How to Save Money at Work Ideas

*This post has been reviewed by an Illinois Registered CPA. However, when making important financial decisions, it's best to speak with your financial advisor.

Last Updated on September 20, 2022

Learn How to Save Money at Work Ideas

Are you among the people looking for how to save money at work ideas? Then, you might want to start saving where you probably spend most of your days – at work. From transportation costs to food expenses, there are different areas where you could learn how to save money at work. Explore some tips and strategies that offer you solutions for saving money at work.

Bring Your Own Food Instead of Eating Out 

Lunch break is that special moment of the day when you can disconnect from work to nourish your body and recharge. It’s also a good opportunity to connect with your colleagues, get to know each other better, and find out more about what’s happening in your company.

Eating out might seem a convenient solution for lunchtime, but this might cost you more than you want to spend if your objective is to save money at work. 

Americans spend on average $232 on eating out each month. This amount might not seem like a fortune, but over the years, you could achieve significant savings by reducing this expense. Here is a simulation 

Money sent each month on eating out	$232
Money spent in one year on eating out	$2,784.
Money spent in two years on eating out	$5,568.

If you multiply the $232 average amount by the number of months in a year, you get $2,784. In only two years, not eating out can help you save $5,568. If you spend half of the $232 monthly amount eating lunch at the restaurant when you’re at work, it means $116 per month. Eliminating this expense helps you save $1,392 per year.

What solutions can you choose as an alternative to eating lunch out? One option could be eating a consistent breakfast and then having just a snack at work at lunch. Some nourishing snacks ideas include

• Almonds
• Apples 
• Yogurt 
• Chia pudding 

These may help you get the energy boost you need to keep on working for a few more hours. Then, once you get home, you can cook and enjoy a lavish dinner. Another option is to prepare something to eat in the evening or in the morning and take this homemade meal at work for lunch. It can help you save money, and it might even be a healthier alternative to eating out or ordering fast foods like pizza at work. 

How to save money at work and eat lunch at the restaurant 

If giving up restaurant meals is not an option, you can try to spend less while eating lunch out at work. Here are some suggestions for this 

1. Only order one drink per lunch, preferably water, which is usually cheaper. 
2. Don’t order desserts. Buy something sweet to eat from a shop on your way back to work. 
3. Look for restaurants with cheaper meals or daily offers that cost less. 

How To Save Money At Work Ideas For Your Coffee Habits 

You might be among those people who need a cup of coffee to be able to get started each day at work. Coffee can be a great energizer and another reason to spend time chatting with your colleagues, catching up, and preparing for the day ahead. At the same time, drinking coffee can be one of those small habits that wrack your budget.

Three dollars for a takeout coffee today, four dollars for that fancy latte with vanilla topping at the café round the corner tomorrow, and the dollars slowly vanish from your wallet. At the end of the month, you might be surprised how much money you spend on takeout coffee.

With the average price per cup of coffee reaching $3,77, you might consider adjusting this expense if you don’t know how to save money at work. Drinking coffee every day at a café or restaurant or buying takeout coffee triggers weekly spending of $18,85 if you pay the average amount of $3,77 per coffee.

In a month, this means spending around $80 on coffee alone. Putting this amount aside for twelve months can help you add $960 to your savings. 

If you want to save money at work by taking small steps, a good idea can be to reduce some small expenses, such as takeout coffee. Does your employer offer any facilities to make your coffee at work, such as a coffee machine or coffee filter? If yes, you might want to take advantage of those instead of paying the barista to make your favorite morning beverage. 

An alternative is to get a coffee travel mug, make your coffee at home, and take it with you to work. 

How To Save Money At Work Ideas For Micro-Expenses

Micro-expenses are small, apparently insignificant, but frequent expenses that take a lot from your budget. Another example of micro expense you might want to eliminate or reduce if it makes part of your routine is drinking smoothies or soda. You can enjoy these refreshing drinks without paying someone else to prepare them or buying them from the cafeteria or office vending machine.

If you are not the only smoothy fan at your work, you can team up with other colleagues and split the cost of a blender to equip your workplace with one and be able to make smoothies whenever you want to.

You could also ask your employer to buy one. As for the soda habit, instead of buying cans from the vending machine, you could buy a bottle or a pack of soda from the grocery store to pay less compared to the cafeteria or vending machine prices. 

Pick the Best Work Schedule for Your Budget 

If you’re wondering how to save money at work, a great idea might be to avoid going to the office. If your employer allows you to work from home, at least a few days a month, you might want to take advantage of this opportunity and save money. Not commuting to work can help you cut the following expenses

1. Public transportation fares
2. Gas for your vehicle 
3. Takeout food and coffee 
4. Clothing 

Whether you drive to work or use public transport, home office cancels this daily expense. It can also help you save money by eating and drinking coffee at home instead of buying takeout. Working from home could even help you reduce your clothing expenses as you might not feel the urge to constantly upgrade and change your wardrobe since you spend most of your time at home. 

Hybrid or remote work schedules can help you put more money in your savings account, and they might even help you achieve a good work-life balance since you also gain more time.

If your company doesn’t accept remote work, it might allow flexible work schedules, so you could choose when to get to and leave the office. If this is possible, you could choose the best entry and exit times to avoid the peak hours in your city. This way, you could cut gas costs by spending less time in traffic. 

