Oh, it pains me to see people not take advantage of what their employers offer! I'm not just talking about money, either, although I see plenty of people throw away that! In my and my husband's working life, we have seen people throw away many wonderful perks! What small things are you overlooking? Here are some my husband and I have seen in our working lives:
1. If they offer matching funds for your 401 K, take them up on the offer! Try to contribute the maximum amount that they will match. Even if you can't send a huge amount, contribute something! We both know many people who do not take advantage of their 401 K s or matching fund opportunities because they "can't afford it." You can't afford not to- retirement, even if you're 2o, is something we must plan for now.
2. On a lesser scale, does your employer bring in lunch ever? I worked for a company who did this once or twice a month. They announced it well in advance, and people would still ignore the free lunch and go out to eat. If you have food allergies or something, I understand, but I would see people ignore the free sandwiches brought in from Subway go out and come back...with sandwiches. Sometimes from Subway even, but not always. :-) Take advantage of this treat!
3. Does your employer reward you for going to things like health fairs? My husband's employer does. He gets a $50 dollar gift card for going to health fairs. This paid for a lot of nice meals out for us! He received $200 dollars worth of gift cards last year for about an hour of his time over the year, but he says that a lot of his co-workers can't be bothered to do it.
4. If you travel for work, or buy things for work, be sure you get reimbursed for your expenses! You may have to harp on them, but do it. I know people who have paid for large portions of business trips because they forgot to turn in their receipts by the due date. I also know people who have lost money because they did turn in their receipts, but the reimbursement people kept putting it off, and they got tired of hassling them. A small example from my own family- My husband had to hassle his reimbursement department for nearly 6 months a 5 dollar reimbursement. It was a small tool he bought at the request of his boss, and he turned in the proper forms. It may seem like a small amount, but small leaks sink big ships, and it was an item the company sent him to buy, saying that he would be reimbursed. Hold them to their promise.
5. Does your employer offer coffee or tea for their employees? Drink it! It might not be quite as good as Starbucks, but it will save you a small fortune. Even if you have to pay into a "coffee club fund" I'm sure that the cost is less than one or two visits to the local coffee shop.
Happy Friday!
5 comments:
Great advice, especially about the 401k match. You'd be crazy not to take it!
My husband's office has massage chairs, Nintendo Wiis, Cokes on tap, etc. TONS of little perks, and my hubby makes sure to take advantage of all of it! ;-) He recently said that they now have a gym. I've encouraged him to use it, but that's a perk that you have to plan for since it involves changing clothes and getting sweaty. What a great perk, though!
My husband self-employed at an agency (insurance, business brokering), but the building concierge generally has some sort of discount tickets to local restaurants and attractions; so don't forget to check that out.
Don't forget the medical reimbursement plan. It can be used for lots of things. A little planning can save you big bucks. I usually put at least a thousand dollars in mine. I know we (my son and I) will both need contacts or glasses. If not both. Plus any co-pays and meds are covered. I had a friend who was paying big bucks for meds when she could have put the money away before taxes.
I work for a church and they are not the thriftiest of folks there. But I do have one great perk; leftovers!
Whenever there's a closet to clean or a "toss out" day, I'm there. I have so many things I scrounged for free just by being willing to do a little cleaning. They get rid of stuff and I get something new to me.
This also works for me at the elementary school PTA. So many things were "discovered" when I started cleaning out closets. We ended up with lots of extras to sell at school store (people had forgotten the items were around over the years!) and I got to take home a bag of craft things for the little Critter.
Agree 100%...So many gifts are around and all it takes is accessing those gifts....401K, ESPP plans, Medical Reimbursement, Educational Assistance, Health Fairs and so many other items where I am given an incentive to save more money...Wow..Who could ask for anything more.
Also, where I work we can use our companies products and services at a discounted price which is another great benefit.
Three Cheers for great employee benefits as they are TAX free and increase the ability to reach financial goals.
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