Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 16:54:36 GMT -5
One of my summer goals is to exercise more, and I went to sign up at our city's rec center. It rivals most health clubs, and I could get a full membership with employee discount for $120 a year. However, as a "senior," I really only want the walking track. Someone is always on the treadmill when I go, and not much else interests me.
Anyway, the walking track with my discount is $10 a year, and they let me join even though I live outside the city limits. It's a nice perk along with membership in their public library, probably the best outside of Birmingham's. That's not a big deal now that I live in the county because you can use any of the libraries in the county, but it saved me about $35 a year when I didn't.
About the only other perk I can think of is a state perk. They run discounted Weight Watchers at Work programs for us.
So what "different" perks do you get besides health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance (free for me), retirement, and so on?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 17:07:34 GMT -5
Free accomodation in a dorm room, in a dorm with no elevators, and a toilet on every other floor?
Also, no extra charge for sharing your room with a colleague! ;-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 17:25:07 GMT -5
Lol, Debthaven. One of the complaints of the business teachers is that in "the real world," they would never be asked to share rooms with each other. They say this is particularly true if they were men. Men just don't sleep together in the same bed. Meanwhile, the school district thinks nothing of doing that to us. It's a queen-size bed, but still, do you want to sleep in the same bed with a total stranger? Or even a colleague you like? See, it could be worse. You both got twin beds with rustlely mattress pads that alerted you if someone rolled over. (I did it, too, a couple of years ago as a grad student in weekend college.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 17:26:29 GMT -5
Wow, the same bed?!
SS, I just couldn't resist, since you posted on my thread and I knew you'd get the joke!
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jun 5, 2012 18:26:49 GMT -5
6 credit hours free each semester, discounts on cable and cell phone, there is a housing program that if you buy a house, they will provide up to a $5000 down payment. I can get a discount at the local gym, but if I wanted to use other facilities, it would be even less.
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Post by maryjane on Jun 5, 2012 18:59:07 GMT -5
My company bought me an iPhone and pays all but $30 for my plan. They also pay for my home internet.
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Jun 5, 2012 19:19:41 GMT -5
Company pays for my iphone entirely
Company also pays for 50% of my home dsl
State of the art gym facility onsite with 2 full time fitness instructors
Spouse has free acess to the gym too
50% off Costco membership
Variable discounts on family fun places around town, like zoo, theme parks, water parks etc.
Company is big on telecommuting. So when an employee works full time from home they set up a home office, complete with furniture. Furniture etc depends on the grade of the employee
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 19:20:19 GMT -5
Way back in the way back...actually, in the 70s...I worked for a company that had a hairdresser and a barber come in two days a week. No charge, just make an appointment. I thought that was an unusual kind of thing so asked my boss why..."Your hair grows on company time so we provide somebody to cut/style/perm/color/whatever it on company time..." ;D
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jun 5, 2012 19:25:45 GMT -5
We have an on-site fitness center, discounted fitness classes (I pay $40 for an 8-week yoga session), BJ's discounted memberships, last year I got Office 2010 Professional Plus on my home laptop for $12, and subsidized vending machines. Skittles are $0.50!
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 5, 2012 19:32:18 GMT -5
I got Office Professional 2010 for $10. We have discounted tickets to various attractions but that's a separate group in the building, not the feds. I could get tickets to Hershey for $47, my aunt got mine through her work for $40. The gym in our building is crappy and expensive. Classes are extra on top of that. We have some new deal where we get discounted tuition (I think) at a couple universities around the area. We do have a 1.5 mile track outside around the complex. If the one homeland security cop is around I get my dog therapy in
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simser
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Post by simser on Jun 5, 2012 20:45:49 GMT -5
ummm... free tickets to sporting events and symphonies. Along with that is usually 1/2 price on various marathons. gym on site is free, as is personal trainer. I got free self defense classes. Free fruit, coffee, tea and soda. Lots of free ice cream (every exciting event gets ice cream or Jamba juice). telecommuting options, compressed work weeks. Subsidized good cafeteria. Stock at review time. No internet restrictions on things like Facebook.
I love where I work!!!
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Jun 5, 2012 20:49:07 GMT -5
Where in the heck do some of you work at? I would love to get many of those perks!
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Jun 5, 2012 20:53:34 GMT -5
My company bought me an iPhone and pays all but $30 for my plan. They also pay for my home internet. Sweet.
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Golden Cavalier
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Bring it on!!
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Post by Golden Cavalier on Jun 5, 2012 21:11:26 GMT -5
Let's see:
Very discounted tickets to all kinds of Broadway plays, concerts and shows Discounted membership to Weight Watchers and Sports Club/LA Discounted tickets to Six Flags Great Adventure, Hershey Park, or any of the water parks in the area Free ice cream every Friday during the summer
And let's not forget...all the stress I can handle for FREE, FREE, FREE!!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jun 5, 2012 21:19:06 GMT -5
Lol, Debthaven. One of the complaints of the business teachers is that in "the real world," they would never be asked to share rooms with each other. They say this is particularly true if they were men. Men just don't sleep together in the same bed. Meanwhile, the school district thinks nothing of doing that to us. It's a queen-size bed, but still, do you want to sleep in the same bed with a total stranger? Or even a colleague you like? See, it could be worse. You both got twin beds with rustlely mattress pads that alerted you if someone rolled over. (I did it, too, a couple of years ago as a grad student in weekend college.) Years ago, the IRS sent a group of us to a mountain resort town in August---prime tourist season. Four men went and they got places with two beds. Seven women went and we had to share a cabin--some sleeping in the same bed. There was one bathroom. Two of us absolutely were appalled by this, so we found another place. We had to share the room, but it least the bathroom to person ratio was 2:1 not 7:1.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jun 5, 2012 21:20:53 GMT -5
As for freebies when I worked at the IRS, they got on a health kick and hired a wellness coordinator. They put in a very small gym and it didn't have much. My local rec center had more. It made the paper and all these letters got written about the luxurious gym we got to use for free. The gym was removed and the wellness coordinator was out of a job.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Jun 5, 2012 21:24:08 GMT -5
40 hours of paid leave each year to volunteer for a variety of organizations.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 21:24:39 GMT -5
We get discounted tickets to things, but I wasn't counting those because I figured they were a teacher discount. We also get the teacher discount at Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Michael's. Plus a lot of local merchants offer us 10-20% discounts.
