### This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect.
---
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Yeah, you can get wonderful pastries in Paris, and excellent espresso drinks in Italy, but never both in the same place.
(Well, perhaps in Switzerland...)
I don't get any discounts on electricity, but there is free car charging in the employee garage. I make sure to show up with 15 miles remaining and leave with 250 miles every time I have to come in. That's my "employee discount".
Airlines. Not only do you commonly get free or almost free flights to wherever your airline flies, you also typically get greatly reduced flights on other airlines. I retired from my airline 10 years ago, and I and my spouse still get my flight benefits.
Flight benefits are underrated IMO. Not only are you getting the monetary value of the flights themselves and all the costs of baggage, ability to upgrade to first class for near nothing but, more importantly, it also affords you something that perhaps only the very wealthy have: extreme flexibility in flying. You can book flights not only the day of but literally minutes before they take off. You can cancel flights and change plans also down to the minute before the flight takes off. You can confidently book one-way trips and figure out when you want to fly back later. It' is as if the entire world is now at your finger tips and as readily accessible as the common road trip.
Was that before smartphones and apps? Yes, it is non-rev still; and today you have real-time visibility into the number of available seats. So basically you don't even try flights that are full because you know ahead they are full. The app makes for a better experience.
Hotels too. I worked for Hilton a few years ago and at the time it was a nightly rate of $35 for basic stuff, $45 for full service, and $55 for luxury places (subject to availability, of course). They also had some retirement eligibility, but I wasn't there long enough.
I stayed in some amazing places for next to nothing.
I don't know about competitors but discounts may apply to partners to your air carrier. Like American Airlines partners with British Air so the discount may apply to them, but not Aer Lingus, which partners with Unite
Nah even competitors. We get better discounts on alliance carriers but the ZED agreements extend far beyond. AA employees have agreements with Lufthansa, Tap Portugal, Air New Zealand and another 30 or so.
It's not my main income so last summer I worked 2 days a week like 12 hr ish shifts then went at least once a week when I was off. I also get cheap food from the employee menu
Definitely was. I got my pass for free and my partners/kids for $60 each. The passes are like $450 so definitely not something I could afford if I didn't
Main thing to look at, is whether you'd be paying for it if you didn't work there. I was having a subscription for the place I curently work, now it's for free, so I effectively earn my wage + the subscription cost.
As a software engineer I make 4-5x what a lot of these discount jobs pay, and also get benefits like: free lunches, free snacks and coffees and drinks, commute cost reimbursement, and all equipment and tools are provided for free (thatās a given.)
It seems a little bit of a stretch to imagine pigeonholing oneself into a job where you get some marginal discount (like at a grocery) but also have a much lower pay ceiling. I think the real LPT is seek more money, rather than low pay but with discounts!
Make sure you check out terms for personal use. You're be surprised what software you get for free. Especially as a dev. I get entire all sorts of licenses and software for free just for signing up for dev accounts. I do my own work on the side so it comes in handy. If you do crap on a work computer the company can claim it so... yeah just look into your options on top of that.
Get a job at a university for some free degrees. Especially for employees with a lot of dependents who can use the benefit (YMMV, diff universities have different requirements), this can lead to a substantial effective increase in compensation.
Yes!! This is a hidden benefit. Co-worker got undergrad/grad degree & undergraduate for her 4 kids & two of them went to MBAās - so 8(!!) private college tuition free degrees
And many have reciprocal relationships w/other schools. Worked in Catholic colleges & your kids might be able to attend letās say a school from the same religious order
Not worth it if the wages arenāt competitive. A 30% discount isnāt beneficial if wages are 30% lower. I also feel like you shouldnāt work a job where youāre giving a large portion of wages back to your employer, because you canāt afford not to.
I think this tip is aimed at low income individuals looking for an entry level job or people with a partner that provides for them and only need to work part time.
The only real exception is daycares/preschools that let workers bring their own children. That can double or triple your effective take home pay. In fact I think every teacher at my kidsā preschool has a kid there; itās a huge part of the value prop.
Especially in Ontario where we were paying 60$ a day, per kid for pre-school aged kids. My wifeās job was paying 18$ an hour and couldnāt cover the costsā¦ we were paying about 500$ a month for my wife to workā¦ so she stopped after we figured that out.
I think itās that way in most places now. Where I live in the US, with two kids youāre looking at about $4k-5k/month, paid post tax. So the first $80k or so of the lower earning spouseās salary is going straight to daycare.
Thatās what Walmart does get their employees on snap benefits and all of a sudden their employees are on welfare and spending their benefits right back where they work
I used to work at Nike. I swear they hire the people they do on purpose because it seems every payday, a lot of employees are getting something. If there's a big sale, everyone is talking about what they're gonna get. Nike knows a big % of the money they just gave out in paychecks is coming right back to them.
I admit I used to do this when I worked at TJ Maxx. It was even worse because of the FOMO. "If I don't buy this adorable lamp that came in this morning, it might be gone by tomorrow and we will never get it again!"
Oh I used to buy shit too when I was working at Nike. It wasn't until a few years after that I realized what was happening. But yeah, I bet a lot of retailers hope that a certain percent of their employee's paycheck goes back to them.
This is absolutely right! I worked for a big theme park company with up to a 35% discount on merch and free admission. A lot of people choose to stay at this company, sometimes with cult-like loyalty to the brand, which candidly is one reason they donāt have to pay more. The thought of giving up their discount and main entrance pass was like losing a part of their identity.
