Guest post from Erin of ErinBrans.com
I was working full time in law enforcement on night shifts and rarely seeing my kids. I decided to work from home and just focus on my blogging.
It took about a year to work out the logistics, but my husband and I were able to pay off over $39,000 in debt in 13 months and move from Nebraska to Kansas to be closer to our family.
To say we feel blessed right now is an understatement!
There are many different ways to work from home. You can become a blogger or sell items on Craigslist, Etsy, or eBay. You can take surveys, become a mystery shopper, or even become a medical coder or transcriptionist. You can professionally organize, clean houses or businesses, or nanny. There are so many ways that parents can stay at home with our kids while earning an income.
Today, I’m not going to talk about the nuts and bolts of starting your own business. Instead, I am going to show you how I actually save money by working from home.
In my previous job, I used to earn approximately $2,200 a month after taxes. Now, by working from home, I am saving at least $2,750 a month. Not to mention my children have their mom at home — and that is priceless to our family!
Here are some of the areas we’re saving:
Transportation
Working from home saves you money on gas plus it doesn’t put as much wear and tear on your vehicles.
When I was working outside the home, we were paying $400 a month in gas (and that was with carpooling!). Now we are paying just $150 per month on gas. In addition, I’m also saving time because I no longer have to spend time driving to and from work.
Tax Write-Offs
Working from home offers tax write-offs on our internet, cell phone, business travel, mileage, and meals with co-workers to discuss business, etc. This alone saves us thousands of dollars a year.
No Daycare
This saves us $1,000 a month.
Food
I work from home so I can plan and cook more meals. By not going out to eat, we are keeping our grocery bill at $400 a month. In addition, because I’m not exhausted and too tired to cook like I used to be, we are also saving approximately $500 a month by cutting back how often we go out to eat.
Work Clothing
One of the great benefits of working from home is that I can work in my pajamas if I want to! Not buying work clothes for me saves us at least $600-$1,000 a year!
Do you work from home? How do you save money by working from home?
Erin Branscom is a wife and mother of 3. She is a blogger at ErinBrans.com. This year, her family was able to pay off over $39,000 worth of debt within 13 months. She was able to quit her full time job and work from home part time. Erin is passionate about helping other parents be able to pay off debt and work from home as well.
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{ 68 comments... read them below or add one }
I have been the at home parent for almost 17 years now. I save our family money in more ways than I could probably type out in one day. I make our laundry soap, and cleaners. I bake our bread. I do our bills so they are paid on time and avoid late fees. I plan a menu so that we don’t eat out more than once a week. I bake a lot of our snacks. I watch prices at the grocery store so as to pick up items at rock bottom prices. I shop yard sales for clothes and household supplies. I combine sales with coupons and discounted gift cards. I know some of my working friends do a amazing job at doing all these things as well, but many are just too busy and too tired from work to be able to do so. I would love one day to sit down and do my own math, and see just what I have earned by staying home all these years.
The late Larry Burkett wrote an excellent book that gave a breakdown of money saved by a woman leaving the workplace. His figures were very similar to yours. The book is called, “Women Leaving the Workplace.” You could probably find it on Ebay for a low price.
Thanks for the info. I checked this out from the library today.
I have just had my first baby just over a year ago. After my maternity leave I did not go back to work to be a stay at home mom instead. I have been trying to think of ways to bring in a little income to help with bills. I am wondering how to go about starting a blog and making money from it. Is a website free? How do I get advertisers? Etc…
Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I would love to talk to you about working from home. You can email me at erin.branscom(at) gmail.com. Thanks!
My husband once ran numbers and figured that I SAVE our family $65,000 a year by staying home. This was when I only had two children.
Some additional ways we save:
We don’t eat out.
We only have one car–this is a huge savings.
Staying home with my children saves me much more than I would make working full-time.
I’m an avid reader of your blog and I can definitely see how you are saving your family ‘at least’ that (and probably much more) especially when you factor in all of the beautiful clothes that you make etc. Those kinds of things especially, would be very expensive to hire out not to mention being ‘priceless’ treasures to your children someday.
That is just amazing! I am always inspired by your blog and you are just so neat!
We’re planning for me to be a work at home parent once we have children, and it’s so encouraging to see articles and comments such as these!
I find so many people will say, “It’s so nice that you’re able to afford to stay home with your kids,” when I’m always thinking, “How can you afford not to?” I think so many working mothers don’t connect that some of their spending (and lack of time spent saving) is due to working outside the home. I spoke with a friend last night who works full time, and discovered she takes her kids out to eat every evening! She doesn’t get home in time to make dinner, or is too pooped after a long day. Just that expenditure alone for her is $400 a month!
