It won’t come as news to remote workers that ditching their commute has saved them cash. A recent analysis by Money found that in-person employees spend an extra $5000 a year compared to people working from home full- or part-time. That number is the average, but exactly how much individuals spend on work-related expenses depends on multiple factors. If you want to see how much your home office is saving you, this calculator will crunch the numbers.
WalletHub developed the online calculator to quantify the economic impact of the telework movement currently transforming the workforce. To apply it to your own experience, plug in your state, the type of vehicle you drive, and the length of your commute in time and miles. The tool only works for people who commute by car (or would if they had to).
Even if your office is in the neighborhood, the savings you gain by not having to go in every day are significant. Driving five miles to work five days per week in a sedan in Texas, for instance, costs employees an extra $1195 annually. According to WalletHub, the yearly national average for car- and gas-related expenses related to commuting is $5108. That doesn’t account for other expenses that come with working outside the home, such as pet care, childcare, and $14 salads.
Money isn’t the only thing remote workers save by skipping their commute. A 2018 report from EducatedDriver.org found that Americans spend 408 days of their lives traveling to and from work on average. All that extra free time adds up to financial savings as well, with remote employees having more flexibility in their schedules to cook their own meals and take care of other household tasks themselves. Here are more clever ways to save time in the morning.