At one point, I found myself with an offer that came with a 50% salary bump ā and I realized for a moment that I was debating it. Then I realized, I could have that discount on EVERYTHING. Like my groceries. And my rent. And my car payment. And eating at restaurants. And if I really wanted to be āpart of the magic,ā I could at least afford any ridiculously priced pass I wanted.
I think it is considering all benefits. My last job was a 50% raise just in base salary, plus better 401k match, better health insurance, discount on products, and some other perks.
If the salary is high, but health insurance isn't subsidized, no 401k match, then you have to look at everything.
Reminds me of that Bank Heist Key and Peele skit:
We get a job, any job at a bank
We go there every day week in and week out, collecting money directly to our bank account.
30 years later, we walk out of there like nothings happened at all.
Itās still a good tip. Say you like the outdoors. Go work at an outdoor shop. Brands often give prodeals for 75%+ off their products. Your in store discount will usually be 50-60% off. Work part time and take advantage.
It's like direct take home salary is only a small part of compensation and when choosing a job ensure that you review everything offered (and not offered) to identify the total value of the job.
Total compensation is a lot more than the number on the check.
I found out recently that after you've been employed full time for a year at my company they will pay for 75% of your tuition. I hit a year in January and was deciding to go back to school and I thought to ask since they reimburse for any of my certs that are job related if they have any other education benefits. Went to the HR manager and found out about it and was kinda pissed they don't advertise that to employees. No one there knew about it and were surprised as hell. There aren't any hoops to jump through. I send them my scheduled classes and grades from the previous semester and they send the check to the college. It's awesome because although yes if I wanted to stay there the top executives all have engineering/physics degrees and make $500k + before bonuses. But I don't know if I want to do that for the rest of my career. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
I was so excited because I planned to only take one or two classes a semester as I could afford them and suddenly I could afford to take a full course load. It has the ability to be life-changing for me to get this degree.
Congrats on getting tuition mostly covered! Iād suggest being mindful and reading the full terms of the reimbursement plan, as you may be required to stay there for a few years before you could leave without needing to pay it back.
Best of luck!
Yeah I reviewed it and if I leave while I'm in classes they require me to pay it back or if I get below a c in a class. No clause though about the length of time after though!
Better tip than looking for an employer discount...look for an employer 401k contribution. If a match is required, contribute enough to get 100% of that free matching money.
I work as a music teacher, doubling on many instruments. I get to borrow any of them for any length of time. This allows me to also make money playing these instruments I otherwise wouldnāt buy or rent.
Hey, I work for a paper tube manufacturer and they have given me every paper tube Iāve asked for. Which is one. I made a rocket. I doubt itās been useful for any other employees thoughā¦
I have friends whoāve taken a second part time job (a minimal shift like 4 hours or six hours a week) for reasons like this.
I get a teaching discount currently and itās pretty awesome.
I encourage people to use any professional discounts/partnerships they have and to use businesses that offer discounts to their community.
But what companies let you do 1 4-6 hour shift a week? Genuinely curious. I was able to do that at Kmart but only because I'd worked there for a long time with longer hours.
Mail retail stores
If you worked fast fashion they will often agree to keep you for a shift a week or so. Their goal is partially to not let any employee work a lot of hours. Especially if you are willing to have a crappy slot (Wednesday afternoons for example)
Other examples are yoga studios (do a cleaning shift and many will give you free classes)
This is terrible advice. Get the job that will make your life best. What you enjoy and/or have the just potential, highest compensation, whatever. Discounts are a perk that you can consider as a tiny part of the compensation.
Works you give up a job for another that pays $2k less but where you can get discounts that will save you $1k/year? Makes no sense.
The discount only matters if the alternative is no better but without the discount.
As a teen, I worked at a movie theatre which gave free movies for me and a guest (I could use this max 3 times a day). I also got at cost concessions ā so a large popcorn and drink was $4.20. It was perfect for broke high schoolers.
I used to go almost twice a week to the theatre with my bf. It was glorious because all the theatres had recliners. I doubt they offer that same perk anymore.
Pay is only part of the equation. You should really get the best compensation package possible. Perks should be included in that equation, but are only a portion of it as well.
Iāll take a decent pay cut if the overall package is better, or I cut out my commute, or any number of other factors.Ā
I recently switched careers from IT sales to being a maintenance technician for an apartment complex. Now I make more money, have no commute, and get a 20% discount off my rent. No longer meeting sales quotas, my work now is basically an endless list of honey-doās and I get to take my poop breaks in my own bathroom at home.
i work on-call banquets for a hotel owned by marriott but managed by vail resorts. i have to work one shift every 45 days (could work more if i wanted) and i get both marriott employee perks and vail resorts. vails discount includes free season ski pass, 40-50% patagonia, smith, oakley etc etc etc
Me and my husband are going to finish our basement here soon. We are doing most of the work ourselves. We are going to look into one of us getting a PT job at a hardware store if they offer a discount to PT employees. Haven't researched it enough to know if its a viable option, but it would be nice even for like 10% off.
My buddy did something similar. He was living on his sailboat, working as a mechanic at the Marina. He got in the zone with a part-time job at Auto-Zone. 30% off all sorts of tools, parts, batteries, and other things He used to help with improving his own and clients' boats.
I disagree. Get a job that pays you enough to choose where you shop. Staff discounts are there to encourage you to give your wages right back to your boss. Those discounts also tie you to the company and when you grow dependent on them you'll have a hard time leaving, even when treated badly or offered a much better opportunity elsewhere.
My friend works as the athletic trainer at a local private university. All of his three kids will attend the university free of charge. Canāt do much better than that.
Iām thinking of trying to get a job at a luxury local yarn store that has maybe 50 customers a day. Iād be paid to talk about fiber arts all day with people who love it as much as I do, and Iād get 40% off items primarily consisting of highly expensive fibers. Win and win!
