, both of these things cost money – a lot of money.
Fortunately for us, we could argue that since we’ve been working from home, we’ve ‘outgrown’ the behavior of going out to bars proactively and consistently, since it corresponded with a shift in lifestyle. On the other side, we may claim that we prefer to stay at home with a bottle of wine or a nice drink after work and, if necessary, interact with friends and connections electronically so that no one has to wait in traffic or waste time in transportation.
(Of course, we like meeting up with our friends in person, but during the summer, it’s also fun to go for walks, picnic in parks, and so on.)
We are not bothered by the fact that we do not pass by bars or utilize bars as a stopover between two random workplace places to visit other people in our life.
Time
We aren’t the first to point out that time is money. What not enough people are saying is that when you work from home, time is happiness, and happiness is work-life balance.
Working from home saves money because it saves time – time spent standing in line for the elevator at work, time spent seeking for parking so you can catch the train, time spent buying for work attire, and time spent travelling by bus.
One of our favorite overall advantages of working remotely is having more time in your day to pursue your passions. Some of the most forward-thinking job trends accessible to us right now include time spent being active, focusing on eating healthy, reading with your kids, and working on your growing side business.
