With the pandemic coming in waves, there seems to be no sign of work from home or WFH going away anytime soon. While there have been some mixed reviews regarding this style of working, the majority seem to enjoy its many perks. And despite some of the disadvantages, you have one strong reason to celebrate – your increased bank balance.
Did you know that the average working professional in India has managed to save up to Rs. 5,000 per month by working from home? Here are 4 ways in which your bank balance is celebrating due to this working model.
4 Ways ‘Work From Home’ is Helping You Have a Better Bank Balance
1. Commuting
If you stay in a metropolitan city such as Mumbai or Bengaluru, chances are that the morning traffic is one of your biggest causes for a headache. The never-ending signals, pollution, heat, and ever increasing petrol rates are enough to stress anybody out.
Commuting has always been a nightmare regardless of whether you use your own vehicle or public transport. You may have even spent more time travelling than working. But now thanks to work from home, all these woes are distant memories.
Travel is probably one of the biggest expenditures for the average working professional but now, you have managed to save a significant amount of money (and stress) just by staying at home.
2. No Peer Pressure Buys
When you’re working with a lot of people closely, it is possible to be influenced by them and especially their purchase decisions. Maybe someone from the marketing team purchased the latest iPhone, or someone from the tech team splurged on a fancy vacation and you may want to indulge in the same.
But now that everyone is working from home, these costs are no longer relevant. This may not seem like a huge sum of money saved, but overtime costs do add up!
3. Saving on Food and Outings
Let’s face it! We all miss our post-office dinners, monthly team lunches, or just hanging out with our colleagues at the newest café in the block, but our pockets are so much heavier now. Eating out often may not seem expensive if you look at your bills individually but overtime can add up to thousands of rupees.
That being said, cooking at home has also allowed many of you to experiment with different food items and mostly healthier as well.
4. Lifestyle Expenses
How many times have we decided to indulge in a little window shopping only to actually spend money on things we do not necessarily need. A little retail therapy here and there has harmed no one but overspending is never ideal.
While online shopping is still an option, the fact that most of us cannot go out as much, definitely puts a pause on our spending as we do not need as many items as before.
Bonus
Apart from all of the above, a very important aspect that you have saved on substantially is time! Time is no less precious than money.
You have saved on time that was previously spent in traffic, in long lines, looking for parking, etc. This can now be used much more productively in a way that benefits both your physical as well as mental health.
Now, not only are you saving on a lot of expenses but you’re also getting to spend quality time with your loved ones, and that is priceless.
What to do With the Extra Money That You Saved
Now that you have saved a lot more by working from home than you could have otherwise, how can you effectively make this money work for you?
Here some simple options –
- You can top-up your emergency fund. Emergencies can strike at anytime and you must have at least 3-6 months of your salary saved for this purpose
- Investing this amount is also important. Based on your risk appetite you can choose from multiple options such as mutual funds, PPF, stocks, etc.
- You can also start saving for long-term goals such as marriage, an exotic vacation or even a new house.
In Conclusion
It has been a tough year and a half for everyone. While we do miss socializing and having the freedom to travel without worrying about a pandemic, sometimes looking at the silver lining is necessary. The option to work from home has changed office dynamics dramatically while mostly having a positive impact on your wallet.
How has working from home benefited you? Let us know in the comments below.