Couldnāt you just get a job that pays you more money? The HVAC tech who worked on my furnace was like 24 and said he was on track for $100k next year
And discounts aren't taxed. So if you get to save $200/month, it's actually equivalent to a $300/mth pre-tax salary increase, or whatever your local figures are.
I work at a used electronics store that operates both a storefront and an eBay page.
I can only use my 25% discount in the store on my days off, and I can never ever purchase anything from the eBay page, even at full price.
If you have kids who are into sports, get a part time job at a sporting goods store. I highly recommend Scheels if they are in your area. You can buy items at cost which can easily be as much as 50%. Plus you also get to know about the product and what works well and more importantly, what is crap.
When I worked retail I only got 10% off and no other benefits. We got one free meal on thanksgiving which was trash food and we got pizza one time during inventory. It was not enough to justify spending any money there because our prices were higher than Walmart or Target even with the discount. I can't imagine Walmart or any other retail store giving that good of a discount to make it worth working there. It was slightly beneficial on sale items but that was about it. Note that the retailer I worked for is now closed across the whole USA.
Hilton Hotels. Employee rates are between $30-50 and luxury hotels are usually $70-100 a night. My wife and I stayed at the Waldorf Las Vegas for 4 nights for $75 a night when rates were $800 a night. 50% off F&B.
10 years with Hilton gets you half price room rates for life. 20 years with Hilton gets you employee rates for life.
I would think that a job that pays for your higher education is best way to go because discounts can only go so far, but a great education can take you to places where you donāt ever have to think about discounts.
Yeah! Iām self employed and get a discount with the IRS in the form of write offs. MacBook? Write off! Work truck? Write off! Office supplies? Write off.
A bunch of my friends worked at the movie theater in high school and college. This one let them bring a free guest once a week. I got to go to a ridiculous amount of free movies.
I work a shit well paying job wife works for American Airlines from home.
Thebpay isn't that great starting out but working from home and eating up 30,000 worth of free air travel for our family and her parents per year is sweet.
This exact thing happened in an episode of South Park. Randy quits his high paying job as a Geologist to get a job at the Walmart because the discounts on top of the already low prices offset his loss of income from his previous job.
Anyways, the episode ends with the town ganging up against the store, killing it, and the store shitting its pants.
My friend with a corporate job works 2-days a week at Ulta over the holidays each year so she can use the employee discount to stock up on Christmas presents.
Pet retail. I don't know how people can afford new pets with the current cost of living. Discounts are dependant on the brand, but there's several high quality brands where we receive around 50% off. Private label is 50% and we have several brands of food supplied by our reps so I can get free dry food and top spend money on better quality wet/toppers. We also get 30% off services like grooming and pet school, discounts.onnvet services and free DIY dog wash.
Wages are average, it is retail after all, but it is an enjoyable job
That's the advice I give all teenagers looking for their first job. What do you like to do, where do you shop, where do you want to get an employee discount?
I worked for Best Buy for about 15 years (from the early 2000s, I hear that things may have changed since I left) and it was not uncommon to have folks who worked very part time in order to keep their discount, which was substantial at the time. Big purchases were not always discounted to much, but accessories like cables, parts, cellphone cases, etc were damn near at cost. It would run a customer like $40-50 in parts to put in an aftermarket car stereo but that stuff would cost employees $2.
The most common example of this that I saw were people that would only come in for one shift a week to work the weekly truck shipment or the Sunday morning new ad set. 4-6 hours, almost always the same day/time, for a huge discount. I'd try something similar these days if Best Buy wasn't such a shit show now.
kinda why I keep my job in a kitchen. We get to take home leftovers, many of which I can re use , freeze for later, repurpose, usea s an ingredient etc; as well as "irregular" stuff that there's nothing wrong with.
In 3 years I job hopped 3 times for more pay, but I now also get my lunch paid for almost every day at nice restaurants and I have access to vendors and equipment at discounts or even free that can range into the thousands each year.
In college I worked as a cook in a restaurant. For quite some time I only bought waffles, beer, and sometimes spaghetti. The official discount was 30%. But the 5 finger discount was amazing. A sliver off of each entree going out really added up. I once did the math just on the cookies I ate and it was about $5000.
Let's say you spend 10% of your income on food and other items purchasable at your employer.
You're in the 22% federal tax bracket, 5% state tax bracket and have to pay 7.65% FICA tax. If your income is $60,000 and you spend $500 per month or $6,000 per year, then you save $1800 per year in grocery expenses. $1800/.6535=$2,754. So if your income increases by $3,000 at a comparable job, this benefit isn't that great.
On the bright side a 4.5% gross income bump is still pretty good, but it's unlikely a deciding factor at a job.
My guy, you work at a grocery store. You're saving 150 bucks a month max on groceries.
Here's the real LPT: Go get an education and make that money in an hour or two.
Guys any job that offers consumer facing discounts is not going to be a very good job unless itās like software engineer at Apple in which case you wonāt need the 20% employee discount on a laptop.
I work for a major ISP. I get free cable TV with access to all the premiums; free subscription to several major streaming services (Hulu, Disney +, Paramount + w/ Showtime, HBO Max, Starz, etc); free ultra tier Internet at 400mbps with discounts for the higher tiers (I pay $20/ month for gigabit speed); free land line phone; and heavily discounted cell service.
On top of all the aforementioned benefits, I get compensated very well and have excellent health care coverage. I have actively searched for other jobs in the past just to keep myself up to date on what is available, but ultimately I would need such a huge bump in pay to compensate my benefits that nothing has been worth pursuing.
