Which Job Would You Take? More Money vs. Working Remotely

[loves to dive]

I'd take job B but I'm old and liked going into the office and being around other people. I'm retired now but the last 3 years of my job I worked from home and hated it. Hubby has worked from home for the last 20 years and loves it. Which was one of the reasons I didn't like it. There is such a thing as too much together time. He has an office in our basement but only goes down there if he has a meeting. Otherwise, he is sitting in our living room working on his laptop and that is not on any kind of steady time frame (he's IT). I did go down into my office because I prefer a desktop to a laptop (bookkeeper need that big number pad and calculator). My commute, most of the last 40 years, was always at least 30 minutes but I live in a fairly smallish town but there is a big University so the actual town area has a good bit of traffic.

I think part of it might be a generational thing. My DIL works from home and goes into the office maybe 2 times a month for meetings. They have a 3 year old but DIL has an office and she goes into it to work but babies being babies there are times during the day she is taking care of her. I would think that would be distracting. I worked for an IT company and our techs had physical offices but were allowed to work remotely. I hated it when a client called with a problem and I couldn't get in touch with one. I would get the run around of well I was with a client but since I was the bookkeeper and did the billing and we billed hourly and they had to do time sheets (we had a government client), I knew when they were actually with clients. A lot of people don't have the discipline to work remotely.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

That is quite a difference, but honestly I would choose working remotely for less because that drive is going to get really old really quickly.

 

[kdonnel]

Can you pay your bills with the work from home job?

If yes then WFH.

I have been WFH for over 12 years now with a short period of half a year where I had a horrible commute that took 2 to 2 and a half hours each day.

My quality of life is so much greater WFH that as long as I can pay the bills I would always pick WFH.

 

[ronandannette]

For me personally, working at home has absolutely no appeal and it was a huge flop for my company during Covid. I’d take the office setting even if the pay was the same. But that said, I’d likely not consider a job that had that sort of commute at all; I’d find something closer, which for me would be quite easy because I live right in the city, in a location central to the major routes.

 

[CynBeth]

I was not sure if I would like working from home when Covid hit but I loved it! Was so glad they decided to not have us come back to the building when things got safer and kept us remote. I like the quiet of not having to hear everyone yelling to each other over cubes and personal calls that should have been made elsewhere and not worrying about talking too loud and disturbing someone. When this time last year my former company told us we were being let go in February due to they were outsourcing my preference was to find a new job that was remote and I was lucky to have landed one. I got to keep the same hours I had at my old one. After I get off for the day I go on a walk with my DH and the dog and a lot of times during the day have a few minutes here and there for laundry and other things. My former commute was about a half hour each way would not want one any longer. Good luck with your decision!

 

[hertamaniac]

After doing long commutes for years fighting highway traffic, sun glare and snow/ice, it's an easy decision of working from home. There is no number crunching for me anymore as the thought of steep depreciation on a daily commute vehicle would just grate on me.

I'm so glad that part of my life is over, but it did provide the necessary means to where I am at today.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Neither, I'd spend more time looking for better wages.

At those rates it wouldn't make sense to not use the standard deduction vs. itemizing so depreciating the car is out. Unless you have a unicorn situation where you have tons of other deductible expenses.
Another consideration is the amount it will boost your SS check to make the extra.

 

[LilyWDW]

Totally depends on your circumstances.

For me, working from home has saved me a LOT of money. I live in a major city. I used to have a car but I ended up selling it this year because I barely drove it. Even with barely driving it, between parking, insurance, and other random costs, I am now saving $400 a month. That is a huge chunk of the budget.

Also, because again I live in the city, a 1hr commute is likely closer to 1.5 minimum. Especially when there is construction going on or an accident happens.

 

[soccerdad72]

Like others have said, there's a lot of other circumstances that would come into play. On it's face value, I would generally say that the commute would probably be worth double the salary.

 

[dizneegirl]

Do I have to worry about snow/ice during the winter on that hour-long commute? If so, it's definitely not an option for me.

 

[Skippy918]

I would try and negotiate the salary at job A first. Either way I’d still lean towards job A. Commuting for an hour sucks. Been there done that and hated it.

 

[TippyThomas]

Have you factored in the cost of the commute with gas and vehicle maintenance? That should certainly play a part in the decision as well.