That is likely true in some situations but not always. When we had our first child (six years ago), I made $130,000 per year. It was certainly not cheaper for me to stay home and we were very blessed to be able to afford our ideal child care situation as well as pay for help in some other areas. As a result, we are able to really focus on family time when we aren’t working and aren’t stressed out about all the things that need to be done.
I agree. I would not save my family money by leaving the work force, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to. My family could afford for me to stay home if I wanted to. I don’t. I love my career. Many working women do.
I agree with this. When I had my son, I was making double to almost triple what my husband was making and I love my career. I could not justify myself staying at home to be with my son (although I really wanted to and I cried a lot when I first went back to work) but my husband stays at home which saves us a great deal of money. Its not always possible for the mother to stay at home but I think any partner that can stay home with the kids is ideal. I think people sometimes forget that in some relationships the women is the bread winner and can’t always be at home with her kids. There are fathers who stay at home with the kids.
Amen. I am of mindset at least one spouse stays home is a great thing. No matter the sex. We both work. I homeschool in mornings and then I go to work 2nd shift. Hubby and I work for same company and we get marriage benefits which we can’t replace if I quit. Sadly is the case. I do want to stay home full time. I did when kids were younger. Even if I start a business…the benefit hubby and I get will never top that. Be careful putting rest of us in box while we are round.
It also depends on your working expenses. I walk to work, live where childcare is not expensive, have figured out how to still cook at home, and don’t buy fancy clothes for work,vso staying home wouldn’t save anything.
But it’s as much about what is good for your family. I’m refreshed and better able to focus on them when I’ve had time away, and my job isn’t one that requires me to be there for set or long hours, so it works for my family.
Agreed. I really enjoy what I do and also have a tremendous amount of flexibility. This statement often fires people up but I personally feel that I’m a better mom when I work.
I recently started working from home and we estimated that, including before and after care for our kindergartner, we’re saving about $2k per month. Not only is the savings worth it, but I love being able to be home with our daughter during this time. It’s so important and no paycheck can replace finally fulfilling a goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of our marriage–me staying home.
Great job Jana!
If I went back to work it would be better for us financially (which of course isn’t true for everyone), but I wanted to comment anyway since it definitely wouldn’t be worth it mentally for me to go back to work. Since I stopped working three years ago (when my kids were 12, 7, and 8) it’s calmer and the kids are happier. When I worked we were just always so busy and that was only with the things that needed to be done – there was no time left for things we wanted to do or just for relaxing.
So even if the financial numbers don’t work out, it may still be worth it to have one parent stay home for other reasons. However, I do agree that for many families there is a financial benefit to having one parent leave the workforce and I definitely thank everyone for sharing their stories. Inspiring!
Interesting. I just started an Etsy business. I wonder if I make enough to have to taxes on it, if I can write off our internet. Will have to look into that.
I would love to be able to stay at home and blog as my job, but I have questions. How do you do it? How much time do you spend once it’s up and running? How much money does it take to start out?
I work with Erin and I have to say she is the best! She has taught me so much about blogging and working from home. Without her I wouldn’t be able to stay home with our four little ones!
I have been working from home for the past three years and definitely agree that it does save a lot of money. However, I want to point out that not all work at home jobs allow you to save on child care. I am in charge of the sales and marketing database for the company I work for and if my three year old son was home while I was working, I would definitely NOT be able to do my job as necessary. I have conference calls weekly and other aspects that would not work if he were home. We save in all other areas except for the childcare, as he goes to a Mother’s Day Out program and my in-laws house (both of which we pay to watch my son). Just thought I would share my experience for those that are looking to work from home.
I almost posted this same word of caution. I work from home full time and have a full time nanny. For us, it’s the best of both worlds because I get to see our kids throughout the day but am also able to close the office door and focus.
We also appreciate that we’re able to have a higher degree of control over their care while having the benefit of two incomes.
I often wonder this as well. I don’t have kids yet, but I used to work two days a week from home. Besides the fact that the rules of my company stated that I couldn’t be caring for children while I worked from home, I don’t see how it would have been possible for me to get my work done and participate in conference calls. I will soon be quitting my day job to grow the business I just started, and I cannot imagine how I could invest enough time into it to turn it into decent part time income if I were also caring for little ones all day.
That is one way to look at it and everyone has to do what is right for their family. However, in some careers, if you want to return, you’ve lot more than you’ll have ever saved while at home. Once the woman leaves the that career path, you’re loosing the gains that you would as your career would progress.
