The main motivation for most people to work is to make money. People may enjoy what they do at their job, but getting money is the main goal of going to work.
We often don’t think enough about what other things our job impacts in our lives. Car insurance and occupation are tied together much more than people realize. Certain jobs are attractive to car insurance companies, and you can get discounts on your policy depending on your employment.
We’ll also discuss some of the other benefits and detractions of working in certain industries. This can range from the retirement benefits certain people get to extra taxes that have to be paid if you are an entrepreneur or a freelancer.
#1 – Auto Insurance
People may not know a job can influence the price of their auto insurance. This is because many employers will look at the risks your job puts you into on the road. Let’s cover some of the jobs that will have higher insurance rates.
Someone who works long hours and goes home late, like a food service worker or a grocery clerk, will have higher insurance rates. The person who does a job like this is going to be more tired than someone who works remotely (although there is a different kind of burnout associated with working from home).
Remote workers have found during the pandemic they can save money on insurance. Jobs occupied by office workers before the pandemic are now low-risk if they are done from home.
If you want a basic way of figuring out whether a job is going to increase or decrease your car insurance, just ask your insurance agent. Your agent might ask some questions to better answer you. What hours are you going to be driving? Any job that forces someone into riskier driving is going to have higher rates.
#2 – Risks of Being Self-Employed
Just because remote work is great for auto insurance costs doesn’t mean it saves money in other areas of life. This is especially true if you are a self-employed person. There is a lot of extra financial responsibility that comes with being your own boss, including not having the usual employer-related safety nets such as unemployment benefits.
Let’s talk about a few of them.
If you are a freelancer, taxes are a little more complicated and expensive. This is because you don’t have an employer to pay for half of your Social Security. This is a self-employed tax, and you are responsible for all of it. This is something to keep in mind when you want to work for yourself. With freedom often comes a lot more heavy lifting individually.
It’s also a lot harder to create a retirement plan when you are self-employed. People who work for a company are sometimes provided with some sort of Voluntary Investment Program (also referred to as a VIP) or 401(k) that sees contributions from the company. Freelance workers need to budget more carefully to make sure they have money to retire when they get older.
#3 – Dangerous Jobs
Some people have to worry more than others about getting hurt on the job. If you work as an accountant, punching numbers into the computer all day is pretty low risk. But what about construction workers?
Many people have accidents doing this line of work. This means folks who build and construct should look into the best medical insurance possible.
Before you decide to go into a career field that constantly puts you in harm’s way, try to evaluate your ability to stay safe on the job. Are you someone who can focus on a tough task that is physically demanding? Sometimes being out of shape is the biggest risk in doing one of these jobs.
#4 – Cost of Clothing
Not every job has a strict dress code. Working retail is going to involve wearing the uniform of the company you work for, which might just be a simple shirt-and-pants combination. As you work your way up through a corporate job, wearing suits and dress slacks is going to be the norm.
Set out a budget strictly for your clothing when you get a new job with higher expectations around what the workers wear. If you are an entrepreneur who is used to talking with buyers and other parties who are interested in your business, you may already come to expect this. Being the boss comes with added responsibility and expense.
We all need to work to make a living, but some jobs add extra expenses to our lives we simply can’t overcome. Try to think about what job not only suits your interests but also your lifestyle and pocketbook. It can be difficult to see all of the little things costing you until you get into the workplace, though.
Think about things like auto insurance, medical insurance, and the ability to save money by working remotely are some of the most important things to think about when job hunting. You could see your money grow if you consider all of these aspects of your job.