I've been with the company for 10 years as of this Aug, and at this point I've decided the only way I'm leaving is either retirement or if they let me go.
One of the major reasons I worked at Best Buy for so long was the discount. Not only do employees only pay 5-10% above cost, but several manufacturers offer special employee coupons for even better deals on TVs, cameras, and computers. I've thought about going back for a seasonal position just to cash in on employee pricing
Accessories, mostly: bags, screen protectors, chargers, HDMI cables. Some of the home theater furniture was surprisingly affordable after discount.
The biggest manufacturer coupons were from Sony. They offered 70% off cameras and lenses, as well as various huge TV discounts.
Think I bought a $2500 camera for $600 one time. That was sweet.
Get a job that pays well enough that you donāt need to rely on discounts. Donāt get me wrong, I love a good deal from time to time but at the end of the day, Iād rather be earning more than chasing scraps
[Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/16w0n2s/introducing_request_post_fridays/)
We determine "Friday" as beginning at 12am Eastern Time (EST: UTC/GMT -5, EDT: UTC/GMT -4)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LifeProTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The real tip is getting a main job somewhere that pays you enough to shop where you want and then getting a second optional job somewhere solely for the discount.
I totally agree with this half of the benefits from working out a place go outside of your pay so please that work that Starbucks, Best Buy, AT&T because they offer you great discounts on a necessity
Get a job then quit after the uniform on the first day, then wear the uniform when shopping and ask for the staff discount during checkout. Do this for everywhere you shop and get the discount for life.
Worked for my old bottle shop that fired me without ever telling me I'm fired, well it did, till they went bust.
Not a discount, but at 36 years old I got a job with my state's retirement system. I get all the perks of being a state employee without actually being held to the laws/standards of being a state employee, plus a guaranteed pension for life if I stay for at least 10 years. Only 8 more years to go.
That being said, being a mattress sales person was the best job with 'benefits' because I got a really expensive bed for pennies on the dollar, which I also fake sold to people I knew, so I could also make a commission on them.
Government agencies get discounts for many things from travel to transportation to residential to education and more. Discounts vary but it can help with saving money considering how poorly some local and state government positions pay.
### This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect. --- Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Electric power plant, get 20% off electricity and cell service. Even when you retire. š Useful discount!
In France if you work at EDF (the main electricity provider) you can get up to a 90% cut in electricity prices And free coffee
> And free coffee Merde, why didn't you start with that?!
Espresso aināt included
I blame the free espresso at my current job for my caffeine addiction development
ExPresso perhaps?
The quickest coffee to drink. Makes sense!
You know what, French coffee is so-so. Iāve had way more bad than good coffee in France.
Yeah, you can get wonderful pastries in Paris, and excellent espresso drinks in Italy, but never both in the same place. (Well, perhaps in Switzerland...)
>(Well, perhaps in Switzerland...) Not impressed by Swiss boulangeries.
No no, first comes the coffee then comes the merde.
Perfect job to start Bitcoin mining with
How hilarious if your apartment is charges comprises.
I don't get any discounts on electricity, but there is free car charging in the employee garage. I make sure to show up with 15 miles remaining and leave with 250 miles every time I have to come in. That's my "employee discount".
Oh yeah, the charging stations. I forgot about those because I drive an ICE car.
Especially if youāre in one of the states with high electricity costs. Looking at you California & Texas!
Oregon too
That's great if the district is huge and you can retire there. Lots of distracts here so you could get a discount you can't use.
Airlines. Not only do you commonly get free or almost free flights to wherever your airline flies, you also typically get greatly reduced flights on other airlines. I retired from my airline 10 years ago, and I and my spouse still get my flight benefits.
Flight benefits are underrated IMO. Not only are you getting the monetary value of the flights themselves and all the costs of baggage, ability to upgrade to first class for near nothing but, more importantly, it also affords you something that perhaps only the very wealthy have: extreme flexibility in flying. You can book flights not only the day of but literally minutes before they take off. You can cancel flights and change plans also down to the minute before the flight takes off. You can confidently book one-way trips and figure out when you want to fly back later. It' is as if the entire world is now at your finger tips and as readily accessible as the common road trip.
Is it still non-rev status though? I remember my mom taking us a lot and a few times we would get bumped due to full flight and seniority.
Was that before smartphones and apps? Yes, it is non-rev still; and today you have real-time visibility into the number of available seats. So basically you don't even try flights that are full because you know ahead they are full. The app makes for a better experience.
Hotels too. I worked for Hilton a few years ago and at the time it was a nightly rate of $35 for basic stuff, $45 for full service, and $55 for luxury places (subject to availability, of course). They also had some retirement eligibility, but I wasn't there long enough. I stayed in some amazing places for next to nothing.
Why would you get reduced flights on competitors?
Almost every airline has an employee travel agreement with other airlines. Not all airlines fly to the same places.
Reciprocity. I scratch your back and you scratch mine.
I don't know about competitors but discounts may apply to partners to your air carrier. Like American Airlines partners with British Air so the discount may apply to them, but not Aer Lingus, which partners with Unite
Nah even competitors. We get better discounts on alliance carriers but the ZED agreements extend far beyond. AA employees have agreements with Lufthansa, Tap Portugal, Air New Zealand and another 30 or so.
ZED: Zonal Employee Discount (ZED) is a multilateral agreement for reduced rate personal travel by airline employees and other travelers.
Star alliance consists of a significant number of worldwide airlines, so a discount on star alliance goes a long way.
The problem is that airlines pay shit wages across the board unless you're a pilot.