Love this post!
I hope I can work from home. One step at a time!
You can do it Brandi!
I work from home also and it is a money saver. We use one car. There are no daycare costs. I menu plan, shop, can, garden and cook all our meals although we were never big restauranteurs anyway. My clothing bill has gone WAAAAY down since I don’t have to pay for new work shoes, stocking, alterations on already expensive clothing, dry cleaning, you name it.
We crunched the numbers before I left work. I was scared but I never noticed a financial difference. The peaceful life at home is worth it and so much more.
Great points! My husband runs a few businesses out of our home and I try to help him out, though we do still have help with childcare. One biz is a CPA firm. Having prepared several returns for small businesses, the thousands in tax write offs for officing out of the home seems a bit high. If they’re shared expenses (like Internet), there are some limitations on how much you can deduct. Just a word of caution.
I was going to say omething similar. I used to work for the IRS, auditing small businesses and self-employed individuals. Many self-employed individuals think they can write off ALL their Internet, phone bills, etc, but that’s not normally the case. Home office expenses are a huge red flag because people often deduct way too much. Something to think about…
So how do you know how much you can and should deduct? This is something I’ve been trying to figure out and can’t really find anything definitive.
I would definitely advise speaking with a CPA when doing your returns. The amount you can deduct is figured by using square footage. The office you are using must be a DEDICATED space. If you get audited and your office is in your kitchen, you will most likely not be allowed the deduction, unless you can prove you do nothing else in your kitchen. So if you have a dedicated space, and for example, a 1000 square foot house, with a 200 square foot office, you would be allowed 20% of your Internet bill (assuming whole house Internet), electricity, etc. but again, I highly, highly advise speaking with a CPA. It’s not usually as cost-prohibitive to use a reputable CPA firm as people think!
Great questions ladies! My CPA covers all of this for me and 100% knows what she is doing!
Thanks!
I know that there are also some tricky rules when it comes to selling your house if you’ve been deducting a percentage as a business expense, which can create a pretty large tax bill if you happen to make money on the sale. It’s worth looking into very carefully if you’re considering that deduction.
Lydia and Courtney make a good point! Home office deductions are an area where caution (and probably professional advice) is warranted. The deductions that the post mentions also may not be available if you are employed by someone else, but happen to work from home.
I think in general this post would have been better written from the perspective of “working for yourself” rather than “working from home,” because as other commenters have pointed out, it could be foolhardy to think that just because you work from home, you don’t need childcare. If you work for yourself/freelance, you determine your own schedule and how much you work. But if you work for an employer, you do need childcare unless part of your agreement is that you work reduced hours.
I do and I save in all the areas you described. With a newborn, toddler and a kindergartener, I wouldn’t have earned enough in my former job with state government as an epidemiologist to pay for childcare.
So, I do writing from home. I also save on kids clothes because since I can do laundry anytime, we don’t need as many outfits. Daycare required disposable diapers and now I can use cloth. Also don’t have to buy gifts or contribute to the supplies (extra crayons, markers, glue, paper), etc that daycare required for the baby and toddler.
Four years ago when my husband and I were trying to make the desicion for me to stay home or continue working the numbers really scared us. At the time we had two boys at home and a girl on the way. If I was to stay working we would be paying out $100 a month above my income. We took a leap of faith and decided that no income would be better than paying out an extra $100 a month. It hasn’t been easy at times but four years later I wouldn’t have it any other way! I do a lot of what everyone else has been saying and we also try doing as many home repairs and projects ourself. We actually don’t feel as tight in the budget now as we did when I was working! I love hearing of new ways to save money!
Good article, but I don’t believe that being a working mom makes you spend more on groceries or eat out more. Poor planning makes a person spend more on food! I am a full-time working mom who budgets, meal plans, and is able to feed my family of 5 natural, homemade food on $400 a month. We don’t eat out often because I plan our meals each day, and we don’t go out for lunches because there are good leftovers to pack. It is very possible to do this with just a few minutes of planning time per day.
I agree. Our family is also able to only have one vehicle while both of us work. It really just depends on your personal situation.
Thanks for that, April. I’m a work-outside-the-home mom and we always have homecooked meals at home. The assumption that equates working moms with spending too much on convenience foods and eating out bothers me.
I work in an office where we have to dress professionally. I haven’t spent $1000 on work clothes in the last 10 years much less the last 1 year!
There are lots of factors to consider in the decision whether to work from home or not. And for a significant number of women, there isn’t a choice.
