Having been 'back to regular work' for almost three months now I got to thinking about the costs of working...
And working ain't cheep.
For me personally the extra costs of doing paid work, compared to NOT doing paid work look something like this, per month...
- More lunches out = £30
- More coffees = £20
- Work clothes = £10
- Car insurance extra = £10
- Shoes = £5
- Stationary/ odds and sods = £5
- Total = ABOUT £80 a month!
https://img.inleo.io/DQmY6M1mvBJLjpBzvZiZpSVtFmUcpNUUhhMMT5oAs2JqPoh/chart%20(69).png
Now you don't really notice these little expenditures, but they do add up, to around 5% of my monthly outgoings, which is a bit shit, TBH!
Lunches and coffees
When I'm out and about I tend to fall back on the Tesco meal deal for lunch - it works - typically some wraps, a green smoothie and a protein bar for £3.50 - I actually quite like a meal deal, but it's extra compared to me being able to prepare myself something at home.
And I sometimes have an extra take-out because of work.
NB these are maybe slight over-estimates on second thoughts, but not far off.
Business car insurance
This is around £100 a more per year than regular, so £10 a month.
Clothes
I don't go too overboard, just smart casual trousers and some shirts and jumpers and then shoes.
I actually really like my new shoes, but for £60 I'd have liked the heals to have lasted more than 4 months, I just had to have them rehealed for £20! So I'm hoping £60 a year covers these.
Stationary and odds and sods.
Technically I can claim for stationary, but honestly the odd pen or plastic wallet here and there, am I gonna be arsed...?
NB this is cheap!
This is based on 0 commuting costs and only part-time hours, and no decompression costs required because the work is fairly easy.
There are plenty of jobs where commuting can add on thousands per year to the cost of working, and many people spend £100s on their work clothes every year. And if work drives you a holiday, add on another grand or more.
And let's not even get into the costs of childcare, that's getting really silly!
This makes the thought of getting a 'real' job challenging....
I honestly wouldn't mind another 'real job' for a few years maybe, but that would probably mean moving back to the SE and then renting down there and commuting into London, that would probably mean paying somewhere in region of £600-£800 a month more than what I'm paying now just to do a job, or the first £8-£10K of a salary, and then the rest to meet my needs....
It's a depressing reality that even though I don't mind the idea of changing jobs and doing something more serious, I'm not sure I could actually afford it!
Yes doing what I'm doing now has costs, but they are tiny compared to work could cost me down in the SE.
No wonder people choose to be economically inactive!!!
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I am currently coming up with a plan to get out of working :-)
In my country, investors in certain things actually have lower tax rates. So... I need to get my ass in gear and invest more and more of my take home pay into more tax friendly investments.
Of course I will probably be dead before I reach the level needed to fully live off of those things, but one can try ;-)
You can only do what you can do just try not to kill yourelf early!
I keep thinking this, so glad to have it confirmed by someone actually experiencing it (though not glad you're going through that, obviously). I see this with friends working insane hours just so they can earn enough... to go to the mall and buy clothes and do their hair or whatever... so they look nice while working more insane hours. I swear, if that doesn't sound like a Ponzi scheme...I don't know what does. xD
I guess it's a question of is the extra expenditure worth it for you specifically, and would you be able to work in a suitable area remotely, or at least in a way that would allow you to spend less? I'm sure it's easier said than figured out, though. So best of luck to you :) On the bright side, I think you're one of the few people whose work/finance posts I actually enjoy. So that's gotta be saying something. :D
I live pretty cheaply TBH - it's just basic things are so expensive!
But that mall shopping game is rather silly I agree!
Making your own packed lunch is a lot cheaper! It takes little extra time in the morning, but with a bit of careful planning it can be really quick
Oh I do that sometimes - some days it'd easy enough to just nip back for lunch too - just a couple days a week I buy out (cheaply!)
Of course not cheap. The most important one is that it takes most of time of our life. This is the biggest cost to me.
Well yes I didn't focus on time but there is that for sure!
That will learn ya....going back to work...what about friday night in the pub 100£....
Well the former is kind of unavoidable! The later I'm taking a break from too! Just a little later life stacking required!
Those costs add up. I used to spend a lot on just getting to work, but it's a bit less now. Years ago there was a series about people paying off their mortgage early and they talked about cutting these little expenses. That encouraged me to buy less sandwiches from the office cafe and make my own. I didn't pay off the mortgage then, but I must have saved a fair bit. I still make my own and take freshly ground coffee in these days to use with my Aeropress. There is free instant in the kitchen or it's a long walk to the coffee shop, so this is the convenient way to get decent coffee.
Life is a series of cost/benefit decisions.
Yes fair points - I do save costs where I can but working inevitably forces me to spend a little more!
You also may notice that for you ,earning those 80 pounds you are going to spend extra you had to
Oh yes tax I know! Yr much better of NOT doing paid work for sure!