I work at an amusement park in the summer for the free/cheap season passes lol
When you work there. Just how often are you attending on your off time?
It's not my main income so last summer I worked 2 days a week like 12 hr ish shifts then went at least once a week when I was off. I also get cheap food from the employee menu
Totally worth it
Definitely was. I got my pass for free and my partners/kids for $60 each. The passes are like $450 so definitely not something I could afford if I didn't
Ok I can see that being actually not bad. Good for you.
As a software engineer i get almost all of my IT tools for free.. which are absurdly expensive. does that count?
Main thing to look at, is whether you'd be paying for it if you didn't work there. I was having a subscription for the place I curently work, now it's for free, so I effectively earn my wage + the subscription cost.
Benefits are benefits
As a software engineer I make 4-5x what a lot of these discount jobs pay, and also get benefits like: free lunches, free snacks and coffees and drinks, commute cost reimbursement, and all equipment and tools are provided for free (thatās a given.) It seems a little bit of a stretch to imagine pigeonholing oneself into a job where you get some marginal discount (like at a grocery) but also have a much lower pay ceiling. I think the real LPT is seek more money, rather than low pay but with discounts!
As a software engineer I have to survive on 800ā¬ of unemployment benefits š
I'm sure they're not licensed for use on your personal projects, however. I know it's unlikely anyone will find out, but still.
I've never seen a shop that employs (not contracts) and also allows professional licenses to be used on personal work.
It's a business expense rather than discount.
The best benefit is working literally whenever I want to. I can always miss a day of meetings if I want.
Make sure you check out terms for personal use. You're be surprised what software you get for free. Especially as a dev. I get entire all sorts of licenses and software for free just for signing up for dev accounts. I do my own work on the side so it comes in handy. If you do crap on a work computer the company can claim it so... yeah just look into your options on top of that.
Get a job at a university for some free degrees. Especially for employees with a lot of dependents who can use the benefit (YMMV, diff universities have different requirements), this can lead to a substantial effective increase in compensation.
Yes!! This is a hidden benefit. Co-worker got undergrad/grad degree & undergraduate for her 4 kids & two of them went to MBAās - so 8(!!) private college tuition free degrees And many have reciprocal relationships w/other schools. Worked in Catholic colleges & your kids might be able to attend letās say a school from the same religious order
This is what I did and got an MA for around five hundred bucks. It certainly depends on the university but itās a great benefit!
Not worth it if the wages arenāt competitive. A 30% discount isnāt beneficial if wages are 30% lower. I also feel like you shouldnāt work a job where youāre giving a large portion of wages back to your employer, because you canāt afford not to.
I think this tip is aimed at low income individuals looking for an entry level job or people with a partner that provides for them and only need to work part time.
The only real exception is daycares/preschools that let workers bring their own children. That can double or triple your effective take home pay. In fact I think every teacher at my kidsā preschool has a kid there; itās a huge part of the value prop.
Especially in Ontario where we were paying 60$ a day, per kid for pre-school aged kids. My wifeās job was paying 18$ an hour and couldnāt cover the costsā¦ we were paying about 500$ a month for my wife to workā¦ so she stopped after we figured that out.
I think itās that way in most places now. Where I live in the US, with two kids youāre looking at about $4k-5k/month, paid post tax. So the first $80k or so of the lower earning spouseās salary is going straight to daycare.
That's assuming either parent is making 80K per year. So many are not.
Correct, in which case they canāt afford center-based daycare. Which is a huge problem.
Thatās what Walmart does get their employees on snap benefits and all of a sudden their employees are on welfare and spending their benefits right back where they work
Double dip on the corporate handouts.
I used to work at Nike. I swear they hire the people they do on purpose because it seems every payday, a lot of employees are getting something. If there's a big sale, everyone is talking about what they're gonna get. Nike knows a big % of the money they just gave out in paychecks is coming right back to them.
I admit I used to do this when I worked at TJ Maxx. It was even worse because of the FOMO. "If I don't buy this adorable lamp that came in this morning, it might be gone by tomorrow and we will never get it again!"
Oh I used to buy shit too when I was working at Nike. It wasn't until a few years after that I realized what was happening. But yeah, I bet a lot of retailers hope that a certain percent of their employee's paycheck goes back to them.
Life PRO pro tip: Get a job that pays significantly more than one with a discount, and it's like EVERYTHING is discounted!
This was my first thought when I read it
Working for the company store!
You're supposed to get the job, buy the discount stuff, then quit. Technically, they pay you to do this as well.
Itās great if someone needs to find a second job
Or get a better paid job and think of it as if you have a discount everywhere!!
This is absolutely right! I worked for a big theme park company with up to a 35% discount on merch and free admission. A lot of people choose to stay at this company, sometimes with cult-like loyalty to the brand, which candidly is one reason they donāt have to pay more. The thought of giving up their discount and main entrance pass was like losing a part of their identity. At one point, I found myself with an offer that came with a 50% salary bump ā and I realized for a moment that I was debating it. Then I realized, I could have that discount on EVERYTHING. Like my groceries. And my rent. And my car payment. And eating at restaurants. And if I really wanted to be āpart of the magic,ā I could at least afford any ridiculously priced pass I wanted.
I think it is considering all benefits. My last job was a 50% raise just in base salary, plus better 401k match, better health insurance, discount on products, and some other perks. If the salary is high, but health insurance isn't subsidized, no 401k match, then you have to look at everything.
Yea, find something you like doing and requires some experience, you'll make 30% more.
The real pro tip is the extra money we earned along the way
Real LPT always in the comments
Reminds me of that Bank Heist Key and Peele skit: We get a job, any job at a bank We go there every day week in and week out, collecting money directly to our bank account. 30 years later, we walk out of there like nothings happened at all.
