Saving $ By Working from Home

[oldtoyota]

The subject of working from home came up.

Since the topic was out there, I asked if I could work from home a second day a week. Yes was the answer.

[NICE!]

WORD

[frugalman]

I asked to work one day a week from home a couple of months ago. Boss said no, because then all of his other direct reports would want the same thing, and he likes having us "around". Next year, I'll have 12 month to retirement, and I'm just going to tell him I AM working a day or two a week from home. If he forces the issue, I'll just retire early.

[Self-employed-swami]

Good job OT!

And yay on being a year from retirement Frugalman!

[MakingSenseofCents]

I wish that I could work from home more! It would be really hard though in my field.

[BlueMR2]

I'm hoping I'll be able to do more from home myself.  I'd save an estimated $3000/yr in transportation costs.  Obviously that would be offset by more power/water usage at home, but I only pay half that much a year in utilities to begin with, I'm sure I'd still save money!  :-)

[oldtoyota]

I'm hoping I'll be able to do more from home myself.  I'd save an estimated $3000/yr in transportation costs.  Obviously that would be offset by more power/water usage at home, but I only pay half that much a year in utilities to begin with, I'm sure I'd still save money!  :-)

I hope it works out for you! =-)

[Adventine]

The subject of working from home came up. When people work out of the office, it saves my company money. Real estate is expensive.

Since the topic was out there, I asked if I could work from home a second day a week.

The answer is yes. Because I get my work done. Because I know when I need to come in. Because I am trusted.

YES.

This will save me $400 per year.

Oh, that is awesome.

[George_PA]

Working from home definitely saves me money; I currently work at home 5 days a week (fulltime).  My commute consists of me waking from my bedroom and walking across the hall to the guest bedroom/home office.  I rarely see the office anymore, maybe a few times a year.  I currently have worked for the company for about 10 years now.  The first 3-4 I was in the office full-time, then you start off gradual, i.e. a day or two a week.  Then, build off from here.  It really depends on the attitude of your company and its management.  Some places will not let you work from home no matter what.  My company is saving at least a $1 million a year by not having to provided as many offices in an expensive urban area so a responsible work at home employee is actually more valuable. 

If you really want to work from home more, make yourself highly valuable in your field as much as you can and then bargain employers against one another for the added benefit.  Usually a company will tell you about work at home benefits early on when you interviewing with them for a job, so its an easy way to find out whether they offer it or not.  If not, ask them directly about it early in the interview process, if they give you murky/vague answers then that means no.
 
 
 

[Christof]

All my employees work from home (we are a software shop). One tip from experience. If you negotiate working from home keep some office days, like one or two a week. You might not care about the political aspects in the office, because you are not working on a 30 year long career. Don't underestimate social interactions, though. Life can be boring if the only person you are interacting with for eight hours a day is your spouse/family. It can also stress a relationship, when the boundary between "I'm at home" and "I'm working" isn't clear.

Working at home saves the commute, but it's still work that need to get done, even if you don't feel like working, the couch looks tempting and the weather outside looks like a cold beer would be a great idea.

[Sparafusile]

As a software engineer, I can and sometimes do work from home. I usually stay home about one day a week. The cost of the commute isn't really a problem because I buy a monthly bus pass so I don't have to drive or pay for parking. The pass is about 50% the cost of parking alone so I can save quite a bit of money. My problem with going to work every day is the time commitment. On a good day it takes me 45 minutes each way, but sometimes takes up to an hour. Even if I only work 8 hours a day, that's still a huge chunk of time devoted to work. I would jump at the opportunity to work from home more just to get that extra time back.

[Insanity]

Working remotely does have it's downside.  Though, some will question that :)

Socialization at work.  The methods of communication are completely different. 

I am so used to working in an office that even though I've been working remote for almost two years, I still have issues with the communication part.  I used to go to my manager and be like "xyz".. Now, I need to send an e-mail or call and that requires a distraction from my work flow as opposed to just seeing them walk by the cube/office.

[urover]

Pretty sure it would save OP more than just $400 a year. Apart from the gas saved, think about lesser wear and tear on the vehicle, fewer clothes to wash and they tend to last longer, skip shaving whenever WFH, sleep more because you don't have to get ready for work, get things done around home (not at the cost of office work, but surely helps), and finally the mental peace gained from not having to commute.

Our office has removed WFH recently while it was a nice option earlier. I used to allow myself one WFH per week to keep sanity (killed by commute) and to get things done that could only be done on weekdays, but now I am starting to feel frustrated. Time to move, maybe.

[Eric]

Good job!  Plus, now you'll have one less day per week where you have to come up with an excuse to not bike to work. ;)

[olivia]

Awesome!!!

[oldtoyota]

Good job!  Plus, now you'll have one less day per week where you have to come up with an excuse to not bike to work. ;)

Ha! =-)

[jrhampt]

I cannot say enough good things about working from home and the time and money savings.  Plus being able to have contractors come in during the day if needed.  Plus having the windows open and the fresh air.  And the private bathrooms and private fridge and private gym/exercise options.  Plus not having to wear pants.