3 Ways Remote Work Will Save You Money in 2024

One of the best things I've done for myself in the last few years was changing careers to one that is fully remote. I spent more than a decade working in-person for museums, and while I loved the work itself, I did not love being tied to a firm location for jobs -- it's part of why I've had to move so often.

Beyond the significant financial (not to mention emotional and mental) costs of uprooting my life every few years, there are a few other ways I'm saving money now that I can work from anywhere.

If you're considering ditching your in-person employer for one that allows remote work, here's a closer look at how you can save money in the process.

1. Commuting costs

This is perhaps the most obvious and significant way that working remotely can save you money. Whether you drive to the office or take public transportation, you likely spend a chunk of money getting to and from work every day if you're not a remote worker. Clever Real Estate found that the average commuter spends $8,466 and 19% of their annual income on getting to and from work.

This data is skewed toward people who drive their own cars to work (and must therefore pay for gas, wear and tear, and auto insurance), but public transportation isn't free, either. If you live and work in New York City, you can expect to pay $132 for 30 days of unlimited bus and subway rides, for example.

None of this accounts for the less tangible costs of a terrible commute. How much time do you spend getting to and from work? How bad is the traffic? How crowded and unpleasant is the bus or train? And if the weather is bad, how much additional time and stress does it add to your commute? For the vast majority of my museum career, I had a fairly short commute of just a few miles (yes, I was lucky). But I spent a fair number of those years living in areas that have severe winter weather, and I hate driving in the snow. The stress of a longer-than-usual white-knuckle drive to work made me extremely unhappy. And now that I'm a remote freelancer, the fact that I never have to drive to work, period, let alone in a foot of snow, is sincerely amazing.

2. Work wardrobe

The cliche is that remote workers roll out of bed and spend the workday in their pajamas. Let me dispel that myth for you -- I have designated "work loungewear," and do in fact shower every single day before I officially start my work day. If I have a Zoom meeting or something special happening, I might dress up a little more, but my work wardrobe these days is a far cry from the days when I worked in museums and might have to give a tour, meet with high-profile donors, present to the public, or install/take down an exhibit on any given day.

While it's difficult to pin down just how much the average person spends on their work wardrobe, it's fair to say that the clothes I wear to work these days (chosen for warmth and comfort; I watch my heat at home to save money in winter) are far cheaper than what I used to buy for my in-person jobs.

According to research from The Ascent, an average American household spent $162 on apparel and related costs per month in 2022. With remote work, I have had many months where I bought no apparel of any kind -- and my most recent clothing expenses were items for a vacation, rather than work.

3. Vacation time

While I do believe it's important to actually take time off work, if you can do your job from anywhere, you might not have to take off as much time as you might otherwise. For example, you might be able to use the time you spend getting to and from a vacation destination doing some work, thereby meaning you can take less paid vacation time, if you get that at work. Imagine getting to work a full or partial day from a plane or train, for example.

For those of us who are self-employed, doing our job from anywhere could mean getting to take less unpaid time off. I recently found myself with an entire day to kill in an airport after my flights home from vacation were unexpectedly rebooked (and I didn't find out until after arriving at the airport at 5:15 a.m.).

While I was a little bitter that I could've slept in and taken one last walk on a tropical beach had I known about the change earlier, I made lemonade from those lemons and spent the day working from an airport lounge. That was time I would've lost to travel anyway, and instead I got to defray some of the cost of my trip.

Despite the complaints of high-profile CEOs and demands that workers "return to the office," remote work isn't going away. A lot of American workers love the flexibility it gives -- as well as the personal finance benefits like those discussed above.