Want to Telecommute? Do the Math!
by Rosalind Mays

Messages I’ve received recently:

I’m looking for a telecommuting job but I can’t take a pay cut. Do you know of any telecommuting jobs that pay $15-20 an hour?

I make $40,000 a year and I can’t possibly live on anything lower than that. Help me find something around that salary!

I say poppycock to these messages! Of course you can take a pay cut and most likely you will if you seriously decide to telecommute, unless you have specialized skills such as computer programming or something along those lines. That’s the bad news, here’s the good news. You won’t even miss the regular salary.

Don’t stop reading! It’s absolutely true and let me explain way.

If you try to find home employment with your current commuter wage, you may be pushing yourself out of the running for a legitimate telecommuting job. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate for slave labor and I’m not an advocate for employers paying employees sub-standard wages. I believe that everyone should make as high a salary as the market can bear. Never, ever settle for anything lower than the regular going rate.

This is the greatest secret of telecommuting that I’ve found. By doing simple math, I will show you how you will come out ahead of “the game” by accepting a job that pays you half your “regular” salary. Ready?

Let’s compare my previous “commuter” job making $15.63 an hour . . .
$2500 a month
- $500 (20% in taxes)
- $370 (Gas, car maintenance, parking fees, subway tickets, bus tickets, etc.)
- $75 (dry cleaning, stockings, purchase clothes, etc.)
- $200 (lunch, snacks, Girl Scout cookies, etc.)
- $600 (child care)
- $200 (misc.: convenience foods, take-out, etc.)
_____________
$555 TOTAL TAKE HOME PAY

Examine this figure closely. When I “commuted” to work, I actually brought home a sub-minimum wage salary ($3.47 an hour to be exact).

Now compare these figures to my “telecommuter” job making $7.50 an hour . . .
$1200 a month
- $240 (20% in taxes)
- $100 (electric bills, phone bill, etc.)
- $0 transportation
- $0 clothes
- $0 food
- $0 child care
________________________
$860 TOTAL TAKE HOME PAY

Do you see this? I make half the salary that I made before and I still bring home $300 a month more than with my regular “commuter” job.

The numbers speak for themselves. In my case, my family is benefiting from more money and full-time care of the children. If you are truly ready to become a telecommuter, do the math. Do exactly what I illustrated above. Assess your salary and subtract all your expenses to get your “take home” pay. Take home pay is the real money that makes a difference in your household. Divide your “take home pay” by the hours you worked for that paycheck. This is true hourly amount you are getting. THIS is the salary amount you can not go below when you are looking for telecommuting work.

Don’t turn down that telecommuting job because they are offering you a 50% pay cut! Do the math and find out if you’re actually getting a raise! Good luck!

Happy Hunting!

© copyright 1998-2001 Rosalind Mays

 

About the Author

Rosalind Mays, best-selling author of The Real Deal on Telecommuting, and co-author of Get Your Money Back! Stop Scammers and Save Your Dollars, works at home as an Internet Researcher. She hopes her advice and report (which compiles all the information she found while searching for her current job) will shorten other job seeker's time in finding legitimate work at home opportunities. Visit http://telecommuting.cjb.net for a free list of telecommuting jobs compiled monthly. Go to: http://www.siennapublishing.com to learn more about her books. She may be reached via e-mail RozMW@aol.com.

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