Benefits of working from home
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have shifted from working at an office to working from home.
This shift has been caused by the pandemic but, once it’s over, many workers may still continue working from home. Nearly one quarter of Canadian businesses expect that 10 per cent or more of their workforce will continue to work remotely post-pandemic, according to Statistics Canada.
This shift to at-home work can affect people’s lives in many ways and may also end up providing workers with some long-term financial advantages. If you’re among those who will continue working remotely, how might you benefit?
Here are a few possible ways.
REDUCED TRANSPORTATION COSTS
Over time, you can spend a lot of money commuting to and from work. According to Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census data, a total of 1.5 million Canadians spent at least one hour commuting to work at an average weekly cost of $273.
If you are working primarily from home, you should be
able to greatly reduce these costs.
POTENTIALLY LOWER CAR INSURANCE
Your auto insurance premiums are partially based on how many miles you drive each year. So, if you were to significantly reduce these miles by working from home, you might possibly qualify for lower rates.
LOWER LUNCH EXPENSES
If you typically eat lunch in restaurants or get takeout while at work, you could easily be spending $50 or more per week, or even more if you also buy coffee. This means you could end up spending around $3,000 a year. Think how much you could reduce this amount by eating lunch at home during your remote workday.
LOWER CLOTHING COSTS
Despite the rise in casual dress days at workplaces, plenty of workers still need to maintain appropriate office attire. By working from home, you can start dressing down instead of dressing up, reducing your clothing costs and dry-cleaning bills.
STRATEGIZE ON YOUR SAVINGS
As you can see, it may be possible for you to save quite a bit of money by working from home. So with that in mind, how can you use your savings to help meet your long-term financial goals, such as achieving a comfortable retirement?
For one thing, you could boost your investments. A financial advisor can help you decide how to best use the additional savings you may have uncovered over the last year.
They can help you identify and prioritize what's most important to you and get you on track to achieving your goals.
You also might use part of your savings generated by remote work to build an emergency fund containing a few months’ worth of living expenses. Without this fund, you might be forced to dip into your retirement accounts to pay for something like a major home repair.
Becoming an at-home worker will no doubt require some adjustments on your part but, strictly in financial terms, could lead to some positive results.