One of the things I love about being self-employed is the amount of precious time it saves me. People don't realize some of the extra resources and time they put into having a job. That is one of the reasons making minimum wage at 7.25 an hour a while back. Infuriated me.
After taxes and all the resources and time invested. I was probably making less than 4.00 an hour. And that hour I "gave up" was permanently gone.
No Transportation Time
Back when I worked at UPS. I biked to and from work; It would take me 30 minutes to bike there, And 30 minutes back.
With a car that's still a 10-minute drive, So 1 hour of biking or 20 minutes of driving Every day!
UPS, Like most employers, do not pay for that.
- I worked at UPS For four years.
There are about 262 Workdays In a year; Let's just say my Attendance was "perfect." It wasn't. But we'll go off that figure anyways. UPS paid me 12.70 BEFORE tax per hour.
By biking to and from work I used 1,048 Hours Of my time, Doing nothing but biking to and from work.
Each ride was 3 miles there. 3 miles back. So six miles per day. That's 6,288 miles of wear and tear on my bicycle. And Over 1,048 hours of my time. In the four years that I worked there.
So I lost 1,048 hours of my time, And if UPS had paid me hourly for my transportation they would owe me:
13,309.60 WOW! That buys me a car!! Of course, that's before taxes. I mean, After taxes, I would probably be left with less than $10.00, But you get it.
If you do the math on a car, You'll get a smaller number of "Time wasted." But the cost of repairs also goes up for you, As well as Gas, Insurance. That of course, your employer doesn't pay. I'm not necessarily saying the employer Should pay for that, By any means. But I'm just trying to get the point across that...
JUST GOING TO WORK IS EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING!
Being self-employed you can stay home if you wish, Leaving is mostly a choice.
I never imagined that I could make so much "less" being self-employed and still get by easily, Because having a job cost me a lot of money.
NO Fast Food
This one won't apply to everyone, But most of us do NOT bag lunches, We go out to eat. It's easy it's convenient, and we are HUNGRY!
Fast food became a crazy addiction for me a while back when I was working two jobs.
I'd go to my first job at 3:00 P.m. Work until 9:00 P.m. then I had to quickly get ready, And I would have to get fast food. Carls jr/Hardees Or Mcdonalds. Then go into UPS At 10:00 P.m. I would then work until 3:00 A.m.
I worked five days a week at BOTH jobs; Then I went to college full time on the weekends. I'd get fast food; I'd be all dirty and tired from my janitorial job. Then I would go home, Quickly get ready, Then Jump on my bike, To head to my next job.
I had no time in between shifts to eat. Fast food was the only option. And it got to the point where I didn't even like the food anymore. But I was hungry so I ate it anyways.
I remember one day I added up how much I spent on fast food over the course of the year, And I was horrified.
I was eating a big chunk of money I worked so hard to make every day!
When you are self-employed, it's easy. If I get hungry, I can take a break. Cook me something to eat, Or heck, Cook a weeks worth of food, And just munch on leftovers throughout the week. It's easy, and It saves a lot of money and time. It's also better for my health. This also is the case with dinner, After my 3:00 A.m. Shift. I felt almost dead because the hour of biking and 4-5 hours of physical labor exhausted me. It was easy to go back to Mcdonalds and pick up more food Because I was hungry. Again.
Of course with willpower and practice, you can take bagged lunches to work every day and eliminate the fast food that you eat, But it's still more challenging.
You Aren't Paid, To Get Ready
Again, Not saying an employer should be required to pay for any of these extra things. But it's important that you look at it from a second perspective.
You might spend 30-1 hour getting ready every single day for your job. Your job might require a type of dress, Or shoes.
These are things YOU HAVE to buy; These are things you have to get ready and upkeep them.
All these things add up, Laundry detergent, Stain Removal. Or Replacements.
With UPS I needed rubber coated gloves, And steel-toed boots, Which cost me over 200.00 per year or more, and I was never reimbursed. I also wore out my shorts and T-Shirts so fast I was constantly buying new clothes.
As A Housekeeper I was expected To keep the two housekeeping shirts they gave me clean. So I washed laundry more often and had to remove small stains as I got them. I also was required black pants, and nonslip shoes, Which added up.
