2. Make $300-$500 per month (per person) or up to $1,000 per month of higher household income – Negotiate with current (and future) employer for more corporate-paid benefits
The advantage is that your employer pays with pre-tax dollars, while you pay with after-tax dollars.
Here are some examples:
1) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a corporate car (like $300 per month reduced wage, gives you $800 per month worth of car + insurance + fuel), profit = $500 per month. In the worst case, ask them to reimburse for the fuel costs (traveling to and from work), which could save you $200-300 per month
2) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a corporate family healthcare/insurance plan (like $500 per month reduced wage, gives you $1,000 per month worth full family coverage). Profit = $500 per month.
3) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a corporate car insurance plan (like $100 per month reduced wage, gives you $300 per month worth of car insurance). Profit = $200 per month.
4) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a 401K corporate retirement supplement (like $500 per month reduced wage, gives you $1,000 per month worth of more 401K supplement). Profit = $500 per month. Or negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) to skip your corporate retirement plan at $500 per month and instead ask them to put this money directly into your 401K.
5) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a compensation for corporate housing rent (like your wage is reduced by $500 per month and they pay the $1,000 per month rent). Profit = $500 per month.
6) Negotiate (for a somewhat reduced wage or not) a compensation for a cellphone/communication plan. Like they offer you $200 per month worth of cellphone communication cost. Profit = $200 per month.
7) Negotiate for a higher wage, like $500 per month.
Or, instead offer them to work on Saturdays/Sundays (and you skip a normal weekday), meanwhile they pay you 50-100% more for that Saturday/Sunday-work, or $500 per month.
Or, ask them to do 1 hour per day of overhours, that also amounts to $500 per month of higher income.
Or ask them to work 6 days per week rather than 5 days per week, that’s also $500 per month of higher income.
Ask them to stop providing for corporate life insurance, and ask them for a raise instead (you can get a personal term-life insurance policy anyways, like for $250,000), or rather ask them to provide for the term-life policy while you stop paying for life insurance or ask them to cash in on the life insurance policy and with it, pay the remainder of the mortgage, so you save $1,000 per month.
8) Present your case for a raise or bonus: Too many people just go in and request a raise and are rejected. Determine and track your worth to your company in concrete numbers. Keep copies of commendation from managers, clients, and coworkers. Practice going over your presentation to make it persuasive to your manager and overcome any objections that may present.
If you get a pay rise or an unexpected bonus pay this off your debt. When debt is out of the way you can then start a saving plan with the amount. Don't increase your lifestyle because you've got extra cash, you got by without it before so don't get used to having it for spending.
Conclusion: if you (and your wife) each get $500 per month more, you have $1,000 per month of higher household income. In the worst case, you can still get another job and negotiate upfront these corporate advantages rather than only looking at the paid salary only.
Jim picked his job at a university because it pays 90% of his family’s health insurance. The school puts an amount equal to 15% of his gross income into a retirement fund and will pay half the children’s college costs. The campus is nearby, so Jim can walk or bike to work.
Find out about all of the benefits of your job. Most people aren’t even aware of all of the benefits available to them. Spend some time with an HR person finding out about all the benefits of your job – you might be surprised at what you might find. I found free tickets to sporting events, free personal improvement opportunities, and an optional employee match on some retirement funds that maximized the money I was socking away. This not only cut down on my own spending on things like sporting and community events and educational classes, but also improved my retirement plan.
