I'm curious how much people spend on their office supplies per month (or per year, if that would be an easier or more reliable estimate.) I will be starting an entry-level internship soon so I would imagine that the office supplies budget will not be over-the-top, it is always helpful and interesting to know how much people end up going through and/or spending for personal use though.
Barely anything, actually. Most of my pens are promotional items, and since I barely write on actual paper, they last a long time. Same applies to the paper itself, the notebooks, etc. I still have notebooks that I bought like 5 years ago, and they are either completely blank, or barely used.
I'd say that my office supply budget is less than $30 per year, and it's probably far less than that on most years. I mean, they're a tax write-off for me anyways, so I don't have to worry about the expense that much. I buy notebooks, pens, and other items whenever I need them, and it's as simple as that.
I probably spend about $55 to to $75 a month in office supplies. I mainly spend a lot of money on ink and paper. I just bought a new printer and do print a lot of papers, coupons and other charts. That is where all of my money is going to. Printing and sometimes binding.
Ink is my biggest expense, postage but I have the customer pay for the shipping charges also paper. Definitly ink I keep tying to find ways to reduce the cost of ink, I have a Kodak printer and the only way I can get the ink is to by a combo pack even when I don't need it.
I don't spend that much. My "startup" cost was a bit more because I bought new pens, post-it notes, etc, but then over time, the cost is just "here or there." Flash drives are probably the most expensive item I end up buying.
I spend very very little on office supplies. Truth be told, most of the supplies that I have are from when I was still in secondary school. Many of them are not fit for use anymore, due to some of them not working anymore, or having run out of ink, and whatnot. But I have enough to not have to buy any supplies for at least another five years, I think.
We do a lot of printing and the cartridges are expensive so sometimes we go to copy shops and do it there instead. I would say your needs will depend on what you are doing for the public. Places like Staples and Office Max make you feel like your getting a good deal but you can really break the bank. I think you need enough to get started but there is no harm with buying on ream or box at a time just so you don't go over budget. I have never averaged out our spending for office supplies though, that's probably a good thing to do.
When I was still working for a manpower agency two years back, the company I worked for allotted a budget of $50 to $60 for office supplies. We were just starting out then so it was necessary to purchase as many supplies as possible - particularly reams of short, long and A4 size bond papers. This amount gradually dropped between $30 and $40 after the company started to establish itself. There were only less than 10 employees so there was no need to spend too much. In the near future, when I get to establish my own company, I'd endeavor not to spend more $100 (provided the company grows to accommodate as many as 50 employees).
I used to spend a lot to buy paper because I work as a designer but these days I rarely buy anymore at all since I just do all of my work digitally. From time to time I'll spend to buy a few items like glue or clips or other small items I might need from the office supply store but for the most part I don't even really go to those stores all that much anymore.
I don't spend much on office supplies, I only buy the things I need the most at the best price I can get them.
I hardly ever spend more than $10 per month on office supplies. That money goes mostly into buying paper. These days I don't need to print out much anymore. I save all my data on an internet clipboard that I can also access offline. In the past I used to have to pay for my printer inks, which always amounted to around $50. But I gave all that away and found alternatives to cut down my expenses.
Not very much at all. Most of the office supplies I own were either promo materials, or I bought them during various times in the past when I needed them and I still have more than enough. Plus my office desk was already stocked when I started my current job, so I didn’t need to concern myself with it. That said, I’ve started to miss the pen collection I had when I was younger, so that’s something I’m considering restarting… though it probably won’t reach the proportions it did back in the day! More of a special treat than anything.
Being honest, I really don't spend very much at all. I don't think I have ever bought a pen in my life, because we get free ones with company logos on, and I'm not too picky when it comes to pens - so I just use them! I will either use scrap paper, bits of old newspaper or just use my laptop if I need to make any notes, so I don't often buy paper either. I just don't think that it is really necessary in this day and age when you can get so much of it for free now. Not spending anything on office supplies is a great way to save money, so is certainly something that you should be thinking about!
