The Nickels and Dimes of Working at Home

Many people struggle with the decision of whether or not to take the plunge and work from home. They rationalize and agree to give up this, that, or something else when that may or may not be necessary in order to make ends meet. The truth of the matter is that you can afford to make a lot less money working from home than you would need to make in order to maintain a certain lifestyle working outside the home.

There are many expenses that could be drastically reduced if not completely eliminated in order for one parent to work from home but there are other expenses that are involved in working outside the home that are often not even considered when mapping out strategies and listing pros and cons.

The following is a list of expenses that you will either find greatly reduced or non-existent when working from home rather than working outside the home.

1) Child care. For many families, especially families with more than one pre-school child, these expenses can be prohibitive to say the least. Even with only one child in daycare the average fee for one year is somewhere between $7,000 and $9,000 if you multiply this for multiple children you can see that this is a significant monthly expense.

2) Taxes. Here's the kicker and where working from home really pays off. Not only will you (more than likely) find yourself in a lower tax bracket by working at home, but you will also find some nice new deductions for your accountant to play with come tax time. Lowering your tax bracket means that not only will you personally pay less in taxes, but your family as a whole will pay less taxes for the year.

3) Professional Wardrobe. Those professional clothes can pack a pretty big punch on the household budget. While working from home may not completely negate the need for professional clothes it can seriously limit the need.

4) Lunches out. This happens to be a big expense for most workers over the course of a year. While it is always great to bring your own, we will all admit that there are times when we find the effort too much to comprehend first thing in the morning and opt for dining out. The other problem is that we often find ourselves working late and grabbing take-out on the way home. While there will still be times when we need to get out and about or simply do not feel like cooking, there will be less of these moments when you work from home than when you work outside the home.

5) Coffee breaks. These add up over time, particularly if your coffee break involves strolling over to Starbucks. Even if it's just the office snack room where you're spending your quarters you will find that it is much cheaper to keep your own supply of coffee (even flavored coffee) and snacks on hand for your home office.

6) Commuting expenses. This one is a little more difficult to define as it isn't simply related to gas. Insurance costs less if you put less miles on your car, you will need routine maintenance less often if you are putting fewer miles on your car, and you will go through things such as tires and oil changes less often. These little things can have a huge impact on your yearly budget.

7) Dry cleaning. Many of those items required for a professional wardrobe also require dry cleaning. Eliminating this expense can be a real eye opener.

8) Parking. If you work in many cities, you either have to pay parking or your company includes that as a 'perk'. Regardless of whether it's coming out of your check before you see it or after, you can bet you are paying (somewhere along the line) for parking. Over the course of a year this can really add up.

While this list is by no means comprehensive and the actual fees will be different for everyone involved, when you compare your current income and subtract these expenses, you might be surprised to find out exactly where you stand. There are some expenses that will increase as you work from home but overall you will see some dramatic financial improvements on an even smaller salary working from home than you may realize. Carefully plan and consider whether or not this is right for you. Put pen and paper to it, crunch the numbers and let them lead your decision of whether or not working from home is something you can envision in your future.