How to Weigh Job Benefits
Vložit
- čas přidán 24. 08. 2021
- Check out Future of Work on PBS Voices: • I Quit My 9 to 5 Job t...
SUPPORT us on PATREON: / twocentspbsds
SUBSCRIBE to Two Cents! goo.gl/jQ857H
Salaries are easy to compare, but when it comes to the other stuff like health plans, day care, vacation and schedule flexibility, it can take a bit of brain power to figure out which job offer is best!
sources:
www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/...
www.thebalancecareers.com/how...
taxandbusinessonline.villanov...
www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/200...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employe...
www.unl.edu/smmc/infographics...
Two Cents is hosted by Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC®
Directors: Katie Graham & Andrew Matthews
Written by: Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC®
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Produced by: Katie Graham
Edited & Animated by: Dano Johnson
Images by: Shutterstock
Music by: APM
I love how this channel is quality over quantity. Every content is like a chapter in a book.
Agreed
Support your local PBS! :)
@@GrowWithWill good one
It really is tho. I love every single chapter!
And almost everything is explained in less than 15 minutes!! That's gold now
I've done similar calculations to this for previous job offers, and one thing I like to add is to calculate commute time into your hourly wage. Say the commute to one potential job is 30min one way (1hr/day), and the other is 45min (1.5hrs/day). This difference is roughly 250hrs/year for job 1 and 375hrs/year for job two, meaning I would need an extra 5% base salary at job two to justify the commute time. This also puts a hard value on work from home offers since you're saving time let alone gas/wear and tear.
Ive litterally never worked where i couldnt bike to. Except for when i worked in Central park(and i live in suburbia with bike paths) after that summer i refuse to commute long distance. Its not worth it
@@hudsonurruttia I really need to get back into biking to work, since I live 2 miles away from work. Thank you for your comment.
And the mental health preservation of short commutes is invaluable.
I've done that math as well, but I get crazy with it. Down to the increased tire wear, more frequent oil changes and how many gallons of extra gas it'll cost.
I drive an hour for work, it was the only place I could get though.
Working from home is absolutely a financial benefit:
1) Your commuting hours are gone, which is unpaid work. That could be 8 hours a week.
2) Your commuting costs are gone, so no more gas and maintenance, or bus fare
3) You can eat lunch a lot cheaper
This could be thousands of dollars a year.
It depends on a lot of things. If you want to live in the city, it really isn't. You can save so much money/quality of life by not having a home office. It is pretty miserable to work from home in a studio apartment, or difficult to work productively without a separate room if you have young kids home.
WFH is great for people who make enough to splurge on a home office, or people who actually want to live far away.
Yes! I was able to pay off all of my consumer debt with the money I saved on commuting when my company went to WFH due to the pandemic.
Here you get money to cover those costs. If you have kilometers that weren't paid for whatever reason you can get it deducted on your taxes.
A lot of people don't like feeling cooped up at home all day or working with so much with technology. I agree people should try to find jobs close to home to prevent expensive commutes, but working from home is not financially beneficial for everyone, especially if it leads to decreased productivity, eating more unhealthy food since you are around the fridge all day, having to buy expensive computers, etc.
My employer has commuter benefits which is essentially an FSA account that is used for parking or transit related expenses not the same as paying bonuses for commute time but it is pre tax and my employer contributes to it which makes my monthly parking expense effectively 35% of what it would be without it and will save me approximately $1600 annually
One thing you guys overlooked; whether you’ll actually use the benefit or not.
If you never use your free gym membership, don’t include it when evaluating your total compensation
I was thinking the same thing. Benefits are only worth including IF you actually use them. I have so many co-workers who don't use my companies 401k (4.5% match), HSA ($1,000 match + that great triple tax benefit), or stock plan (15% off and you can contribute up to 20% of each check). Not to mention the healthcare benefits. Why would you not cash in on all that?!! Just those 3 benefits (if used) adds up to being a 30% pay increase for me, without factoring in the tax benefits.
Lol. I had jobs with gyms. Went once to check it out and then never again. It's a real benefit
Yes! Ie women who don't have kids or hubby insurance. A lot of benefits are geared towards assuming women having kids or salary being lower bc husbands benefits cover the insurance. The most important part of this video is hours worked. You can never really compare if you can't estimate hours each required. And good luck to those searching for a high salary on a 40 hour week! Only in gov!!
