Everything in life carries a cost — and that includes your job.
In fact, the typical full-time worker shells out $276 each month — roughly$3,300annually (!) — simply to get to and perform their job,according to a recent CareerBuilder poll.
Yep: You can mentally deduct about $3,000 from your yearly pay right away. And because the survey figures reflect post-tax amounts, the hit to your take-home is even more meaningful than it looks.
Oof.
Hidden Costs of Having a Job
Earlier this year, CareerBuilder questioned 3,031 full-time U.S. employees online via Harris Poll to estimate how much they spend on job-related items and services.
The short verdict: far more than people realized.
The sizeable yearly total covers the predictable things — commuting and lunch — but also captures less obvious outlays, like pet sitting and expenses tied to seeking employment in the first place.
Many work-related bills are unavoidable — after all, you need that job to afford them and the rest of your expenses.
“The cost of work is often what the rest of your budget orbits,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder.
She notes that being aware of your total work-related spending can help you identify places to trim.
“You can commit to bringing lunch each day, stop buying coffee out, hunt for cheaper professional attire. Controlling those expenses can free up money for unavoidable items like commuting and child care.”
So where is all that money going?
Here’s how workers are allocating cash to get to and perform their jobs:
Transportation: Around $25 a Week
If you’relike the majority of Americans, you probably drive to your job. Indeed, 84% of those surveyed said they commute by car.
Driving obviously entails costs — fuel being the most obvious.
Fortunately, 63% of drivers say they spend under $25 on gas weekly.
But the poll doesn’t detail additional vehicle costs, like upkeep and insurance — or the depreciation on the shiny new cars many of us prefer to park in the driveway (long live the trusty old beater!).
Think public transit saves money? Think again.
While it’s certainly more eco-friendly, of respondents who ride public transit daily reported spending $25 a week or more on fares.
Lunch and Coffee: Roughly $30 a Week
We were glad to see that almost three-quarters of respondents bring their lunch to work.Nice job, Savinly Readers!
Of course, food still costs money, even when bought at the grocery store and prepared at home.
But a homemade lunch is generally cheaper than the office cafeteria. Case in point: Among those who purchase meals during the workweek, half said they spend $25 or more per week on lunch… and 13% said they spend $50 or more.Yowch.
Coffee is a small but persistent expense — just under half of workers reported buying coffee out rather than brewing at home.
And while 71% said they spend less than $10 weekly on coffee, that leaves 29% spending more.
For 3% of workers, that figure is $25 or higher. Hipsters.
Child and Pet Care: About $125 a Week
Roughly one-third of parents with children under 18 pay for daycare (rather than relying on after-school programs or family members to help).
But more than a third of those who pay for childcare spend big: $500 or more per month. In some places, that’s enough to lease an apartment for your kid!
CareerBuilder also found most workers don’t have large weekday pet-care bills. Among those with pets, over 50% reported paying $10 or less per week for pet-related services.
Clothes, Shoes and Accessories: About $8 a Week
This category is a bit fuzzier, since many garments serve double duty for work and life outside the office — even if you tell yourself they’re strictly professional.
Still, you probably wouldn’t wear a suit to the gym, and there’s value in “dressing the part.” Even in casual workplaces, you need some decent pieces for interviews and meetings, and everyday work clothes wear out.
Clothing is pricey. Nearly half of respondents said they spend more than $250 per year on work-specific clothes, shoes and accessories — and close to a quarter spend over $500.
The poshiest 2% reported spending more than $2,000 a year on attire. Hope “dress for the job you want” pays off, because you’ll need that income!
If you spend $400 in a year on workwear and you work 50 weeks, that’s roughly $8 per week… just to show up clothed.
Searching for a New Job: $200 Each Time
While most respondents (81%) said they didn’t incur expenses while job-hunting, those who did often spent big: $200 or more per job search.
Clothing, transportation and travel made up much of that sum, but people also paid for networking events, recruiters and printing services.
Can we agree to swap LinkedIn links and PDFs for stacks of paper resumes already?
Ways to Stop Paying to Work
Some of these weekly figures may seem trivial (what’s $30 to avoid PB&J?), but that money could buy you far better long-term returns than cafeteria food.
For example, if you put the $25 you spend on weekly lunchesinto savings insteadstarting at age 21, you could build a nest egg large enough to retire by 65.
That’s motivation enough to brown-bag more often.
Obviously, working remotely eliminates commuting costs.
(It also helps the planet — and saves time you’d otherwise waste on a commute!)
But you may still need childcare if you have kids — not to mention the other hidden charges you might be overlooking.
You could start a side gig to offset the “tax” of your main job… but be mindful that side hustles bring their own expenses.
I suppose we’ll have to accept it: Almost nothing in life comes for free.
Not even the chance to earn money.
Your Turn: What job-related costs do you shoulder? How do you cut back on them?
Alex Ramirez is a staff writer at Savinly. His work has appeared on a variety of sites. Find @AlexRamirez on Twitter to say hi.
