How To Save Money While You’re Working Remotely

A lot of people are strapped for cash right now across the country. Saving money in a pandemic has become a priority, and by no means am I a financial planner or really good with money when I do have it, but I am good at making the money I do have last as long as possible. That’s the name of the game in college. How can I make this $20 dollars last me a week? A question I’ve come up with a solution for on many occasions. So here’s my list of how to save money working remotely.

1.) Food

You’re going to have to eat. That’s a fact. At some point you’re going to need food and if you’re on a budget it can be hard to determine what you’re going to eat. Personally, when I’m on a budget all I eat is rice, chicken, and frozen pizza. I’m pretty sure with $20’s you can buy infinite amounts of those three foods. I’m not saying it’s healthy, but that’s what my diet has consisted of the past 3 years and it’s been working pretty well for me. Another route you can go down is buying McChickens. I stand by that there is not another item you can get for a dollar that is more valuable than a McChicken. McChickens are like owning property in the sense that they are recession proof. 

2.) Go Sober

This goes against most of what I believe in, but usually when you’re broke it means you need to get your shit together, and that means you shouldn’t be getting fucked up. It saves money and let’s you think clearly about what your next plan of action should be. Even when you’re broke and sad it feels like a good time to be getting messed up. I’ve found it wastes time and makes your situation worse. So save it for  when the next check clears and celebrate not being a broke bitch.

3.) Don’t eat out

This one kind of goes with number one, but eating out wastes a lot of money. Maybe just make a sandwich instead of ordering one. Cooking yourself is one of the best ways to cut back on expenses. This is coming from someone who doesn’t really like to cook. Well it’s actually not the cooking I don’t like more of doing the dishes, but you get what I’m saying.

4.) Cut out monthly payments

By monthly payments I mean things like Netflix, or Spotify. Whatever it may be, see if you’re not using it and cut it out. I’m not saying you should cancel your Netflix if you’re using it everyday, but I’ll give you an example. My parents had Netflix, HBO, Amazon prime, and Hulu. While they had all of this they were still paying for cable. Why? There’s no point. They can’t possibly be using all these platforms. Find what you don’t use, and cancel it.

5.)Gas

Not talking about that loud pack, I’m talking about the gas in your car. Working remotely means you don’t have to drive to work anymore. This means you’re going to save money on gas and even more importantly time. Time is money pandemic or no pandemic and not driving to work is actually a plus. Not to mention you’ll probably have less car maintenance expenses now that you’re driving less.

6.) Cloths

You’re working from home so why dress up? You have no one to impress. Even if you have to take zoom calls you’re saving hundreds on pants every year. This also goes for going out outfits. Now that no one can go out to the bars/clubs there’s no point to dropping money on drippy outfits for the foreseeable future. That being said I still dress up sometimes just to feel like a boss. Look good, feel good, be good.

7.) Child Care

Maybe you don’t have a kid right now like me, but for many people child care is a huge expense. I know first hand from working at a children’s summer camp just how expensive child care can be, but working remotely means for many parents that they don’t have to worry about child care. This also means you may go insane for the next couple of months trying to be productive around children, but if you’re a parent it probably means your sanity was gone long ago anyways.

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8.) Coffee

This one has saved me a ton of money recently. I’m accustomed to buying coffee almost daily on my way to early classes. Working from home has cut that cost into at least a third of the price I’m used to. Sure it’s at the cost of any human interaction but you really got to take these W’s where you can find them.

9.) Staying Focused

Being productive in a lot of cases means you’re saving money. Without distractions from other people while you work from home could mean you, and or your company is making more money. That being said staying focused can be challenging for some people. I’d recommend setting up a work schedule to keep you on task and make sure you are as productive and efficient as possible.

10.) Dog walking

Many people have had to get dog walkers to walk their dogs while they were at work in the past. Now you can do it yourself. It’s also a good excuse to get outside and exercise. Plus the last thing you want while trying to focus is an excited dog trying to play with you. Exercise the dog so it mellows out while you try to get things done from home.

Money will be tight for many Americans in the following months due to the Coronavirus. My hope is that through this list you might be able to find ways to save money working from home. That being said working from home is still very new to me, so if I missed anything feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. Until the next article, I’m out.