Are you considering working from home? How about starting an business? Do you think it costs too much? Here’s 15 ways it actually pays you to work for yourself.

So what’s stopping you? You might not be sure what you want to do. There’s lots of ideas on the internet, just do a search for some. You might not be able to afford to quit work and start an business. I wouldn’t recommend you do that anyway; instead try to start something on the side and work on it in your spare time until you get it going to where you can quit your job.

Or maybe you are afraid that it is just too expensive to start a business from home and work online or for yourself.

That’s why I’ve come up with a little list of 15 ways that it actually pays you to work for yourself. Having a job and working for someone else gives you expenses that you may not even consider.

In no particular order, here is a list of 15 ways you save when you work for yourself:

1. Save money on work clothes – no more expensive suits, shoes, ties, pants, etc

2. Save money on lunches – when you spend $5 per day on lunch, that is $100 a month you are spending.

3. Gas – how much do you spend commuting to work, or if you have a sales job, driving around all day?

4. Association fees – some jobs require their employees to maintain association memberships

5. Union dues – Same as # 4

6. Desk rental fees – Can you believe some jobs actually require their employees to pay for the privilege of having a desk at the office? Insurance agents and realtors are a few.

7. Car maintenance – if the job you have requires a long commute, you car will need more maintenance?

8. Lunches with clients – this will certainly cost you more than $5 a meal, and not everyone has a corporate expense account or gets reimbursed

9. Office gift giving – how many times have you had to pitch in to by the boss a gift, the secretary a gift, someone who is having a birthday a gift?

10. Pay yourself – how much more money could you make if you kept all the profits yourself? If you are in sales, you are making money for someone else when you could be keeping all the profits for yourself

11. Professional upkeep – for personal maintenance, things such as hair, nails, etc. Sure, those might be things you’d do anyway, but maybe not as often

12. Lost time during commutes – in some places it is not unheard of for a worker to commute 1 hour one-way to work – one way! Spending 2 hours driving back and forth to the office each day is 40 hours in a month, or 1 week’s work! Know what, that’s time you lose and you don’t get paid for it. Do you think that’s worth something?

13. Cell phone bills – see #12 above…what are you doing during that long commute? Talking on the cell phone?

14. Overnight stays – some jobs keep you on the road, or require you to attend out of town training. Not all jobs reimburse for that as well.

15. A really big way to save money – tax write-offs! People who start a business and work for themselves have a load of deductions they can take on their taxes.

This is definitely not a complete list, but just a little something to get you thinking. There a ways to start a money making website for very little or no cost to you. There are low-cost franchises you can check into. You could even take a look at what it would take to do what you are doing right now, but as an independent contractor or out on your own.

It is a good idea to start looking now. Put a plan together, work on it in your spare time and build it up to the day when you can finally have your business from home, work for yourself and enjoy the rewards of being your own boss!