I agree. My husband and I both work full time and have a 4-year-old who goes full-time to preschool. I love my job. Our restaurant, clothing, technology (cable/phones/internet), and entertainment budget are all very tight. We meal plan, shop sales, cut coupons, etc. We wouldn’t be able to survive on one salary. Yes, it takes a lot of time as a working mom to meal-plan, etc, but it’s worth it to us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
I agree. I work full time and my son (and me – my husband tends to eat out more) have homemade food. I make tons of mini pancakes and mini muffins on Sundays, make batches of meatballs and freeze, lasagnas etc. I leave really early for work so that I get home earlier which I know everybody does not have the option. My husband just needs to heat up pancakes or make oatmeal for our son – fruit is washed and ready to go. I’ve already made his lunch and then dinner can me last minute where I take out something I already made, sometimes is it is easy like grilled cheese and homemade soup that was frozen. I work from home a couple of days a week and I usually cook something a bit more elaborate those days. So when we get home from swimming or scouts or whatever activity we are usually all set. Having said that we do like to go out to eat and have some extra money in our budget but we do it more as a reward/plan then because we are not prepared. I’m overaly organized so it helps and not everyone can be or have some flexibility like I do working full time. I know just as many stay at home moms that don’t cook – I think it is sometimes the person and how much they can have time for and picking what you think is a priority – no wrong or right.
How in the world doyou have a $400 month budget on food for family of five???? Esp on homemade food?? Ican’t see that here in Indiana…
Great story! I have always been a stay at home mom so I often feel unqualified to speak to women are working. You made your point very well and I’ll be using your example to make up for my lack of experience in this area.
Tracie, I don’t think that is true at all. Women like you who were stay at home mom’s were who taught and motivated me to get there! You have a voice and strengths. You bless others with tell them how YOU are doing it!
I definitely made more money by working outside the home than I do now by working at home, even when I factor in savings on things like day care. But, we don’t have access to good day care so I’m thankful for any savings I can get by staying at home.
I blogged for two years and never made a penny. I wasted hundreds upon hundreds of hours with my children that I will never get back. I would have money, but then google Adsense dropped me, and whenever I poste affiliate links (which was rarely) people would unlike my site. It was so frustrating to have wasted so much time and energy and never have seen a single penny. I even went through online blogger courses, but still didn’t see an income. I guess it just wasn’t what God wanted for us.
I blogged for over a year without making a cent. I met Erin and everything changed! She had so many more resources that I never would have found on my own and it made a world of difference. There is a certain way you have to treat affiliate links and ads so that people see the value in what you are showing them. It’s all about building a relationship with your reader’s and giving them a reason. And having a good brand partner is KEY! Having a blog mentor like Erin can get you so much further than trying to do it on your own!
Thanks Dani! SO blessed to call you my friend girl!
This is soooo true. I also quit my full time job this last summer and even though I’m not making very much yet with my blog and freelance writing we still are doing fine because of the money we are not spending with me working outside the home. It is great to be here for my children the funny thing is I think the teenager likes me home more then the little ones.
I agree Jessica! We forget that sometimes when the kids are older in the middle and high school years they need us even MORE than the little ones do. Our teenagers these days are facing a battlefield when they leave our house. Drugs, sex, inappropriate things are everywhere! Now is the time even MORE that parents have to STEP IT UP and BE THERE! Know what is going on with our kids, where they are, what is in their room, who they are socializing with. It is our JOB! And the most important one we will ever have. You are a blessing to your kids Jessica! So proud of you!
I already know the many benefits of working from the home. What I need to know is how to actually do it. I’ve tried to find legitimate work online but so far no luck. How does everyone do it?
I’d love to hear more from/about moms who work part time or make things work with a good day care. We live very simple now and could make it entirely on one income. The only problem is it would be my income as my husband’s small business is just barely even. Neither one of us would be happy with him home full time as I’d prefer to be home more and he’d want to work. We do pay a fortune for daycare 3 days a week but much, much less than my income. I hope for big changes before #3 in a few years.
Would you please tell us where the $39,ooo in 13 months came from? How did you come up with that much extra money?
I would love to know more about blogging. I was laid off 3 years ago (which at the time was shocking) we have settled down and have changed the way we do things. I love staying at home but would love to bring in a little income just to be able to save some money not only for the kids but for etc. It is so hard to find something part time that would allow me to stay at home. If there is any info on how to start a blog or a job that allows me to do stuff from home without it being sales. That would be great.