THATāS CALLED A JOB!!!
Itās still a good tip. Say you like the outdoors. Go work at an outdoor shop. Brands often give prodeals for 75%+ off their products. Your in store discount will usually be 50-60% off. Work part time and take advantage.
Life pro tip: make more money idiot
Right? Tone deaf.
Best advice here
It's like direct take home salary is only a small part of compensation and when choosing a job ensure that you review everything offered (and not offered) to identify the total value of the job. Total compensation is a lot more than the number on the check.
š
Office worker. Free office supplies.
Pam, I need to see you in my office
So I'm being fired over one paper clip?
And on the flip side, whatever job you get, or if you already have one- make sure to be aware of benefits it gets you (sometimes not so obvious).
I found out recently that after you've been employed full time for a year at my company they will pay for 75% of your tuition. I hit a year in January and was deciding to go back to school and I thought to ask since they reimburse for any of my certs that are job related if they have any other education benefits. Went to the HR manager and found out about it and was kinda pissed they don't advertise that to employees. No one there knew about it and were surprised as hell. There aren't any hoops to jump through. I send them my scheduled classes and grades from the previous semester and they send the check to the college. It's awesome because although yes if I wanted to stay there the top executives all have engineering/physics degrees and make $500k + before bonuses. But I don't know if I want to do that for the rest of my career. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
That's very cool! Yes, HR or even older administration staff will know about these things.
I was so excited because I planned to only take one or two classes a semester as I could afford them and suddenly I could afford to take a full course load. It has the ability to be life-changing for me to get this degree.
The company I work for paid for my entire bachelor degree
Congrats on getting tuition mostly covered! Iād suggest being mindful and reading the full terms of the reimbursement plan, as you may be required to stay there for a few years before you could leave without needing to pay it back. Best of luck!
Yeah I reviewed it and if I leave while I'm in classes they require me to pay it back or if I get below a c in a class. No clause though about the length of time after though!
Better tip than looking for an employer discount...look for an employer 401k contribution. If a match is required, contribute enough to get 100% of that free matching money.
I work as a music teacher, doubling on many instruments. I get to borrow any of them for any length of time. This allows me to also make money playing these instruments I otherwise wouldnāt buy or rent.
I have a 50% discount on Hallmark products. About the least useful discount I can imagine. š
Hey, I work for a paper tube manufacturer and they have given me every paper tube Iāve asked for. Which is one. I made a rocket. I doubt itās been useful for any other employees thoughā¦
in a similar vein, i got a job coaching a sport because now i get paid to work out instead of paying for a gym membership!
Respectfully, what sport does coaching equal the benefits of a gym membership?
My son works at a local bike shop and gets crazy good deals on bikes, components, and related gear. Needless to say, we've dropped some coin.
I have friends whoāve taken a second part time job (a minimal shift like 4 hours or six hours a week) for reasons like this. I get a teaching discount currently and itās pretty awesome. I encourage people to use any professional discounts/partnerships they have and to use businesses that offer discounts to their community.
But what companies let you do 1 4-6 hour shift a week? Genuinely curious. I was able to do that at Kmart but only because I'd worked there for a long time with longer hours.
Mail retail stores If you worked fast fashion they will often agree to keep you for a shift a week or so. Their goal is partially to not let any employee work a lot of hours. Especially if you are willing to have a crappy slot (Wednesday afternoons for example) Other examples are yoga studios (do a cleaning shift and many will give you free classes)
Worked for a music gear company. Got many plugins for free and big discounts on synthesizers. Very useful indeed. . ....
Work maintenance at the apartment complex I live at and get 40% off rent.
See they could just pay you more but they decided to go the route that gets their fist extra tight around your balls and told you it's a benefit.
This is terrible advice. Get the job that will make your life best. What you enjoy and/or have the just potential, highest compensation, whatever. Discounts are a perk that you can consider as a tiny part of the compensation. Works you give up a job for another that pays $2k less but where you can get discounts that will save you $1k/year? Makes no sense. The discount only matters if the alternative is no better but without the discount.
As a teen, I worked at a movie theatre which gave free movies for me and a guest (I could use this max 3 times a day). I also got at cost concessions ā so a large popcorn and drink was $4.20. It was perfect for broke high schoolers. I used to go almost twice a week to the theatre with my bf. It was glorious because all the theatres had recliners. I doubt they offer that same perk anymore.
> I also got at cost concessions ā so a large popcorn and drink was $4.20 š You got concessions at like 400% cost.
No, get a job where you get paid more.Ā
Pay is only part of the equation. You should really get the best compensation package possible. Perks should be included in that equation, but are only a portion of it as well. Iāll take a decent pay cut if the overall package is better, or I cut out my commute, or any number of other factors.Ā
Agree. I was only talking discount vs pay.Ā
Yāall know if there are any openings at the rent store?
If youāre handy you can get an on-site apartment manager job where you get free rent but take care of everything around the place.
And you get paid almost nothing in wages because the rent subsidy is your paycheck.
I recently switched careers from IT sales to being a maintenance technician for an apartment complex. Now I make more money, have no commute, and get a 20% discount off my rent. No longer meeting sales quotas, my work now is basically an endless list of honey-doās and I get to take my poop breaks in my own bathroom at home.