I thought that exact thing. And even if you are going to use it- if you didn’t have that benefit what would your alternative be? $90 a month for a gym is not what I would pay for a gym. I would pay $30 at most so in the end that benefit is only worth $30 per month to me unless it adds a a major convenience to me with the gym being at work. For example, commute’s time and gas to my gym (~20minutes away) vs a gym at work if I would like to work out before or after work ($0 in commute) is something that would tip the scales. However then I have to evaluate personally if I want to go where I work every time I want to use the gym- even on days off and evaluate the possibility of my boss being right beside me as I kill myself on a treadmill trying to get in shape. Privacy decrease the work gym’s value that way.
You get a free gym membership and you don’t go? Wow, keep working to pay off those hospital bills later on in life.
When running the numbers on the equivalent hourly rate, it's worth remembering that salary is taxed but benefits aren't, so they're more valuable when paid by the employer than if we had to pay for them out of pocket with post-tax income
Good point; but it depends on the benefit. Easy examples of taxed benefits are the bonus and stock compensation. Health insurance is not taxed. But 401(k) matching is taxed at distribution, so it's a third category - tax-deferred.
That is what employers should focus on give employees benefits more than the wage so it doesn't get taxed like the wage
*cries in Quebec where most benefits are taxable*
@@christodang - It's not as bad as you think. Pushing benefits into employee compensation and making them tax-free or tax-advantaged creates perverse incentives and has often increased the cost of these goods or services to the point that they are almost out of reach of the self-employed or under- or un-employed. The health insurance system in the USA is the biggest example of this.
Interesting so maybe calculating the taxes off of the hourly rate for taxable benefits and salary is worth noting
It's okay to make your videos 10minutes long, we wouldn't complain, you guys deserve it
The New CZcams Video lengh for ads is 8 minutes instead of 10 minutes anyway
I’d definitely watch more tbh
It's now 8 minutes to allow for midrolls - no longer 10.
"people quit their bosses, not their jobs" 😮😮😮
A stupid saying
True a lot of the time. People get fed up with how they're treated a lot nowadays
3 things are missing :
-Commute time should be consider
-Will you use advantages like gym membership ?
-Advantages are treated differently in regards to taxes (at least where I live)
Otherwise great video like usual !
Sorry for potential mistakes... English isn't my first language.
I never considered "running the numbers" for benefits like this. I'm planning on job hopping soon too, so this is incredibly useful info
Be careful not to overvalue benefits, which was very likely done in the video. Benefits that aren't used or aren't used to their full potential are not worth as much -- whereas wages are money in the bank (minus taxes, of course). Examples:
1. If you wouldn't buy a gym membership at the "valued price", then it's not worth as much to you. Maybe that perk is only worth $10 per month, not the sticker price of $90 per month (which the company is absolutely not actually paying -- they probably only pay the gym a small fraction because most employees won't utilize the benefit).
2. Unless you actually max out a 401k match (hopefully more people watching this video do! and they should!), you won't get the full value.
3. On lunch, if you'd bring your own lunch at a cost of $3 per day, then valuing the perk at $12 per day is silly. On the other hand, if free lunch wasn't provided and you'd then spend $20 per day for lunch, then mark it as such.
Ironically, the video warns about employers using perks as a distraction -- and then proceeds to focus on the value of perks for most of the calculations. Keep wages (which will be fully utilized by you) separate from all the perks (which won't be fully utilized by you) when doing comparisons. After all, you can't pay rent, buy a car, save for a home, etc with perks* -- only wages offer that.
*Yes, sometimes employers will offer perks directly in line with these things, but the point is perks are not fungible, while money is fungible. Money works for everyone. Perks only work for a subset of people.
@@dosadoodle Provided lunch is partially fungible, as long as you use the adjective to mean "exact equivalent substitute." Another word for "partially fungible" is "trade-off," and a trade-off always has some personal, highly contextual meaning.
A tangential point: I came across this video trying to find out if any benefits are *not* tax-exempt.
There is also the fact that employers make the salary lower because of ''benefits''. Yet something like childcare for a single person or someone who won't have children for a while is just lost money.