I wonder what the long-term cost of staying home is in terms of aspects such as savings and retirement. Though for some moms, it may seem that they are saving thousands a year (in childcare, etc), I’ve read some cautionary articles that pointed out that stay-at-home parents miss out on the long-term benefits of contributing to retirement throughout a career and the benefits of compounding interest.
For me, I feel that as a stay at home mom I am making deposits for eternity, which is worth more to me than any long term retirement benefits. And, in the state of our economy today, there is no guarantee that what investments I make today will even be there tomorrow.
I worried about this too Julie. I weighed the pro’s and con’s of this when I made the decision to stay at home. I decided that the foundation I was building for my kid’s was more important than any retirement could ever be. My husband and I both have fidelity accounts that we contribute to on a monthly basis for retirement. We also are hefty savers. We plan for the future. We live on one income with a budget, we have one vehicle and we are teaching our kids to be savers!
For us due to marriage?? benefit helping us because we work in same place…hubby was concerned I had no retirement plans before I went back to work full time. It was a huge worry for him. Once I went back to work it wad a huge weight lifted of him that I would be taken care of if he dies. I would have me retirement to keep me affloat.
Yes, self-employed people definitely need to be more diligent in thinking ahead. Retirement savings should be built into your budget.
With a reduction in income your social security benefits also decrease. You also have to take into consideration benefits such as health insurance, short-term disability, etc.
As others said, every case is different. I spend $400/month in daycare now that my son goes to public pre-k for 3 hours in the morning but even before it was $540 and $200/month in gas (60 miles commute round trip). I really don’t have any other expenses associated with work as I bring food everyday (ok I might go out a few times a year for someone’s bday) and I get uniforms provided. I don’t have a high paying job but the extra money is really important to cover our expenses (read debt due to poor planning and multiple periods of unemployment). On top of that my son and I would not have healthcare without my job. My husband is going to school only possible because he gets it paid by the VA and gets a small
stipend. I don’t work just because of the money, I always knew I wouldn’t stop regardless of having kids and that is a personal choice for many of us that doesn’t mean we love our children less. With that being said I’m glad for this post from Erin as many many moms that would love want to stay home feel lost when they start trying to figure out how to make it. And all of Crystal’s hard work I’m sure has made staying at home a reality for many readers.
Pay your kids to do legitimate work — the “grunt” stuff like unpacking and organizing incoming stock, shredding documents, stuffing envelopes — and their “allowance” becomes tax-deductible.
Find out how much your state/province allows as transportation expense and keep track of mileage for business purposes.
I call myself a “mostly SAHM” because I work a weekend package position (days) as an RN. I work 24 hours/weekend (get paid for 36). It works for us as our only child is in school full-time and we have no day care expenses because I am home before school and after school. I take my lunch/snacks to work and am also able to eat at work as the menu suits me (no charge).
My husband works overnights-a weekend package position as well as being a FT student. He only has class 2 days/week this semester and is gone from 7A-8P. When extra shifts are available for me to work during the week, I know I could do a M-W-F shift and we know our bases are covered as someone is still home in the AM and after school and to take him to swimming and tae kwan do lessons.
I don’t plan to stay a weekend-er forever, but this works well for our season of life right now. Our son is not at a stage where he is doing activities on the weekend really. And if he does, dad is able to take him.
I am so tired of hearing about people just deciding to work at home and trying to do medical transcription or coding. I have been a transcriptionist for over 25 years and I do work at home. It is not something you just do. I started working in medical records back in my early 20′s and had to learn the lingo. Medical lingo and the way the doctors dictate is not easy and not everyone can do it. Everyone makes it sound like it is so simple. It takes education and patience. Please do not make it sound like it is a simple job. It is a skill that takes years to perfect and even then you still learn new things every day.
Hello from Australia! I am a stay at home mum and trying to do a small graphic design business and it is nearon impossible with 2 toddlers at home. I can do a little bit in the day.. but usually save it for nights (when there isn’t anything I want to watch on tv).. I plan to grow slowly and by the time they are at school I hope to be established enough to actually earn something decent.. but I agree, we cook in most nights, we buy in bulk and I live close to everything I need so probably only put fuel in the car every 3 weeks.. it works for us, but doesn’t work for a lot of my friends.. In the end you have to do what you feel comfortable with (we still spend money don’t you worry about that.. online shopping.. the local courier knows us! )
I would LOVE to be able to work from home but I have yet to be able to find a job to do from home. I used to be an admin asst. and now I’m a preschool teacher. Any advice you have I’d love to hear!
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