And Of course getting ready, If you are a woman. We may take longer to do our hair and makeup, But even if you are a guy, you still have to get dressed, Shower and such.
This adds up fast!
It's weird how little I have to buy clothes now that I don't have a job. My clothes and shoes last so much longer because I treat them more gently. I only have to replace my running shoes each year which costs me only 50.00
Conclusion
Start to keep track of all the extra stuff you need just to keep your job. Decide if you are getting paid what you are worth. You may think, I'm getting paid 20.00 per hour.
But are you?
You are probably making much less than you think.
If self-employment is something you want, Keep those extra expenses in mind, When you are thinking of quitting.
There are extra costs associated with Self-employment you should be aware of though...
- You pay more in tax Because you don't have an employer to cover that for you. (If you are in the U.S.)
- You have to provide your health insurance.
- No Retirement benefits from your employers (but you can still open an IRA on your own if that's something you want).
I think the big thing holding people back from being self-employed is the debt they have. I still have college debt so I can't quit work when I need the money to pay off the loans.
Wow thats a big one too! :( Hopefully you can get those loans out of the way! I know how that Is, I barley paid my loans off a couple years ago.
Yes, this, and also the benefits I get from my current employer. I definitely need the health insurance and other things, like paid holidays and vacation time, are something that do not come with being self-employed. I realize that things like this are give or take with being self-employed, and I would still love to be self employed, but financially, I just don't think it's possible for me.
Great post! I have spent the last 15 years earning an income from home on my computer and I would not trade it for anything. You hit the nail on the head with the cost savings being self-employed and working from home. I love it.
One of the hardest things to do is to treat it like a real job and force yourself to work each and every day. And don't make the same mistakes I did, make sure you take breaks away from the computer, get up, walk around, preferably outside in the fresh air. Eat right, exercise regularly, and pay attention to your health are other big things. Over the years if you do not pay attention to those things your health will take a tole. That being said their is nothing better than being your own boss. Looking forward to more posts from you. Upvoted, Resteemed
I like being my own boss , especially on this platform . No one really telling me to do shit their way.
Exactly! You have so much more control on your daily life it makes things so much less stressful.
That's true self-employment has it's benefits ) and actually a lot.
However, biking is very good for your health. So don't think about it like transportation , but rather as a training ) if you do sports , you can count how much money it saved you, which you would have spent on gym ))
Another point i would lime to highlight is - most people can't work at home efficiently and i am one of them )) when i work from home i am getting easily distracted and as result i am getting poor results. Much better solution , even if you are self-employed, is to rent a small office and work in there. It should not be like 3 hours away from you, but it should make you spend some time getting there. This is just my personal opinion , and ideas that work for me :)
It's not until you break down do you realize how much it actually cost to have a job. However, do you miss biking? Now without the job and a car you might not be as active. I would miss that part.
I do miss that part for sure! I've been trying do more outdoorsy activities, And I'm hoping my car can drive me closer to trails with trails to jog on, And Hiking trails. And I want to go on bike rides out of state too.
You make me want to get a bike! I think I would like biking trails, but if I was being honest I really want a PT cruiser. They're so cute!!
LOL!! Hhaha
Very helpful information to inform people of what is really involved in having a job. The transportation time takes a lot out of not only your day, but also you in general like my almost 1 hour train rides for my studies.
Self-employed would be amazing and you worked hard to get to where you are and be self-employed with your Steemit work etc. I notice all the little things as well but sometimes like to pay for them to enjoy. 😃
Exactly! Wow!! 1 hour? At least you can do homework on the train right?
Heheh Exactly!
Unfortunately my laptop isn't that good so I can't do homework, software development needs something decent at least but it's not too bad with the work load this semester at least hehe. Maybe I will get lucky and create a decent enough game to make enough a week to live off easily. 😆
Aww man :( Maybe you can read your textbook? or do you have a digital version!! Hopefully Steemit can maybe get you a better laptop :)
They are all either electronic books or word documents etc, so if I wanted to I could put them on my iPad.
If Steemit helped get me a better laptop, I would be so excited, at least getting me more saved towards one. :)
Wholeheartedly agree @kaylinart, can be hard to determine what you're worth per hour though, especially just starting out. I'm hoping to one day make Graphic Design my stay at home job though!
