by Sharon Chapman

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: January 16, 2009

Home offices have been around for many years. Dad or mom had a desk in an extra room or a cubby hole where they compiled and paid the household bills, filled out the yearly taxes and stored the family health and other records. Nowadays, the home office has expanded to include dedicated rooms for the telecommuters and freelancers to perform a variety of tasks ranging from bookkeeping to architectural design. The computer and Internet have made working from home a true vocation in every sense of the word. Furnishing the home office and stocking the basic supplies doesn't have to break the bank. The following tips are a good guide to setting up and maintaining your home office on a budget.

Computer: No matter what type computer you have you need to make sure you have enough space on your hard drive to save important files. As a telecommuter or freelancer you are responsible for saving and keeping client files. (See section on backups.) Your system doesn't have to be a top-of-the line computer as long as you have enough memory to run the software needed for your specific clients. Your current system can be updated on a budget far less than purchasing a new computer.

Software: There are literally hundreds of thousands of types of software on the market. Job specific software will be a costly item, for example, graphic design software such as Adobe Suites can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Be prepared for this cost. There are alternatives to some software, such as Photoshop Elements instead of full blown Photoshop. However, do your research and make sure the products you choose perform the necessary tasks.

Regardless of the field you will be working in, you will most likely need word processing software and an email client such as Microsoft Office or you can choose a freeware program such as Open Office (www.openoffice.org which is compatible with Office and makes sharing documents with your clients easy. Additionally, you will want to obtain a PDF maker, there are many on the market which can be inexpensive or even free, such as Primo PDF Maker (www.primopdf.com). A PDF maker is invaluable tool, as it allows you to send work files to clients and other people that are not as easily editable as the document itself.

Back-Up Hard Drive or Location: Consider this, your biggest client has a deadline and you have finally reached completion. Just before you hit the send button on your email, your computer crashes and is not recoverable. Without a backup source you have

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