People often try to compare and contrast the differences between working in an office, and working at home. I thought that today, we could talk strictly dollars and cents–expenses that you might incur while working in either location. Hopefully these blogs will help you make the decision of where it would be best for you to work.
I know that there is a lot more to the decision of where to work than the financial aspect of it, but in many cases, as much as we would like to have it differently, it often does come down to that. It is important to consider all of the costs of either decision, the obvious and the hidden. Having said all that, here we go:
Expenses when Working in an Office:
~ Clothing. You are usually required to dress up to work in an office, so you have the higher cost of buying nice clothing (skirts, dress pants, suits, etc) and you then have to pay to dry clean it afterwards. Like getting poked in eye and then having salt rubbed in it, I know. I also destroy pantyhose on an all-too-regular basis, no matter how careful I try to be, so if you’re as clumsy as me, make sure to keep that in consideration.
~ Gas and maintenance on your vehicle. With the price of gas going nowhere but up lately, this one can be huge.
~ Eating out more for dinner. At least I tend to eat out more when I work in an office because I’m not home to cook, and I don’t feel like cooking when I get home. Maybe I’m the only lazy one. 😉
~ Presents and donations in the office (coworkers’ birthdays, their children’s fundraisers, etc.)
~ Child care expenses if your children are not yet in school. This can potentially be your largest expense while working outside of your home, and is a cost many parents worry over the most.
~ Lunches out with coworkers. Depending on how “social” your office is, you can be paying a lunch bill three or four times a week.
In this blog, I cover the expenses of working in your home. Good luck in your decision!