How to cut costs on your home office

Do you work from home? If so, it would be reasonable to assume that you have your own personal reason for wanting to do so. For instance, a single parent may find that the only way he or she can juggle both work and childcare is by working at home, whilst the owner of a small business may simply be unable to afford a leased office for the time being.

Whatever your own reason, there is something that each and every home office worker has in common – the striving to cut costs wherever possible.

Of course, you don’t want to cut costs so much that you start to cut corners: any home business should be professional as well as economical, especially if clients ever visit.

If you’re currently working from home and looking to switch things up a bit or if you are planning on setting up your own home office and are looking to do so for as cheaply as possible, here are a few hints and tips that may benefit you.

Clean and Simple

Honestly, this may seem obvious but it is far and away the best advice we can give – keep it nice and simple. Don’t go out and blow your budget on luxury furniture and mostly useless gadgets – it’s a waste of your hard-earned money.

Instead, keep things simple. Buy only what you need, with one or two personal touches thrown in here and there to stop it looking too bare-bones. If you work at the computer, a good office chair would make a wise investment.

Don’t Go Brand-Name Crazy

It doesn’t matter whether clients are visiting the home office or not – brand names are a luxury, not a necessity, and as such you don’t need them. The only differences between a brand and a no-name product are a logo and the price.

You will be able to find many products which fulfil the same purposes as brand-name goods at a fraction of the price. Sometimes they might not look quite as shiny and new, but aesthetics aren’t everything. If you really must have the branded goods, consider looking for second-hand stuff.

Go Green

Join the legions of people being friendly toward both the environment and their wallets and go green. Although you probably don’t have the budget to afford a professionally installed eco office (but click here if you do), you should be able to do it yourself to a respectably high standard.

So what can you do to make your home office nice and green? Here are some examples: energy efficient light bulbs, recycled papers and responsibly sourced items are all good to have. You can also make sure you do your bit and recycling all of your own papers and goods, whilst making sure you reuse things as much as possible. It doesn’t have to be difficult, and it can quickly save on your expenses.