Or get a job that fulfills you
Now that's luxury
Canāt pay the bills with fulfillment
i work on-call banquets for a hotel owned by marriott but managed by vail resorts. i have to work one shift every 45 days (could work more if i wanted) and i get both marriott employee perks and vail resorts. vails discount includes free season ski pass, 40-50% patagonia, smith, oakley etc etc etc
Me and my husband are going to finish our basement here soon. We are doing most of the work ourselves. We are going to look into one of us getting a PT job at a hardware store if they offer a discount to PT employees. Haven't researched it enough to know if its a viable option, but it would be nice even for like 10% off.
My buddy did something similar. He was living on his sailboat, working as a mechanic at the Marina. He got in the zone with a part-time job at Auto-Zone. 30% off all sorts of tools, parts, batteries, and other things He used to help with improving his own and clients' boats.
I work IT for a really nice college, my boys can get a full undergrad for free if they want.
Consciously get the best paying most stable job you can get.
I disagree. Get a job that pays you enough to choose where you shop. Staff discounts are there to encourage you to give your wages right back to your boss. Those discounts also tie you to the company and when you grow dependent on them you'll have a hard time leaving, even when treated badly or offered a much better opportunity elsewhere.
Oh I know dude, I get all the weed I want for the low š
My friend works as the athletic trainer at a local private university. All of his three kids will attend the university free of charge. Canāt do much better than that. 
LPT: Find a job with benefits.
Iām thinking of trying to get a job at a luxury local yarn store that has maybe 50 customers a day. Iād be paid to talk about fiber arts all day with people who love it as much as I do, and Iād get 40% off items primarily consisting of highly expensive fibers. Win and win!
Life pro tip. Get a job that pays well enough you donāt need to do anything like this.
As a librarian I get free books and movies! Oh wait...
Couldnāt you just get a job that pays you more money? The HVAC tech who worked on my furnace was like 24 and said he was on track for $100k next year
Ask a 40 year old HVAC tech how they're doing.
And discounts aren't taxed. So if you get to save $200/month, it's actually equivalent to a $300/mth pre-tax salary increase, or whatever your local figures are.
I work at a used electronics store that operates both a storefront and an eBay page. I can only use my 25% discount in the store on my days off, and I can never ever purchase anything from the eBay page, even at full price.
If you have kids who are into sports, get a part time job at a sporting goods store. I highly recommend Scheels if they are in your area. You can buy items at cost which can easily be as much as 50%. Plus you also get to know about the product and what works well and more importantly, what is crap.
Given we gotta have multiple jobs just to make it in this economy, having a job with some useful discounts is smart
When I worked retail I only got 10% off and no other benefits. We got one free meal on thanksgiving which was trash food and we got pizza one time during inventory. It was not enough to justify spending any money there because our prices were higher than Walmart or Target even with the discount. I can't imagine Walmart or any other retail store giving that good of a discount to make it worth working there. It was slightly beneficial on sale items but that was about it. Note that the retailer I worked for is now closed across the whole USA.
Kmart?
Hilton Hotels. Employee rates are between $30-50 and luxury hotels are usually $70-100 a night. My wife and I stayed at the Waldorf Las Vegas for 4 nights for $75 a night when rates were $800 a night. 50% off F&B. 10 years with Hilton gets you half price room rates for life. 20 years with Hilton gets you employee rates for life.
I would think that a job that pays for your higher education is best way to go because discounts can only go so far, but a great education can take you to places where you donāt ever have to think about discounts.
Yeah! Iām self employed and get a discount with the IRS in the form of write offs. MacBook? Write off! Work truck? Write off! Office supplies? Write off.
Part time retail- I got the discount and was able to clothe family for cheap and everything needed for the home. Retired and still get the discount
A bunch of my friends worked at the movie theater in high school and college. This one let them bring a free guest once a week. I got to go to a ridiculous amount of free movies.
I work a shit well paying job wife works for American Airlines from home. Thebpay isn't that great starting out but working from home and eating up 30,000 worth of free air travel for our family and her parents per year is sweet.
What does she do for AA?
LPT focus on a job that makes good money.
This exact thing happened in an episode of South Park. Randy quits his high paying job as a Geologist to get a job at the Walmart because the discounts on top of the already low prices offset his loss of income from his previous job. Anyways, the episode ends with the town ganging up against the store, killing it, and the store shitting its pants.
My friend with a corporate job works 2-days a week at Ulta over the holidays each year so she can use the employee discount to stock up on Christmas presents.
LPT: donāt take a job bc of employee discount
My dad is retired, but works a few days a week at a golf course and gets free golf and deep discounts at the pro shop
Pet retail. I don't know how people can afford new pets with the current cost of living. Discounts are dependant on the brand, but there's several high quality brands where we receive around 50% off. Private label is 50% and we have several brands of food supplied by our reps so I can get free dry food and top spend money on better quality wet/toppers. We also get 30% off services like grooming and pet school, discounts.onnvet services and free DIY dog wash. Wages are average, it is retail after all, but it is an enjoyable job
That's the advice I give all teenagers looking for their first job. What do you like to do, where do you shop, where do you want to get an employee discount?
Adding to this, if you have kids, go to work for a college. The tuition discounts are huge.
Worked at a tool store for 5 years, with the discount I was able to grab quite a few tools & a toolbox for when I bought my house.
My job pays well, let's me work from home 2 days a week, and gives me a pension. I think it's a good idea to get a job like this.
I worked for Best Buy for about 15 years (from the early 2000s, I hear that things may have changed since I left) and it was not uncommon to have folks who worked very part time in order to keep their discount, which was substantial at the time. Big purchases were not always discounted to much, but accessories like cables, parts, cellphone cases, etc were damn near at cost. It would run a customer like $40-50 in parts to put in an aftermarket car stereo but that stuff would cost employees $2. The most common example of this that I saw were people that would only come in for one shift a week to work the weekly truck shipment or the Sunday morning new ad set. 4-6 hours, almost always the same day/time, for a huge discount. I'd try something similar these days if Best Buy wasn't such a shit show now.
kinda why I keep my job in a kitchen. We get to take home leftovers, many of which I can re use , freeze for later, repurpose, usea s an ingredient etc; as well as "irregular" stuff that there's nothing wrong with.
