Working From Home

[crokett]

I have a job where as long as I have an internet connection and a phone I can do my job (and sometimes I've done it without the phone). I work from home at least 1 day a week but lately have been averaging 8 days a month, give or take. I noticed this week it has been longer than usual since I did the last oil change on my car and played with some numbers. I drive, on average 60 miles round trip. 60*8 days = 480 miles a month. 12* 480 = 5760 miles for the year, which is an oil change and almost 200 gallons of gas saved. Of course this assumes I take no vacations.

Now I wonder if I could put that money towards a tool fund....

[shoottx]

I found out a long time ago cost avoidance and cost savings are great corporate concepts, but the concepts do not translate well to our household budget!

[Ed62]

Now I wonder if I could put that money towards a tool fund....

You'll have to check that out with the financial secretary when she gets home.

Ed

[docrowan]

I have a 6 year old and a 2 month old at home, plus a stay-at-home wife. No way can I work from home.

[catta12]

I have a 6 year old and a 2 month old at home, plus a stay-at-home wife. No way can I work from home.

Sounds like you have to go to work to get some rest

[crokett]

I have a 6 year old and a 2 month old at home, plus a stay-at-home wife. No way can I work from home.

I have a 4 and 2yr old, in-home daycare for half the day and a wife who is home the other half. I go downstairs, shut the door to the 'office' and am at work. It took my wife a bit to adjust to me ignoring the crying but she now understands. Now, if the kids are screaming (really hurt) then I will come upstairs. The kids are are good about leaving me alone, although that did take a bit of enforcement at first.

[jackellis]

I've worked from home for more than half of the last 15 years and the avoided commute stress alone may add 10 years to my life! Many weeks I don't leave the house between Monday and Friday.

We have no human children but we do have two cats. One can be very demanding during the day. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand timeouts (he's in my lap at the moment). The other just moans for food around mealtimes.

The bigger distraction is my wife. She and I share the room that's set aside as an office and very often she forgets that just because I'm staring into space doesn't mean I'll tolerate an interruption.

I'll have my own home office with a door I can shut soon enough.

[Hellrazor]

I go home from work at the end of the day and keep getting phone calls. Does that count as working from home?

[thrytis]

If you wouldn't have anyone home if you went into work, don't forget about the extra expenses of working at home. There is the extra heating or cooling cost because you can't turn down the thermostat during the day, extra electric for running computers all day long, and extra water cost (from the toilet). Even so, telecommuting is cheaper than my 100+ mile one way commute, and i wouldn't give up 30 minutes of shop time as part of my lunch hour.

[twistsol]

For the past 15 of the past 20 years, I've been working at different client sites which means I fly out on Sunday night and get home on Thursday night or Friday morning. On the rare occasions I worked Fridays, I would work from home. Benefits are three day weekends every week, I can turn AMEX points into about $1500 in home depot gift cards per year, and haven't paid for a hotel, flight, or rental car while on vacation in years. I have over a million miles on two airlines.

The last couple of years I've been on the road a total of 18 weeks and worked from my home office. At the beginning of this year, I took my first ever real job and have a 120 mile round trip commute but work at home on Mondays and Fridays, and often on Wednesdays if I don't have alot of meetings. I haven't been in an airport or hotel for work since last June and I love it, the 60% pay cut as a bit tough to take.