I am a firm believer that working in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) might actually be the best thing for your bank account. You might think that is bologna, but I am here to tell you it is the God’s honest truth. Working in an environment without access to things like your cellphone or your Amazon account changes your daily habits and expenses.
top five ways you are saving money
Here’s a deep-dive into my top five practical ways you are saving money without realizing it.
1. Fewer impulse purchases
As I mentioned above, no access to phones, smartwatches, and many unclassified internet websites. That leads us to be unable to online shop, access food delivery apps, and doomscroll (yes, that is a word), which leads to pop-up ads with impulse buys. This results in you spending less during the workday. I hate doing math in public, but from a very easy perspective, if you avoid spending just $5-$15/day, that should save you about $1,000-$3,000/year. Wild.
2. Reduction in Eating-Out/Coffee Spending
If we know anything about government work environments, we know that the early birds who open have already put a pot of coffee on. And we trust our later-arriving coworkers to keep it brewing all morning long. As long as you skip a morning drive-thru, saving money on coffee should be a cakewalk. Regarding no food apps, my main lazy reason is that I don’t trust the delivery person to follow the instructions on where to drop it off. Obviously, we can’t monitor them on our cell phones, so packing lunch and snacks is just smarter… and fiscally more responsible. Here I go again with public math- $10 a day on lunch x 200 workdays = $2,000/year.
3. We are Stuck Inside, And Our Car is Parked a Million Miles Away.
Don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Not just for our heart health because we have to walk (more like sprint run because it’s so cold right now), but we aren’t leaving for midday errands. This is saving us on extra driving, wear and tear, and gas. I think I’m starting to get more comfortable with math. $20/week in fuel (errands) = $1,000/year saved.
4. Less Pressure to Upgrade Tech & Subscriptions.
One of my favorite debates with coworkers is iPhone vs. Samsung. What I have really come to enjoy is that none of us seems to know what type of phone we have or what the latest tech is. Is that because our work enterprises push out our updates for us? Or is it because we don’t have the time or energy to stay up with the latest trends? Nonetheless, being able to downsize data plans, subscriptions, and update less frequently results in a pretty fun savings hack. I’d venture to guess $30-$80/month in savings will give you around $950-$1,000/year back in your pocket.
5. Focus on The Job Can Lead to Career Growth/Gain.
What do I mean by that? We have fewer personal distractions in the SCIF. We get our work done because we can’t bring it home. That has to equate to some monetary value, right? While it’s not instant cash savings, I believe it to be a real financial upside. Maybe it looks like… faster promotions, better bonuses, job stability? Thank the Lord – no math on this one.
Bet you never thought about it in those ways, right? Work smarter, not harder!
