Overcoming Your Husband's Objections to Telecommuting

So you are an aspiring work from home mom, and you may have already heard common objections from your husband. And maybe even from your mother-in-law. Some of the things we here are, we don't need to pay for an extra phone line. We don't have money to get you a new computer. Your employer should pay for all of that when you get your first job. Its a big waste of time, just get a real job around here.

So how do you overcome all of these questions being thrown your way. Well since men understand figures and costs, the secret lays in the numbers...

If you are presently working outside of the home, what kind of expenses do you have?

You may have car insurance on a second car you wouldn't need. Add in the cost of routine maintenance, gas, repairs, eating out at lunch time, that coffee you grab on the way to work, professional clothing, dry cleaning, a second cell phone, and if you have children, DAYCARE! Note that these expenses are ongoing.

Now compare that to getting started with a telecommuting company as an independent contractor.

Once you have your home office set up, your only monthly expenses will be the added telephone line (if required), high speed internet (most people like to have that anyway), and the electricity you are using (which is a very minimal amount).

Not everyone has these figures readily available, so I thought I would ask my good friend to share her monthly expenses from when she worked outside of the home as compared to what her current expenses are.

Working Outside of the Home

Gas - $78 (drives an average of 30 miles a day, or 650 miles a month) Insurance on second vehicle - $107 Car payment on second vehicle - $289 Maintenance allowance $7.00 (towards the cost of routine oil changes) Daycare (1 kid) - $540 Clothing - $60 (towards a yearly budget) Cell Phone - $80 Lunches - $130 (She ate out roughly three times a week) Coffee - $76 (She stopped every day at Starbucks for a __mocha) TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENSES - $1367

INCOME - $2080 at 40 hours per week and $12/hour

PROFIT - only $713 for an entire month!

Working from Home

The car was sold, so she eliminated the costs of gas, insurance, repairs, and the hefty car payments. Her son no longer went to daycare. She could go to work in her sweats, eliminating the need for work wear. She discontinued her cell phone service as soon as the contract was up and she eats lunch at home and makes her own coffee. She is saving a bunch of money!

However, there are a few expenses she now has to include:

High-speed internet - $39 Second phone line - $25 Coffee from home - $20 Lunches at home - $60

Now we will calculate her income at a slightly lower hourly rate, as telecommute jobs typically pay around $9/hour. To be realistic, we will also reduce the working hours to 30, as that is more typical of working from home.

TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENSES - $144

INCOME - $1170 at 30 hours per week

PROFIT - $1026 for an entire month!

What? More profit? Working less hours? What does that ultimately equate to?

A happier mom, which means a happier house because anyone who can work less and keep more of their paycheck will want to jump for joy!

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of http://www.telecommutingmoms.com - which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today