Working From Home: Are You Actually Saving Money or Just Avoiding the Commute?

By the end of the year, most people are tired.

Not just physically tired, but mentally worn down by routines that no longer feel purposeful. The commute. The meetings. The noise. The sense that time keeps getting swallowed up by things that don’t really matter.

So when working from home became mainstream, it felt like relief.

For parents, it felt like survival. No mad rush between school drop-off and traffic. No guilt about being late.
For younger professionals, it felt like freedom. Less structure. Less scrutiny. More control.
For managers, it felt like progress. Flexible teams, fewer complaints, happier staff.

And almost everyone agreed on one thing.

“At least it saves money.”

That assumption is so widely accepted now that very few people ever stop to question it.

I think that’s a mistake.

The Moment I Started Questioning It

This really landed for me watching my son and his partner.

They live in a two-bedroom apartment. Years ago, that second bedroom would have been rented out to a housemate. It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked. The rent was lighter. The pressure was lower.

Today, that second bedroom is a permanent home office.

No judgement. It suits their work and their lifestyle.

But financially, it’s a completely different equation. In a housing market where every extra room comes at a premium, they’re paying full rent for space that no longer offsets their costs in any way.

What struck me wasn’t the decision itself.

It was that they didn’t see it as a financial decision at all.

It was just “how things are now”.

And that’s where working from home becomes interesting. Once a cost blends into lifestyle, it stops being questioned.

The Travel Savings Story We Tell Ourselves

Whenever this topic comes up, the same line appears.

“At least I’m not paying for petrol.”

And yes, commuting costs money. Petrol, tolls, parking, public transport. Anyone who’s spent time in traffic knows that.

But here’s the comparison most people never make properly.

When you go into an office, someone else pays for the environment you work in.

The electricity.
The heating or air conditioning.
The internet.
The lighting.
The desk and chair.
The coffee machine humming away in the kitchen.

When you work from home, all of that quietly becomes your responsibility.

Every hot day when the air conditioner runs all afternoon.
Every online meeting pulling bandwidth.
Every coffee you make yourself at your own expense.

None of these costs jump out. They don’t arrive as invoices marked “work”. They’re absorbed into household bills and slowly normalised.

Parents simply carry them.
Younger professionals rarely track them.
Managers often don’t realise their teams are absorbing them at all.

But absorbed doesn’t mean free.

The Tax Deduction Comfort Blanket

At this point, someone usually says, “But I claim it on tax.”

That line gives people a lot of comfort.

Unfortunately, it’s often misplaced.

A tax deduction doesn’t refund what you spend. It reduces your taxable income. Spending a dollar to get thirty cents back still means you’re out seventy cents.

Yet I regularly see people justify larger homes, extra rooms, expensive desks and chairs because “it’s deductible”.

That thinking feels smart in the short term. Over time, it quietly chips away at financial progress.

Why This Matters More Than We Admit

None of this means working from home is wrong.

For many parents, it’s the only way life functions.
For some roles, it genuinely improves focus.
For certain stages of life, it’s a gift.

But it is a financial decision, whether we treat it like one or not.

And as we head into a new year, that’s worth sitting with.

Because convenience has a habit of disguising cost.

A Question to Take Into 2026

So here’s the question I’d encourage you to ask yourself over the break, without judgement and without defensiveness.

Am I actually saving money by working from home?
Or am I just avoiding discomfort and calling it a saving?

Sometimes paying for comfort is absolutely worth it.

But clarity matters.

If reading this has made you pause and think, “I’ve never actually looked at it that way,” you’re not alone. These conversations often start with work, money, or lifestyle choices, but they usually lead to something deeper: clarity. If you’d like to talk it through, I offer a 20-minute complimentary session to help you unpack how your current work setup fits into the bigger picture of your finances and life. No pressure, just a practical conversation. And if you’d like more reflections like this, you can follow Financial Wellness Hub on Facebook where we regularly share insights to help you make more confident, considered decisions heading into the next chapter.