Are You Making The Most Of This Employee Discount Program You Probably Have?

January 16, 2019

I was recently facilitating a workshop about money management and the discussion turned to finding ways to save money. Several people in attendance started talking about discounts they receive on various things as an employee of their company.

As someone who is always looking for hacks to save money, I was so excited to hear this conversation unfold. One gentleman mentioned he saves 20% each month on his cell phone bill. Another mentioned they just saved on travel for an upcoming vacation his family was taking. One of the attendees was an HR representative and she took some time after the workshop to show everyone the website with all their “perks at work” and it was awesome to see all the things they could save on!

Savings from A to Z

When I got home I started looking at my own employee discount program – I wanted in on this too! I could not believe what I was missing. Here are a few examples of things we get discounts on:

  • Clothing
  • Cars – yep, on actual cars. Not to mention insurance, service, and maintenance
  • Travel – airlines, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages
  • Electronics
  • Fitness
  • Child Care
  • Cell phone – phones and plans
  • Entertainment – concerts, sporting events, movies, and theme parks
  • Appliances
  • Flowers
  • Wine (score!)
  • Shipping
  • Toys
  • Tax Preparation

The list goes on and on. You even earn points as you go that you can use later for more stuff. Many of these programs also offer temporary deals around the holidays and other times throughout the year.

Pump the brakes

As I was looking at all these discounts, my mind starting racing about all the cool stuff I could buy. Then I stopped myself short – is it really “saving” money when you’re actually spending it? Remember, a 30% discount on something you don’t need is still a bad deal for your spending plan and your important financial goals if it wasn’t something you had planned for already.

Worth looking into

So I can see how these programs can actually lead to potential over-spending, but if you are like me, you may not be taking full advantage of some great savings on everyday things and those big-ticket items that often pop up as needs from time-to-time. If you have to replace the fridge, why not get a discount? Family coming to visit and wanting to check out local museums? Definitely worth looking to see if you can get a deal on tickets.

Saving money can be hard, but looking all resources – especially those offered through your employer can help make it easier. Thanks to those workshop attendees for opening my eyes to this program!