Jeff and I started working remotely in 2017 pre-pandemic and before remote work was as much of an option as it is now. Actually, most of our family and friends thought we were nuts for leaving the stability and normalcy of the jobs we had then and opting for this work from anywhere lifestyle but we knew we were just ahead of the curve :) 

Plus, we knew we needed a change in order to have more freedom and flexibility in life. The 15 PTO days a year were not cutting it and we were burnt out at young(ish) age. We wanted to travel more and at the time we only had a dog. Now that we have a kiddo, it’s been imperative for our flexible lifestyle and to be able to show him the world at such a young age.

Prior to changing things up so we could work remotely, Jeff was an electrical engineer and I was an executive assistant to the chief digital officer of a multi-million dollar company.

When we decided we wanted the freedom and flexibility of the remote life, Jeff left his company and did a 6-month coding bootcamp and is now a senior software engineer. He works for a company and is on a salary but can work from anywhere in the world. 

And I left my company and started working freelance for some high-level entrepreneurs as an executive assistant and then as an integrator and COO. This has since led to me having my own small business doing coaching, consulting, and we even have an agency side where we connect entrepreneurs with remote workers of all kinds and implement better systems and processes for them. 

We’ve made a ton of HUGE life changes in a relatively short period of time and the other day Jeff and I were talking about how much money and time we have saved since we started working remotely. This wasn’t the initial goal of wanting to work remotely (freedom was) but it’s a wonderful byproduct for sure.

Here are some of the ways we have personally saved THOUSANDS of dollars and hours of time due to working remotely:

1. VEHICLES

Now that Jeff and I both work from home/anywhere and are usually together, we no longer needed two vehicles. So, we sold one car and only have 1 vehicle. This means we saved money because we got to pocket the cash from the car sale but also we no longer have the additional vehicle maintenance or car insurance expenses which really adds up.

2. GAS MONEY

We used to both drive at least 30 minutes each way to and from work 5 days a week. Since we don’t do that anymore, we don’t spend nearly as much money on gas and this alone has saved us SO much! We really don’t drive much at all since we work remotely.

3. CLOTHING

Since we don’t have to dress up or look nice going into offices for work, we’ve saved a lot of money not purchasing nearly as much clothing. I mean I pretty much live in athleisure nowadays and it also makes any time we do get more dressed up feel more special and like we have more clothing options. 

4. MAKEUP

I’m not wearing makeup 5 days a week anymore to look nice going into an office. I mean, I still put makeup on every once in a while for calls but I batch my coaching call days so I don’t end up wearing makeup majority of the time which if you know how much good makeup costs, it’s saved us a lot of money.

5. TIME

This one is hard to calculate but we have saved thousands of hours of time for sure since we work remotely now. Hours spent driving to and from the office, hours spent getting ready for work and the day to leave in the mornings, hours spent going to and from the gym after work (we have a gym in our house thanks to where we can live now).

6. DOGGY DAYCARE

We used to drop Leon off at a doggy daycare on our way to work a few times a week so that he wasn’t left alone at home for too long (the other days we would trade off going home on lunch breaks to let him outside for a bit). Doggy daycare isn’t cheap so not having this expense is huge plus our dog is way happier being at home with us every day!

These are just a few of the ways we came up with off the top of our heads. I’m sure there are more ways and I’d love to hear how you’ve saved money or time due to remote work as well!