Work Those OTHER Benefits: Discounts And Freebies

I’ll take that! Employer benefits like freebies and discounts can help keep your household spending down. These little perks can add up to big savings or can even amount to an “upgrade” in lifestyle depending on what you are offered.

Eric gets unlimited sodas and bottled water at work free while he is in the office. He also gets free popcorn. That has come in handy. If he gets hungry he has the option to get popcorn instead of paying for vending machine candy. Those savings can add up.

You might be surprised at how much of an impact you can make on your bottom line by taking advantage of these “fringe” benefits. Make sure to ask if you have any of these programs or perks offered to you; it could help out your budget.

Family Care - Some companies offer adoption assistance, substance abuse referrals, and marriage counseling. All of these benefits can help save you money if you take advantage of them.

Personal Development - Has your company been holding any free seminars lately? Do you have access to free legal assistance or free sessions with a financial planner? Those services aren’t cheap so take advantage of any help you might be able to get.

Wellness Care - Do you have wellness care available to you? Sometimes employers will provide wellness care such as free health screening, flu shots, and healthy living seminars. Free health screening can help save money in co-pays down the line.

Casual Dress Days - Dress down if you can. This helps you save on the costs of cleaning your most high maintenance and costly clothing. Take advantage of casual days. I think dress code flexibility is an important cost saving benefit.

Telecommuting - Do you have the option to work from home occasionally? This can save on your commuting costs, especially if you have a long commute. Along the same lines - if you have flexible hours try to use them to avoid traffic. That will save on frustration and gas costs.

On-Site Amenities - If you are lucky enough to have cheap (or discounted) on-site amenities consider yourself fortunate. Maybe you have access to a gym, pool, cafeteria, showers, or laundry facilities. If these services are free or offered at a nice discount this could save a lot of cash or could even allow you to enjoy luxuries you wouldn’t otherwise pay for. One of my old employers had an onsite gym, pool, cafeteria, dry cleaner, and daycare all at discount rates. Too bad I was a traveling consultant and didn’t live near campus.

Free Stuff - Is there free stuff for you at the office? I’m not talking office supplies; I mean legitimately free stuff actually provided for you to take. Free sodas, gourmet coffee, or snacks? How about a Beer Friday? Use these freebies instead of buying similar items. Do they give out shirts with their logo? Take them! Half of Eric’s wardrobe is employer-branded and it helps us save on clothing costs.

Discounts - Discounts on items you already use can really help, especially if they are substantial. Can you get the product or service your company provides or works with cheaply? For instance, if you work at a coffee shop can you get your coffee at a deep discount? Do you get discounts with major retailers? Many employers have special rates set up for car rentals, gyms, cell phone providers, hotels, apartments, even for purchasing cars or getting a mortgage. Look into it!

Miscellaneous Benefits - Some employers offer other benefits like credit score monitoring programs and access to credit unions.

Think it can’t get much better? Check out the benefits Google gives its employees. Caution: be prepared to become immediately dissatisfied with your benefits. See Google’s awesome perks here.

Do you get any unusual or especially helpful benefits for your job? If so, comment and let us know!

Image Source: rahims

The First Real Hint Of Autumn

The amber leaves of Wisconsin Today I got my first real hint of autumn. We had a cold front come through and it’s a wonderful 58 degrees outside. Sure, it’s gusty and overcast but I’m positively elated. It’s the first truly cool day I’ve seen so far and it’s a wonderful break from the 90’s. I feel like the season has officially changed and that makes me giddy inside.

This morning I turned off the A/C and the fans and I cracked the windows open to let in the cold breeze. The crispness in the air is fantastic! Even the kitties seem to have more of a spring in their step. They gathered around the windows to sniff that fresh, chilly air. I guess the change is exciting for all of us.

I’m hoping I won’t have to turn the A/C back on until spring but I know that’s wishful thinking. Sure would be nice to save on those energy costs, though.

Because Eric and I like it cold heating costs are very low for us. I’m fine throwing on a blanket or a sweater instead of cranking the heat. I know; that’s easy for me to say. We rarely see snow or ice around here. Being from Texas, saying that I don’t need the heat in the winter is like someone from the north saying they don’t need A/C in the summer.

This weather makes me want to cook a nice fancy meal. Or maybe bake up a dessert. It just all around makes me feel more creative for some reason.

Colby loves the fall, too! Good thing Eric is out of town so I have no audience to cook for. Otherwise, I’d probably already be at the store! The last thing we need is for me to go and spend additional money on groceries right now. We are sticking to cooking from our pantry for the next week to help make up for an unplanned dinner out in our budget.

I am hoping I can minimize the impact of that meal on the overall budget by pulling from other flexible areas (like grocery costs). We will still eat well, just not as “fresh” this week. Keeping a stocked pantry/freezer helps to keep meals interesting and yummy.

With weather like this it is hard to resist cooking up some of my wonderful butternut squash soup or roasted root veggies. Hmmm…maybe next week if the weather stays nice and cool.

I’m sorry for the some-what off topic post today, but I’m just so happy with the cooler weather I had to share. :-)

Work Those OTHER Benefits: Reimbursements

You better take it! When looking for ways to cut back on your household spending don’t forget to think about how your employer can help. Many major employers offer more benefits than just health/life insurance, retirement plans, stock, and paid vacation. Have you checked into all the other ways you can get help with through your company?

We are able to get our cable modem reimbursed through Eric’s employer because he sometimes works at home after hours. That alone is saving us $46 a month. That’s not chump change, folks. He didn’t even know reimbursement for this existed until he asked about it. Sometimes you need to just ask. What kind of reimbursements could be available to you?