Also, think about how strong your legs got! That's a lot of peddlin if you ask me lol.
So true!! I hope you can do that too hehe. My legs did get really strong! But now I can go for bike rides for fun hehe.
That's awesome, have you tried any trail riding? I did that a few times and it's really fun, but even better workout! (Key phrase: few times). xD
I always hated having to buy business clothes. It's a breath of fresh air not having to conform!
Right? Especially when many of the clothes you won't use on your own time.
Exactly, unless I have a funeral to attend, ahah
I agree with that. Gas and food are big ones that can add up so fast!
Exactly
So very true and passive income is just as awesome too. It works for you 24 hours a day. You make money while getting ready, eating, driving, whatever :-)
Exactly! Passive Income Is the best!
@kaylinart I see a job as an entrepreneur
My job is the same as your job.
but my work is free, not as stressed as you are.
I have a lot of free time, even though I'm a private worker.
and I can do other work besides my role in private place.
but it depends on the time we share.
I think you are too.
thank you and good post
The biggest thing you don't gotta drive your butt into work each day and get ready. Seriously for most people in the USA about 2 + hours is wasted daily getting ready for work and driving into work to be on time. Thats 10 hours a week or 40 hours a month boo to that! :D
Love this post speak to the true. i'm currently transitioning myself from a 9-5 to a self employment
You have good experience in cost saving especially on this platform,sharing good
thanks
Thank you :)
welcome
Nice pro's and con's for working from home. I think it's everyone's dream to be able to work from home but they don't know how because they are use to working for someone else. @cleverbot do you think I will eventually be able to work from home?
Excellent post... greetings from Venezuela.
Thank you so much :) Hehe
very informative.. keep up the good work..
Thank you :)
You have good experience in cost saving. I inspired from this post
Thank you :)
Plus side to that old life style you had to be fit or became super fit since you had to bike to work or lift boxes now that you work at home work has nothing to do with physical labor and you have to take time to work out and diet right stupid body !
I cannot wait until I am my own boss lol. What type of business model would you recommend for someone looking to get into real estate?
Very very true. And when you have 2 kids the cost of Daycare and summer camps adds up to $30,000 ... it doesn't make sense to have a job outside the house.
Yeah it really sucks eepecially when you realize people making a little less than you and are living a lot better than you since they qualify for government assistance and you dont.
Agreed! The extra costs with self-employment sucks, but there's much bigger opportunity to earn exponential amounts with this route. It doesn't make sense to trade time for money and it's way better to build a life where you make money work for you, even if it takes years to build up the income stream(s). Great article!
Brilliant post. It is always good to work for yourself . When you go out there to work, you are chasing someone else's dream, it wastes your time and closes your mind to new ideas. Once you start working for yourself light bulbs go off and you get new ideas to make even more $$$$. Then all of a sudden you push yourself and in no time you can achieve financial freedom and totally control your time :) I am also self employed on the journey to financial freedom :)
Very well put!! I've always worried about stuff like this too! Glad to know im not alone! Great post and I'm following you now :)
In the UK the British Goverment are setting out barriers for the self-employed by put them on the same National Insurance band as for a person who works for a company as a employee. They forget self-employed don`t get paid holidays!
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Great article! Upvoted and followed! :-)
Thanks for sharing. :-)
love this! great post :)
i see many post of you i feel that you are the one who want to give respect to your post readers and i love the way you think thanks alot
Everything you stated is quite true! Somethings are overlooked by people which you have mentioned above. I never liked the idea of a job to be honest and I am glad that I am self-employed too! It gives me so much freedom & control which I would hardly get in a job. Great read @kaylinart :)
You're absolutely right... and it's kind of funny, but I have had so-called "financial experts" tell me that I can earn much more in a "real" job than from being self-employed. But the $12/hr I average working for myself is a "net" number... and remembering all the extra stuff here in your post, I'd have to make $20+ somewhere "out" in order to come out about the same.
Great post! I have worked for myself for many years and I don't think I could ever go back to working for someone else! The best boss is yourself! 🤩
that water bottle is in the shot.