If you are starting an office at home for the purpose of saving money, you should not spend a lot on the things you need. However, there are some things you should not skimp on. Here are some investments that are worth it when outfitting your home office.

• If you are truly serious about your home office, you will need a place to work. You do not have to buy an expensive oak desk; a desk that costs less than $50 will do what it needs to do. First, you must know what you will primarily use it for, then take your work habits and the tools you need into consideration, figure out how much space you can spare, and then you can take the actual desk into account. This may be its surface, durability, quality, and the like. Here are some pros for different desks from Apartment Therapy:

Corner Desk

+ Flexible, fits in difficult room layouts.
+ Great for multi-purpose rooms like kitchens or living rooms.

L-Shaped Desk

+ Everything is closer than if you were sitting at a long desk of the same length.
+ “Divided” desk space.

U-Shaped Desk

+ Tons of desktop space.
+ “Divided” space.

Along-the-Wall, Straight Desk

+ Will fit in many rooms and moves well from home to home.
+ The entire desk is usable, no dead space.
+ Can be recycled and put to use in other rooms of the house (i.e. as a dining table).

Double-Bar Desks

+ Tons of desktop space with two separate surfaces.
+ Looks awesome and executive-like.
+ Plenty of storage.

• It may be okay to save a bit on your desk but your office chair should be a different story. You will be spending a considerable amount of time in that chair so you must make sure that it is ergonomically designed to prevent any injuries. Here are the qualities an ergonomic office chair must have, according to Rodney K. Lefler, DC on Spine-Health.com:

• Seat height. Office chair seat height should be easily adjustable. A pneumatic adjustment lever is the easiest way to do this. A seat height that ranges from about 16 to 21 inches off the floor should work for most people.
• Seat width and depth. The seat should have enough width and depth to support any user comfortably. Usually 17-20 inches wide is the standard. The depth (from front to back of the seat) needs to be enough so that the user can sit with his or her back against the backrest of the ergonomic office chair while leaving approximately 2 to 4 inches between the back of the knees and the seat of the chair.
• Lumbar support. Lower back support in an ergonomic chair is very important. The lumbar spine has an inward curve, and sitting for long periods without support for this curve tends to lead to slouching (which flattens the natural curve) and strains the structures in the lower spine.
• Backrest. The backrest of an ergonomic office chair should be 12 to 19 inches wide. If the backrest is separate from the seat, it should be adjustable in height and angle. It should be at the appropriate angle.

• You must have the equipment you need to do work from your home. This means your business phone, printer, computer, shredder, and other things your job will require you to have. Again, this is not an area to be thrifty because you can buy one device that can last you a long time. Besides, high-quality equipment can now be bought for very reasonable prices.