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 you 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.