If you work from, it could be costing you more than you realize.
Of course, you don’t have to pay for travel expenses.
But you can save money at the home office in other ways.
Here are a few:
Buy Essentials Online
When you work from home, you don’t get to use the company’s office supplies.
You have to buy your own pens, paper, and tools, for example.
But if you shop on certain websites, you can save a lot of money on things that really add up.
For example, your printer.
Ink isn’t cheap, an HP Deskjet 2600 ink refill can cost more than £100. But online stores like PrinterInks.com sell cheaper bulk packages that cost a lot less than popular retail stores on the high street.
Use Free Software
Here’s a little computer secret: you don’t have to buy software.
Licenses for software can be one of your biggest costs.
But standard software packages almost always have alternatives.
For instance, you probably won’t use most of the features of expensive software like Microsoft Office.
But free programs like Google Docs and Open Office have features that are almost the same.
Just type “alternatives to” and the name of the software you want to find.
Save Money at the Home Office with Taxes
A recent poll in the UK found that nearly 80% of people there don’t know enough about taxes to pay them or use them well.
Tax rules for self-employed people vary from country to country.
But countries like the UK offer big tax breaks for a lot of things that can save you a lot of money for your holidays and other things.
These include the number of miles you drive, the cost of equipment and software, and how much gas and electricity you use when you work from home.
Use Power Saving Features
Further to using less energy, you can save money by reducing how much power your home office uses. For example, if you leave your computer on while you go to lunch, electricity will be used. For half an hour, it might not be much. But over a month or a year, this small cost adds up to a lot. And because energy costs are getting out of hand, you might want to use less. These days, all devices come with ways to save energy, like the “Sleep” mode on Windows computers.
Switch Your Communications
As part of your business, you might need to call people all over the world.
Everyone knows that phone bills can get very high. But if you know how, you can get your communication costs down to almost nothing.
First, you can try switching to Voice Over IP (VoIP) systems, which let you make phone calls using internet protocols.
You can also use apps like Zoom, Teams, and Skype for video conferencing.
There may be a small fee, but it’s still cheaper than a phone.
Summary
You can change how you work to save money at the home office.
Buying essentials online is often much cheaper.
You can also implement tax deductions and switch your communications.