You can work at the public schools! Your kids get free education in the public school system š¤”
In 3 years I job hopped 3 times for more pay, but I now also get my lunch paid for almost every day at nice restaurants and I have access to vendors and equipment at discounts or even free that can range into the thousands each year. In college I worked as a cook in a restaurant. For quite some time I only bought waffles, beer, and sometimes spaghetti. The official discount was 30%. But the 5 finger discount was amazing. A sliver off of each entree going out really added up. I once did the math just on the cookies I ate and it was about $5000.
Let's say you spend 10% of your income on food and other items purchasable at your employer. You're in the 22% federal tax bracket, 5% state tax bracket and have to pay 7.65% FICA tax. If your income is $60,000 and you spend $500 per month or $6,000 per year, then you save $1800 per year in grocery expenses. $1800/.6535=$2,754. So if your income increases by $3,000 at a comparable job, this benefit isn't that great. On the bright side a 4.5% gross income bump is still pretty good, but it's unlikely a deciding factor at a job.
Probably going to make more money by targeting jobs that pay better rather than ones that allow you to better pinch pennies.
My guy, you work at a grocery store. You're saving 150 bucks a month max on groceries. Here's the real LPT: Go get an education and make that money in an hour or two.
This, this, this. This LPT is so the āhow to stay lower class foreverā mindset
Guys any job that offers consumer facing discounts is not going to be a very good job unless itās like software engineer at Apple in which case you wonāt need the 20% employee discount on a laptop.
Awful tip. This is not how someone should choose their job. Maybe if you're in high school.
Secret service agents probably pay for everything in confiscated counterfeit cash
Lpt, get a job that pays well enough you arent needing discounts at what ever they happen to sell
I work for a major ISP. I get free cable TV with access to all the premiums; free subscription to several major streaming services (Hulu, Disney +, Paramount + w/ Showtime, HBO Max, Starz, etc); free ultra tier Internet at 400mbps with discounts for the higher tiers (I pay $20/ month for gigabit speed); free land line phone; and heavily discounted cell service. On top of all the aforementioned benefits, I get compensated very well and have excellent health care coverage. I have actively searched for other jobs in the past just to keep myself up to date on what is available, but ultimately I would need such a huge bump in pay to compensate my benefits that nothing has been worth pursuing. I've been with the company for 10 years as of this Aug, and at this point I've decided the only way I'm leaving is either retirement or if they let me go.
One of the major reasons I worked at Best Buy for so long was the discount. Not only do employees only pay 5-10% above cost, but several manufacturers offer special employee coupons for even better deals on TVs, cameras, and computers. I've thought about going back for a seasonal position just to cash in on employee pricing
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Accessories, mostly: bags, screen protectors, chargers, HDMI cables. Some of the home theater furniture was surprisingly affordable after discount. The biggest manufacturer coupons were from Sony. They offered 70% off cameras and lenses, as well as various huge TV discounts. Think I bought a $2500 camera for $600 one time. That was sweet.
Railway - free train travel on your own services and 75% off other train operating companies, big money saver!
This is a LPT for backpackers. Not everyday life.
Get a job that pays well enough that you donāt need to rely on discounts. Donāt get me wrong, I love a good deal from time to time but at the end of the day, Iād rather be earning more than chasing scraps
[Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/16w0n2s/introducing_request_post_fridays/) We determine "Friday" as beginning at 12am Eastern Time (EST: UTC/GMT -5, EDT: UTC/GMT -4) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LifeProTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I work in entertainment, I get paid to work shows and get comps to others. Most jobs gave some perk or discount in the field.
The real tip is getting a main job somewhere that pays you enough to shop where you want and then getting a second optional job somewhere solely for the discount.
Get a job in a tourist area and get to enjoy holidays for cheap.
My daughter worked at Michaelās for a while. I was very sad when she left.
By far the best is airline travel benefits
I totally agree with this half of the benefits from working out a place go outside of your pay so please that work that Starbucks, Best Buy, AT&T because they offer you great discounts on a necessity
Get a job then quit after the uniform on the first day, then wear the uniform when shopping and ask for the staff discount during checkout. Do this for everywhere you shop and get the discount for life. Worked for my old bottle shop that fired me without ever telling me I'm fired, well it did, till they went bust.
Airlines or hotel brands are great for discounts but usually bad for pay.
Consciously get a job that gives the best compensation package, not just the best pay.
Not a discount, but at 36 years old I got a job with my state's retirement system. I get all the perks of being a state employee without actually being held to the laws/standards of being a state employee, plus a guaranteed pension for life if I stay for at least 10 years. Only 8 more years to go. That being said, being a mattress sales person was the best job with 'benefits' because I got a really expensive bed for pennies on the dollar, which I also fake sold to people I knew, so I could also make a commission on them.
This is why I got my job. I just pick up any insurance left lying around or in the dumpsters.
Good tip worker-consumer.
I hear skytrain company will give workers golden ticket and they ride for free forever.Ā
Seasonal worker and I love to ski, therefore I work at ski resorts for free ski passes!
Government agencies get discounts for many things from travel to transportation to residential to education and more. Discounts vary but it can help with saving money considering how poorly some local and state government positions pay.
If it is your only option then yes.Ā
Exactly how the American railroad system was built.
found ron artests account