Comments on: 20 Tips to Save Money on a Home Office

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:55:23 +0000

Great article. I would also add leave the printer out of the equation. With today’s technology we can almost serve our customers one percent on line. If you need to print important documents use a print shop. It is cheaper in the long run and saves not only paper, but energy and time.

By: Bill Peschel

Bill Peschel — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:48:17 +0000

Added bonus for using library is if it is part of an Interlibrary Loan service (ILL). This free service will see if your book is available at other libraries across the country. The service is also good for DVDs and audiobooks. The one I use in Hershey has gone the extra mile to get me rare and little-known books.

By: Stuart Warner

Stuart Warner — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:23:47 +0000

Interesting tips. You mentioned a scanner in passing in the fax tip. I find a scanner is great for scanning notes and as many documents as possible which can save filing space and is easier to retrieve at a later date. A scanner also saves the need to purchase a photocopier for just occasional copies.

By: Kim Haas

Kim Haas — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:54:57 +0000

Great list – some of these are even familiar to me – I like looking around for surplus office furniture – if there’s one in your area, you can usually get great office furniture at a fraction of the cost.

By: Bill Canaday

Bill Canaday — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:44:11 +0000

Good list.

Make certain that the ‘desk‘ is large enough to sustain both a computer AND a normal writing area.

Good seating is worth looking into, as well.

And good lighting. I got rid of the single 75w x 2 ceiling fixture in my 10′x13′ SOHO and installed two 4- tube T8 fixtures and it has made a TON of difference in how easy it is to do actual work and keep things clean.

By: Bill Canaday

Bill Canaday — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:39:50 +0000

When digging into a used printer, daub the print head area generously with cotton swabs dipped in 90% rubbing alcohol. Best to use are the wooden stem swabs with long stems to keep yourself ink free.

There’s a better than even chance that this will get you rolling again.

OTOH, many printers have a doomsday chip that counts how often the cartridges have been changed and that kill the printer when the count is reached … no matter how well it is actually working at the moment.

Still, if you got the printer for the cost of a fresh set of cartridges and a couple cotton swabs, it’s hard to argue the loss.

By: kelemvor

kelemvor — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:56:19 +0000

I agree completely with your #5 comment. Virtual phone systems and advanced 800 numbers are real moneysavers. Many of the ones like gotvmail and others also give out options like play it on mobile for voice mail, and vanity answering, which builds up a small business’ professional image. Best of all, as you mentioned, it’s hella cheap.

By: care4inkjet

care4inkjet — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:19:18 +0000

ad # 17: don’t unplug an inkjet printer. It needs the power to regularly rinse the jets.

If you unplug, the head may dry out, and even if it doesn’t, after the power returns the printer will do a thorough rinse — the ink of which may cost you more than the saved electricity.

For longer downtimes, one could use old and cleaned cartridges filled with distilled water instead of the ink — haven’t tried it, though.

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:37:53 +0000

@Jon – Check into Sprint’s EVDO service. They seem to have the best deal and best coverage for a fully mobile solution. For higher speed, look for a wireless isp, or wisp. Doing a google search for your town name, state, and WISP may give you some options. Also try calling a local computer store as they are likely to hire the types of people who will keep up on these things.

Also Sprint is rolling out WIMAX. I don’t know how well it works, but check out: http://www.xohm.com. It is higher speed than EVDO, but will start with much more limited availability.

Also check with your local phone company about “dry dsl” or “naked dsl”. We have DSL at our house without phone service through AT&T. It is $28 per month, so it is about half the price of a cable modem.

Another option is to look at sharing with your neighbor. Check your TOS, but you might be able to talk a neighbor into sharing in exchange for upgrading his network equipment or something similar.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:15:58 +0000

My wife and I have been using only cell phones for about a year without any real problems. We both call our families out of state and even locally without approaching our 700 minute/month limit – except for this last month – Ouch!!
Anyway, since we don’t have a land line, I think we are pretty stuck with using the local cable company for high speed internet – any they just raised the priced about 12%. I can’t find anything on-line about a local wireless internet provider for a desk top computer. You mentioned that this is emerging in some locales. Can you provide some more information on this option?

Thanks.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:33:57 +0000

re #8 Make sure you surge protect your phone line and/or cable modem. No sense having UPS and surge protection for your power and let a lighting strike come in on the cable and phone lines to fry your PC. Bye bye data.

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:41:21 +0000

@infomom – I didn’t realize people still used the inkjet printers that don’t replace the heads with the cartridges. :) With the HP printers, most of them replace everything that can become clogged when you change out the cartridge. The ideal printer is one that is currently working and has just been pulled out because it isn’t needed any more.

@Shawn – You found me out! Actually I have no idea what happened there. I’m not wondering what the 9th tip was. :) I think I leave it to see how many other people notice. Thanks for pointing it out.

By: Shawn Levasseur

Shawn Levasseur — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:33:21 +0000

Way to save on blogging: Only deliver 19 tips on a 20 tips list, and hope the readers don’t notice the absence of tip #9.

By: infmom

infmom — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:08:53 +0000

The only problem with trying to reuse someone’s old inkjet printer is that if it hasn’t been used for a while, the print heads may be clogged with old ink and it may be beyond the printer’s capacity to clean them itself. You wil thus be out the cost of a couple of ink cartridges (not cheap) plus whatever your time is worth. That could easily be equal to or greater than the price of a new basic inkjet printer.

Inkjets need to be used on a regular basis to keep them happy. Even the HP models that have print head and ink cartridge all in the same unit. Don’t accept a secondhand printer you haven’t seen working first.