1.

Less driving = gas $avings:

  Obviously if your longest commute in the morning is from your bed to your home office than the only gas you are using is from your own body's energy supply!  You may emit some gas along the walk but hey, you're all alone so only you and the dog will know! I couldn't possibly compute the amount of money you would $ave on gas by working from home but suffice it to say its literally going to be a sizable chunk of change these days when gas is on average $4 a gallon nationally. You will also have less wear and tear on your vehicle which will make it last longer and won't end up in a junkyard sooner than if you used it everyday. You will also avoid having to buy a new vehicle earlier as well, decreasing the energy spent on creating a new vehicle. Your gas $avings will probably be the largest noticeable benefit in working from home and one that will happily keep you working from home even if you find yourself ready to stab your eyes out with a pen due to isolation syndrome!  

2.

Less carbon foot print:

  With less cars on the road there will be less of a carbon footprint. Most Americans do NOT carpool or use mass transportation to get to and from their jobs so if more people began to work from home it would have an even larger positive impact than if we lived in a society where the majority of workers used mass transportation and/or carpooled. So I see an area that would have a noticeable positive impact on the environment as a result of an increase of home workers.

  Despite being home all day and using your home office equipment, and possibly the television, you still significantly reduce your carbon footprint by severely curtailing your daily driving. If your office equipment is relatively new than it is all energy star compliant further reducing the amount of energy it consumes than earlier models. And by being home you can open up your doors and windows and turn off your air conditioner instead of having it on while because your house is all locked up while you are gone. Also by using a clothes line you will further reduce your electricity usage which will reduce your carbon foot print as well.

3.

Less usage of utilities:

A) Water

 

B) Electricity

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

4.

Less usage of toiletries and makeup:

  As a result of less showering you will cut down on your use of soap, shampoo, conditioner, perfume and lotion, and depending on how liberated you are, deodorant, mouthwash and and toothpaste! Believe me, after working form home for a period of time all personal hygiene and vanity quickly vanish when laziness sets in due to the lack of being seen by anything other than a "person" that barks or gweeks! Believe me, they could care less what I smell like and actually the dog seems to love me more when snuggly with something that smells as "doggy" as he does!

  Because you will be using less toiletries your carbon footprint will be less since you will buying less bottles of toiletries over time - thus reducing the energy needed to make the products and the containers that house them. The plastic bottles that contain the toiletries are comprised of oil, another reason to use as few as possible, even though I know you now recycle like a good steward of the planet!

  And you won't have any reason to put makeup on so you'll $ave on that too, not to mention the time it takes to put all that stuff on anyway. Once you get used to your new low maintenance personal care regimen you'll never miss the insane routine you used to go through!  You can always put makeup on just to feel "normal" again every once in a while. You can even take a shower, get dressed up and the put makeup on if you need a pick-me-up. There is nothing wrong with that but being able to work from home allows you to work in any way that is most comfortable for you and that usually involves $aving money! Yeah!

Using your internet connection:

  You more than likely have a high speed internet connection that isn't being used very much at home. Why not make use of it since its been plugged in all the time anyway?  You are not using any extra energy by using the connection since its already plugged in. You will use extra energy by having your computer on though but with energy efficient computers these days the energy they use is a lot less than it was even a few years ago. Chances are you have an energy star compliant computer so its not going to increase your electricity by much. I have my computer on 12-16 hours a day five days a week and my electricity bills are still much lower than all my neighbors who work outside of the home.

$aving on food:

  By being at home for lunch time there is no need to go out to lunch, thereby saving money on gas and food. Raid the fridge and grab some leftovers or make a sandwich from whatever is available. Or you can just walk out into the garden and pick your own lunch! By not wasting as much food as you might if you worked outside the home, you also lower your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of produce and other food you buy that has been shipped all over the country to reach your store's shelves.

  By being at home already you won't need to use plastic  containers or ziploc bags and paper or plastic bags to tote your lunch in. This will reduce the amount of ziploc bags you will need to buy and use and will reduce the amount of containers you need to wash. Eating food up that would normally get spoiled or thrown out will ease your conscience and fatten your wallet!

$ave on clothes & shoes:

  Being able to dress like a slob if you care to is your prerogative since no one will be seeing you unless your boss insists on video conferencing. Even then you can fool them by doing what the TV anchors do and dress up from the top only. But seriously, you can substantially reduce your expenditures for clothing by working from home which will reduce your carbon footprint even more because the energy involved for producing and shipping of clothes is tremendous, especially since almost all clothing sold in the United States is now made overseas and must be shipped across the globe to get here. Even if you need to purchase clothes, please get them from garage sales or thrift shops where they are being recycled which is not only good for the environment but good for the organizations or families that are selling them!  The same applies for shoes which are also mostly made outside of the United States, mainly in China.

$ave on gadgets:

  Since you will be home most of the time you may not need to spend money on gadgets like iPhones, cell phones or Blackberries. Not only are the units expensive but so are the monthly plans. You will already be close to a phone, whether a land line or an internet based phone line like Vonage and you will be on top of your email and the internet while sitting in your home office so chances are you may not need the gadgets so many people say they cannot live without. By not having these gadgets your reduction of a carbon footprint is probably negligible but the financial $savings are really worthwhile!  You can get an internet based fax number account so you don't even need a fax machine to be able to send and receive faxes. If you need to fax printed documents chances are you have a scanner already so make use of it, otherwise you can fax computer generated files quite easily without using any paper whatsoever, further reducing your carbon footprint and usage of trees! What a win-win situation!  You can also use an internet based phone service like Vonage which is a lot cheaper than a land line these days. It already uses your internet connection so it is actually very environmentally friendly I think. The only drawback is that if the electricity and/or internet go out than you won't have a phone. Then you need a back up like a cell phone but since most people have a cell phone anyway its not that big of a deal.

$ave on your taxes:

  Be sure to follow all IRS rules regulating the use of a home office but if you are allowed to take the tax deduction of a home office that will further increase your love affair with working from home! I've not only $aved plenty of $$$ over the years from all the reasons listed above, but I've gotten a very nice tax refund every year I've worked from home as a result of my home office deduction and I've never been audited! Yeah!

  As long as you have written proof from your employer that they require you to work from home you should not have any problems - that is one of the requirements of being able to claim a home office deduction. You also need to put your home office in it's own room. You can find out what the rules are for a home office by contacting the IRS or visiting their website. A professional tax consultant can help you file the necessary forms when you do your taxes but you can also use tax software like I do and it is relatively easy to do by yourself. I would recommend using a tax consultant the first time you file your return using a home office deduction and then after that you should be able to do it yourself.

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