Today I am back to work with a bang, like many, the children have gone back to school and that means I am back to blogging. Many others will have headed back to the office this morning and possibly read some interesting research on their commute. The Times reported on some research that discovered that office workers can expect to spend £1700 per year on workplace treats. This includes spending on coffees, after work drinks, sponsoring colleagues and leaving presents for others.
BBC Hereford and Worcester asked me to go live on air this morning to discuss the findings and offer some money saving ideas that will help us all avoid spending money in the workplace! I love chatting on the radio and doing media opportunities so I had a read of the research and thought about how we could reduce that average £1700 spend.
As a former teacher we would have bring and share lunches, sponsorship requests and leaving gifts and after a while it does add up and if you have a limited budget it can be difficult to come up with reasons why you don’t chip in.
How to Avoid Spending at Work
There are many ways that you can reduce what you spend in the week and especially in your workplace. Many just take a simple switch of approach and you will quickly notice the savings mount up.
First up ditch that take away coffee. What starts off as a treat can quickly become a habit that costs. Instead of buying a takeout buy yourself a reusable cup, make some coffee before you will leave and get your caffeine hit that way instead. You could also buy some coffee bags or sachets that you carry in your bag to avoid buying during the day.
In terms of charity donations or sponsoring colleagues, you can say no! An easy get-out clause is explaining that you choose to support a couple of charities a year that matter to you. For example, we sponsor a child each month and also give to a couple of local charities. Beyond this, I don’t feel guilty that I can’t sponsor everyone for everything.
Make a packed lunch and ditch the meal deals, over a week this will significantly positively impact on your weekly spending. You can eat leftovers for lunch or make a packed lunch. They don’t need to be boring and you can vary things up.
Limit how often you go for those after works drinks. Don’t feel pressured into socialising with your coworkers if you don’t want to. If you do go out don’t feel that you need to drink in rounds as that quickly adds up. You may wish to drink non alcoholic drinks instead or take turns between both. This month dry January is always an option too!
Finally if you do leaving gifts for people, make a limit or suggestion a donation so that it is equal for all. Sometimes it is just really hard to know what to contribute so make an office standard for those contributing.
These simple changes can have a really positive impact on your workplace spending and that leaves you with money in your pocket to spend on what you want rather than spending that typically average £1700 a year at work.
Leave a Reply