I guess we sort of get discounted lunches because the lunchroom gets free or discounted commodities through the free lunch program. A really nice lunch (We have a food court with various statons including a salad bar) costs us $2.75. A lot of the police stop by to eat lunch with us, which is nice for the school.
We do get the Office Professional thing. It used to be free in the form of a cd that you could take home. The district licensed it for home use. Now you have to order it through Microsoft, and I think it's $10. To be honest, we bought 3 licenses for $100 with my educator's discount before the latest version came out. The professional discount also saves us $$$ on the newspapers and magazines that DH likes such as WSJ, Time, and Newsweek.
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hockeygrl
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Post by hockeygrl on Jun 5, 2012 21:42:02 GMT -5
We have a gym on site and we get 3 paid hours a week to work out. We have an agreement with Microsoft to get discounted software, but I forget how much it costs. We can get immunizations for certain things if the public health service provides them. We get all the ammunition we want!
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Golden Cavalier
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Bring it on!!
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Post by Golden Cavalier on Jun 5, 2012 21:44:53 GMT -5
About 11 years ago, I used to work for a major cosmetics manufacturer. Every single employee was eligible for 100% tuition reimbursement at any college or university, and could major in anything at all they wanted, just had to get C or above. That was at a time when there were some other companies also offering tuition reimbursement, but you had to pick a major that was related to their company and you only got 100% reimbursement for A's, 80% for B's, 60% for C's.
Ahhh, those were the days. I'm just assuming they don't still offer that.
ETA: Sorry, typo. It was 21 years ago, not 11.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 21:48:27 GMT -5
Half day Fridays between Memorial and Labor Day. And no - we don't have to make up the hours.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 5, 2012 21:48:54 GMT -5
We get flu shots for free on site. We also have a farmers market in the summer months.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2012 21:55:38 GMT -5
We get the flu shots; remember teachers come into contact with a lot of susceptible young people so we get them even when they aren't giving them to the general public. We also got some round of immunizations recently . . . both the hepatitis shot and the cocktail that includes tetanus booster and some of the other boosters.
They also do all these wellness things, but I am usually teaching. Oh, and the local chiropractor sends his massage therapist, but I don't like to be touched by people I don't know so I find massages uncomfortable. Everyone else says they are great.
See, this has become a "count your blessings" thread. We needed something upbeat <g>.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jun 5, 2012 21:56:59 GMT -5
State employees have a lot of random discounts, from restaurants to car dealerships to theme parks to sports tickets. Usually 10-15%. I get 15% off my cell bill and use a restaurant discount every now and thenl. The attorneys with our agency get about 15-20 free CLE hours per year, and are reimbursed for any bar memberships. Our building has a free gym on-site and we have free downtown parking. We also host a lot of meetings so usually once or twice a week you can scavenge delicious catering leftovers. Especially nice on those days I forget to pack a lunch. Oh, and the greatest perk of all... FREE COFFEE.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 5, 2012 22:03:26 GMT -5
Oh I forgot I get 15% off on my Verizon cell bill. You can also ask for the government rate when you travel. They don't have to give it to you but asking's free We used to get bonuses for passing licensing exams but I'm pretty sure those have gone the way of dinosaurs. We also get free time off to prep and take those exams. They also used to pay for test prep. I'm not sure what the grade policy was since I got an A but I got a class paid for 100% including book and they paid upfront. That's another budget casualty.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Jun 5, 2012 22:07:04 GMT -5
Half day Fridays between Memorial and Labor Day. And no - we don't have to make up the hours. Yep - we get summer hours too and the week off between Christmas and New Year. We also have summer concerts Friday afternoon with free food & drinks. Come at 8 or 9 AM Friday, Work for 4 or 5 hours, listen to a few songs, have some drinks and food and then go home. ;D
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hockeygrl
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Post by hockeygrl on Jun 5, 2012 22:07:24 GMT -5
Wvu be careful with the govt rate. I've found that it can be higher than others. I usually ask for the 'cheapest' rate and then the govt rate and take the lowest. I forgot about the 10% discount on my AT&T bill, too.
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thinid
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Post by thinid on Jun 5, 2012 22:18:36 GMT -5
Tuition assistance Home loan guaranty Low cost term life insurance Very low cost medical and dental Discounts almost EVERYWHERE Free psychological counseling for LIFE And sometimes I get to get off the airplane first
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 5, 2012 22:25:47 GMT -5
I know it isn't always the cheapest. I also get discounts through aicpa and some other stuff so I get all the rates and compare.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Jun 5, 2012 22:33:38 GMT -5
Most people think I get a discount on my utilities....I only wish it worked that way We do have the normal tuition reimbursement, which I have taken advantage of. we also get money off of our health insurance premiums for taking a health survey and joining a fitness center. We did the fitness center anyway, so that is $300/yr extra for us. And now that they have to report the full employer paid portion of our benefits, I am realizing just how lucky I am. I pay $140/month for health, vision, and dental ins for our whole family. So far this year the company has kicked in another $6500 towards that (meaning my total "compensation" for the year is $15,600 more than what my paystubs indicate). Damn...I have no reason to ever complain again.
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