Doing without the perks... 13 days to go

[walkinwood]

.. continuing my thoughts as I approach ER
If you are interested, you can see my previous posts here:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/25-days-go-34602.html

Doing without the perks

My work comes with some pretty good perks that I will have to do without. Since I work from a home office, my phone, cell phone/pda and internet access expenses are reimbursed. My company provides a new car every other year and for a modest sum covers insurance, maintenance and gasoline, and allows personal use. I travel a fair bit for work, so I stay at decent hotels, eat at decent (and sometimes very nice) restaurants. The airline & hotel frequent-user programs help with vacation expenses. And then there are the majority of the people I work with who are wonderful, smart, dedicated.

I'll miss all these perks. I will not miss the stress.

What are the perks you'll miss most?

 

[Meadbh]

Electronic access to a University library.

 

[Khan]

Free software
Free antivirus
Coffee grounds

 

[megacorp-firee]

all of those frequent flyer miles I 'earned' traveling all over the world for megacorp.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I am 18 months retired from a programming career.

While I enjoyed most of my career, and found it very low stress, the only
thing I miss is Free Pizza Friday once a month.

 

[W2R]

Honestly I have been TRYING to think of great perks that I'll miss when I retire next year. I am probably just an ungrateful wretch! I don't like traveling, and I do "get to" travel a frequently. I also "get to" dress up in formal meeting attire and spend long hours with top researchers in my field and various dignitaries, on occasion. I just don't happen to appreciate these perks.

The best perk that I came up with is that I get $22/month off my gym membership. However, my gym charges about that much less if I can go during working hours. Also my cubicle is air conditioned, so I can turn down the A/C at home when I go to work in the morning.

 

[audreyh1]

Gosh - I just don't remember any perks! Of course it's been almost 9 years......

Maybe paid-for health insurance?!!!!! LOL! I guess that's the biggie.

I hated that daily commute so much - and it was only 20 mins each way! But for some reason, that was really what I hated the most. Perhaps it is symbolic of the huge time obligation/sacrifice of full time work.

Audrey

 

[RunningBum]

Health insurance is about all I can think of. Since I telecommute, I don't use anything on-site. Having internet paid for is a minor expense. Years ago I got a personal laptop so as to keep my personal stuff off the work computer.

Can't really think of much else, other than some social interaction.

I got unofficial approval to go part-time this summer. I'm torn between keeping part of a paycheck and benefits, and just getting out of here. I guess I will give it a try. Pretty stressful week, not a good one to make such a decision.

 

[Texarkandy]

I'll probably miss the take home company car (suv actually)

 

[Walt34]

Yeah, the free car was nice. What's this crap that I have to pay for my own gas and tires?

 

[saluki9]

1. Access to tens of thousands of dollars in investments software, (bloomberg, Thomson, M*, Centerpiece, etc.)

2. Free food and booze, lots of it

3. Frequent flier miles

 

[dm]

I miss the gas card and vehicle allowance.

 

[Dawg52]

None. My company didn't have perks.

 

[walkinwood]

How could I have missed listing Health Insurance considering what it is going to cost me in ER!

I too had some great access to news (eg. WSJ) and other online content. They took away the gym subsidy a few years ago.

 

[tryan]

Laptop upgrades every few years.
FF miles.
Cell phone expense.

Oh, met DW ... probably the biggest perk.

 

[audreyh1]

Oh, met DW ... probably the biggest perk.

hopefully you didn't lose that perk!

Audrey

 

[maddythebeagle]

Coffee grounds

compost bin in your office?

 

[Donzo]

Megapharma perks

Company card for all expenses while away from home
Free great resturants & drinks after work
company car, new every 2 years
gas,insurance, maintainance paid
fully paid health insurance 80/20 from 1st dollar-$2500. max out of pocket
cell and office phone paid
internet paid
401K match
The perks were great and helped me get to FIRE.

But the work got to toxic and never ending - the stress, travel and 2Xdaily conference calls were gonna kill me - miss the perks....that it!

 

[Khan]

compost bin in your office?

Brought them home for my compost bin.

 

[DblDoc]

None. My company didn't have perks.

Does free parking for my MC count? Otherwise I'm in the same boat...

DD

 

[Martha]

health insurance (now paying that big COBRA payment)
CLE junkets
Comfy office to store all my stuff
cell phone
lappie
air card
gym membership

Still have some of these for the next couple of years. . .

 

[theloneranger]

corporate travel on our jets.
Commercial air travel sux.

 

[Achiever51]

corporate travel on our jets.
Commercial air travel sux.

Oh sweet Jesus, absolutely! Megacorp had fleet of Gulfstream jets, including three G-Vs -- nothing, nothing, nothing compares to traveling by private jet.

Also miss assigned company cars .. new vehicle every 6 months or so -- including gas, maintenance and insurance.

But, by the end of the career, the job was unbearable, so all the perks in the world couldn't make up for that.

 

[Dog]

Wow....some of you have had some great perks. The company I work for has cut back on most perks, although you still get FF miles and most travel expenses reimbursed (they are capped based on travel location). I really don't enjoy company travel anymore due to the decline in the airline industry. Every flight is full and a flight leaving on time almost feels like the exception rather than the rule anymore.
I think it was the book, "The Number" that talked about executives realizing a decline in lifestyle once they retired. This was mainly due to not having expense accounts, country club memberships and other perks as part of their compensation package that they now have to pay for out of pocket.

 

[oma]

Yep, I'm going to miss the free "corp" jets, too ......well, sort of......