Regular Reimbursements
Could you get full or partial reimbursement on equipment or services that you use for your job? Do you take phone calls or have to respond to email at home? Are you “on-call” outside of the office? Ask if your employer offers reimbursement to help cover the costs associated with those after-hours duties (cell phone, computer equipment, internet access, etc). How about uniforms or special clothing you need for the job?

Education and Training
This is a very valuable benefit that can help your career even if you eventually change employers. Will your employer help you get the certifications or training you need to advance in your field? Will they cover the books and educational materials you will need? Will they help you get your degree with tuition reimbursement? Will they help you pay your current student loans? I know this may sound unlikely, but you might be surprised to find out that many large employers will help with these costs. That can save you a lot of money and help your career.

Relocation Assistance
Are you going to be moving for your job? Maybe your company will help with the costs of moving. Some companies will even help with selling your home and finding a new one.

Travel Expenses
Do you get paid a flat rate per diem when traveling for work? If so, you can eat cheap and pocket that excess. Are you submitting all your eligible expenses when you travel for business? Did you buy that coffee with cash when you were on the road? If it’s eligible, file it! Are you getting reimbursement for your mileage to the airport? How about parking? Make sure to file ALL those eligible expenses no matter how small - every little bit helps.

Keep in mind that the list of potential benefits is endless; every employer is different and some offer more perks than others. The point is that you should check with your employer to see what they do offer and take advantage of the benefits that help you save money.

Image Source: Mykl Roventine

My One Money Advice (MOMA)

My One Money Advice My friend Pinyo over at Moolanomy recently invited me to participate in a meme he created. If you don’t know what a “meme” is you are not alone. I didn’t know until last week when I read this article on wiki. Pinyo wanted this meme to “help promote financial responsibility and awareness in our hyper consumption society.”

His question:

If you can give one advice, tip, or story related to money, what would you share?

I think my one money advice is to be fully conscious of your spending.

Eric and I made the mistake of ignoring our financial situation and assuming we could afford any purchase we wanted as long as it was relatively small. The problem was that we weren’t keeping track of our spending and all those little purchases eventually added up to a big balance.

If you were to ask me a year ago what our cable bill was monthly I would have had no idea. I paid it every month but I didn’t really pay attention. We had no budget so I didn’t know how each bill or purchase fit into the big scheme of things. I just paid them on auto-pilot.

You know that you might not be fully aware of your spending if you look at your credit card bill at the end of the month and can’t fathom how the total got so high. We used to be stunned when we would look at our bill. “But how could it be THAT high? We only had a few dinners out this month, right?”

When we finally woke up from this “financial coma” and really looked at our bills we were amazed at where our money was actually going. It was sobering to say the least.

By examining our expenses we became conscious of our spending habits and that allowed us to dramatically cut our non-essential purchases and work towards living within our means. This led to us being able to tackle our debt and save towards our goal of a new home.

I believe the key to taking control of your finances is to understand where your money is going every month. That information is crucial in determining what expenses you can live without, what you need to keep, and what you can allocate to savings and payments toward debt.

OK - now for the “passing it on” part. I would like to know what Frugal for Life, Rather Be Shopping, Mrs. Micah, and My Two Dollars consider to be their one money advice.

Our Plan To Remain Debt Free

Been there buddy! At the beginning of the year, we were able to declare ourselves “debt free”. This was no easy task I can tell you. We still have our mortgage, but we don’t consider it debt exactly. Certainly, it is debt, but it’s at a decent interest rate, we get a tax deduction for our interest payments, and if it’s our only debt, to me that’s “debt free”.

We managed to pay off both of our car loans early. We also eliminated all of our credit card debt this year. We did both of these primarily through some major changes in lifestyle (especially our eating habits - dining out can cost a fortune!)

Now that we are debt free, we have no intention of going back. We’ve made several changes in our life to help us not slide back into that “bad place”. Some of these changes include:

A strict budget - Not so strict we have to beat ourselves for an overage, but a guideline we shoot for with appropriate flexibility in certain areas. The budget helps ensure we live below our means, and that we plan for savings.
Our non-emergency emergency fund - This ensures that we never have to maintain a balance on our credit cards even when we go over more than our flexibility allows (up to a few hundred dollars).
Our emergency fund - This way we can handle even those big cases where we have an emergency. We’re very strict about this being used only for emergencies. Our goal is to eventually build up 6 months living expenses (bare minimum living expenses).
Delaying gratification - Like the iPhone incident of last weekend - I’m no longer going to just indulge myself. All of my upcoming purchases will be planned, and will require taking part of the budget and setting it aside for purchase in the future. This also ensures that when I do indulge myself, it’s not impulsive, and it’s something I’ve researched and know that I want. Oh, and that I find the best deal.
We will drive our cars until they can drive no more - Consumer reports says that can save up to $31,000. For me, a car gets me from a to b, and doesn’t need to be anything fancy. It felt weird typing that, but that’s how much I’ve changed recently. I used to want a flashy car, but now I’d rather save and invest my money.
Find the best deals - I want to understand how much something costs, where I can get the best deal, and make sure I’m not getting ripped off. In the past, I didn’t always bother to research and find the best deal, and convenience was usually the motivating factor. There isn’t anything wrong with convenience, but now I will measure that against other factors.

So, with these things in place, and barring any serious emergencies (like something medical), I think we can remain debt free. We have to remain strict and follow this plan. We cannot allow ourselves to fall back into the “old ways”.

I’d love to hear from other folks who managed to get out of debt. Do you have a plan to remain debt free?

Image source :Daquella Manera

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