Save Money on Transportation While Commuting to Work 

If teleworking is not possible or you prefer the office, here are some ideas to save money on transportation at work. Commuting to and from work means two rides a day, and with gas hitting record average prices this year, this is an expense you might want to reduce. To cut gas costs, you could try to

• Use public transport if available 
• Walk to work if you’re working close to home 
• Share your rides with work colleagues 

The last option can be the most convenient if you are used to driving, or you don’t have other possibilities to get to and from work. Splitting the gas costs even with a single colleague can bring you significant savings at the end of the month. If it’s two or three colleagues sharing the same car, you’ll save even more.

The average American spends $5,000 a year on gas, according to Yardeni Research. Let’s say two-thirds of this amount goes into commuting to and from work, this means approximately $3,300. Here are the savings you can achieve by splitting the cost of driving to work with your colleagues.

Monthly amount spent on gas driving alone	$3,300
Amount spent sharing your rides with one colleague	$1,650
Amount spent sharing your rides with two colleagues	$1,100

If you share your work rides with one colleague, instead of paying $3,300 per year on gas to commute to work, you could spend half of that amount, $1,650 if you agree to split the gas bill evenly. By taking two colleagues with you and splitting the same gas cost ($3,300) into three equal parts, each one would pay $1,100.

You would save $1,650 per year with one ride buddy and $2,200 by sharing your rides with two colleagues. Besides saving money, commuting to work in your colleagues’ company can bring additional advantages, such as 

1. You get to socialize, which can make driving less boring. 
2. You can take turns driving, which can help you relax on the way to work when you’re not behind the wheel or gives you extra time to check your inbox or agenda. 
3. If you take turns using each one’s car, everyone gets to spare their vehicle some time in traffic, which might help prevent car wear and tear and lower maintenance costs.

Don’t Spend Money in Your Lunch Break 

Lunchtime is that relaxing moment when you get to take a break from endless email strings and tasks that keep piling up. To make the most of it, the first impulse might be going to the restaurant or cafeteria for a calories-packed lunch or a rewarding dessert, but these things cost money.

Did you manage to tame your lunch expenses by taking homemade food? If you still have break time left after eating it, resist the impulse of going out to buy stuff. A solution might be to stay at work and read a book. Alternatively, go out for a walk but avoid cafés, restaurants, or shops where you could spend money.

If your workplace is close to a museum or art gallery, you could go there during your lunch break and visit free exhibitions. If time allows it, you could join a free course in the area, or even a paid one if the membership is affordable, and that activity would help you relax and avoid spending money on costlier things. 

FAQ

How can I save money at work fast?

Just like the questions how can I fix my credit fast or why can’t I save money, there is no standard solution to saving money fast at work. You can get started by applying a combination of the tips mentioned above and budgeting strategies.

For example, you can reduce your takeout coffee expenses by drinking coffee at the office and strive to save 20% of your monthly income as per the 50-30-20 budget strategy. This method recommends you allocate 50% of your income to necessities, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings.

Can I save money by working remotely?

You could save significant amounts if you typically spend a lot by commuting to work or eating lunch at restaurants every day you are at work. To realize how much you could save through telework, you can calculate the approximate amount you spend monthly on gas and lunch each day you go there.

From the result, deduct the amount you spend preparing lunch at home instead of eating out since this is an expense you can’t eliminate completely. The remaining amount is how much you could save by working remotely. If you’re also wondering how to save money on groceries, there are plenty of solutions.

For example, look for discounts, buy products in bulk to pay less per item, or collect and use coupons.

How can I save money at work and still eat out?

If you can’t or don’t want to stop going to the restaurant at lunchtime, but you want to save money, you can set a fixed budget and make sure you don’t exceed it. The money envelopes system is a strategy that could help you out. This system recommends you divide your monthly expenses into several categories, such as

• Food
• Gas
• Clothes
• Rent

Each expense gets a fixed budget, and the money goes into a separate envelope. As you start spending money, you only use what’s inside the envelope for the corresponding expense.

What other budget strategies can I use to save money at work? 

You could also try using the half-payment method. This is a money-saving strategy usually dedicated to recurring expenses such as bills. It suggests you save 50% of each paycheck for specific expenses so you have the full amount by the end of the month if you have two monthly paychecks.

You can set a fixed budget for your work-related expenses and try saving money for these with this strategy. The advantage is that saving smaller amounts rather than a larger one is easier for your overall budget.

Sources:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). How much money do Americans spend on lottery tickets? U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/how-much-money-do-americans-spend-on-lottery-tickets.htm

Lang, A. (2021, November 25). 29 healthy snacks that can help you lose weight. Healthline. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/29-healthy-snacks-for-weight-loss#TOC_TITLE_HDR_11

National Average Gas Prices. AAA Gas Prices. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://gasprices.aaa.com/

Pattidomm. (2022, May 18). Households are now spending an estimated $5,000 a year on gasoline. CNBC. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/households-are-spending-the-equivalent-of-5000-a-year-on-gasoline.html

Ralph, H. (2022, March 24). The cost of a Cup. Global Coffee Report. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.gcrmag.com/the-cost-of-a-cup/