What Benefits Do You Have?

Often people have benefits that come with their jobs that they do not take advantage of, most commonly is 401k matching but there are many others. For example many employers now have contracts with cell phone companies to give their workers discounts on personal cell line. My husband now have 19% off his main cell phone line. That saved us quite a bit of money over the year. Students can sometime take advantage of these as well. Anyone with a buffalo.edu email is allowed to get the discount of cell service. But these discounts and benefits often do not get advertized, so how do you find them?

Human Resources or their website can be the most helpful but so can coworkers or classmates. For example at our university there is a gym open to both staff and students that is paid by student fees. Since we already pay for it, why should I pay for a gym outside the school? It may not be perfect but it has most of what I want so why pay more for another gym?

Employers also often have FSA (flexible spending accounts) for daycare and/or copays. You can put up to $5000 per year tax free, but be careful if you do not use it up, you loose it. For someone with a medical condition or someone who is on medication FSAs can save you a large amount of money because no only do you save on taxes, you don't have to pay FICA. Keep in mind, you cannot buy over the counter medicines using FSA money unless you have a prescription. A way to get around this, is to ask your doctor for a prescription for the over the counter items, most will give them to you.

There are so many benefits you can get from an employer or a school, if you know where to look and you actually look for them. What deals do you get from your employer, school or other organization?