Seriously, this is not funny. Have you ever calculated how much time and money you spend commuting to and from your job? It is serious, stressful work for which you are not being paid, and in fact is costing you money.
When considering whether it would benefit you to work from home, start right there with how much you spend on gasoline, bridge tolls, parking, car maintenance, or public transportation. You will probably determine that right off the bat you would be saving several hundred dollars every month if you worked from home. If you have small children then you could add the cost of child care and the transportation related to that if applicable to get the best picture.
Then you can also include the fact that you have various tax benefits you can claim for the ‘business use of your home’. It is a percentage of square feet of your rent or mortgage, your utilities, your Internet connectivity, phone, etc. that can be deducted from your earnings. Be sure to check the official government website for the exact laws and requirements as they do change.
Of course it is a smart idea (maybe critical) that you start your home business while you still have some sort of an income as it does take time to build and develop any business. You must survive in the meantime so you want to be sure that you have that covered. Never speculate that you think you will earn money by any given date. Protect yourself by having the money well ahead of the time when it will be payable.
There are still tax benefits although to a lesser degree when you are working at a ‘day job’ and working at home in your spare time to start a business online. You can deduct business expenses even if you are not making a profit. You can do that for a few years, but then if you are still not making money your business will be determined to be a ‘hobby’ and you will not get any tax benefits. (so work it!)
These are some of the tangible benefits of working from home, and there are also many intangibles such as being able to spend time with your children rather than having them raised by child care workers. You know it is necessary for you to work, but to a child’s mind all they know is you are not there most of the time. Naturally being human, you may be tired and need some space when you do get home. Of course you sacrifice a lot for your family in many ways, but ‘you can’t give away more than you have’. You are the foundation of your family and as such you need to take care of yourself, too.
There is also the reality that you may not be that happy working for someone else for whatever reason. Many corporate and retail environments are very hostile. There is normal or good stress from working, but then there is destructive stress from political or personal relationships with your peers, managers and customers. Add that together with the stress of whether or not your paycheck will stretch far enough as costs escalate but salaries are stagnant. It can spell ‘heart attack’ if you are not careful to take care of yourself.
So not saying working at home for yourself is a piece of cake because it does involve work and some stress for some of the same reasons, but I am sure if you compare working outside the home you will find that having your own business in your home can be so much more pleasant and productive in every respect. So give it a try today! Just go online and start to research ways you might be able to start your own business and work from home.
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