You gotta negotiate what you need instead.
@@WaveRider1989 The large majority of jobs, especially service and working class jobs, have no negotiation options.
Also, from personal conversations with hiring managers for those kinds of jobs, trying to negotiate on benefits is often a deciding factor for *not hiring you*. They think it's a sign you will make waves later on.
I was just thinking of this the other day. I would benefit with everything having more money.
@@hopelesslydull7588 yea I guess I'm not aware. I work in a finance and accounting field.
@@hopelesslydull7588 The way I see it, if they don't want to let you negotiate, so be it. You shouldn't negotiate in a position where you have no better or equivalent options anyway. If I negotiate it's only to give a bad option a chance or to break a tie
If I have to lose some money because of stupid benefits than so be it. Not only it may not be very easy to change the benefits package due to local regulations or corporate policy, if the regulations aren't a problem it's a matter of time until someone finds out about how every company is wasting it's money on benefits no one wants, and if the rest of there terms are worth me quitting I'll do it.
I think for most people, it's not even what they want to be when they grow up. It's about what they *don't* want to be. I personally don't want to be financially struggling, or working under someone terrible.
Amazing comment
@@thatgui88 Thanks mate 😊
@@feynstein1004 yeah I just want to be financially stable that's all I want to be. I don't really care about getting rich or becoming a millionaire
27 years of my life. And I've never fucking thought about it this way
@@user-rw6tm8hx4g Better late than never 😉
USA: “healthcare costs covered at 75% and 10 days vacation? that’s a deal!”
Europe: (laughs)
I learned this the hardway lately. Healthcare here is a joke.
Commute time is another factor that should be included, that I think a lot of people don’t properly factor in.
When thinking about the value of the free lunch, you should consider how much that will actually be reducing your expenses. If you usually spend $12 on lunch out, then this analysis is correct. But if you usually bring lunch from home, the benefit of a lower grocery bill is actually only a few dollars per meal. If you don't want to place a dollar value on the time you spend preparing lunch in the morning because you would do it if the lunch weren't free, then the lunch benefit isn't worth as much. It's important to consider benefits in terms of what additional income or reduced expense it is providing, rather than assigning it a value you would never actually pay if you had to pay it out of your paycheck.
This is actually an excellent point I hadn't considered. Thanks!
When we were buying our home, it felt impossible to choose “the best”. So we put every important aspect in a spreadsheet and we noted them from 1 to 10. The cheapest appartement got 10 points on price. Our building has a big elevator, enough to fit the stroller 10 points, but another apparemment was on the ground floor so it too got 10 on elevator… on every aspect one is better then the others so it gets the 10 points and the others get there’s by comparison. Also if one aspect is more important then the others (like the price or nearby transportation) then note those on 1 to 15 scale. The one that has the most points at the end should normally win 🙂
Use this for negotiations. I created a graph showing my hourly wage including my tuition reimbursement, and was able to get an offer that offered about $10 an hour more than originally offered.
So few paid vacation days? In Germany, that's usually about 30 days.
That's because you're spoiled and lazy. We see hard work as a virtue here.
In Sweden it's usually 25 days/year. It can be 30 days also, but then it's usually with non-paid overtime.
Lol. Sigh. I know. It SHOULD be that.
@@LG123ABC Yeah we're spoiled and lazy. But you know what? It's pretty nice being able to go on vacation for longer than 2 weeks. WHILE getting paid. Helps to gain some knowledge in the geography department as well.
Plus we don't have thousands of student debt, as education is basically free. We have free healthcare as well.
Social mobility is only slightly better in the US, which means the American dream is a little more likely to happen. But on the other hand side in the US there's absolutely no safety net for people who fail. So overall, living in Germany is pretty dope. You should consider it.
@@LG123ABC i pray youre never let into a managerial position.
If the good part of your ice cream is the toppings you're eating the wrong ice cream tho (seriously talking about ice cream 😂)
Lol. I sort of agree. The quality of the ice cream is everything. ; )
Thank you so much for including OT into the calculation. I've seen so many people's lives evaporate because of OT.
This is really great advice! I do this all the time when I’m comparing jobs as well.
the thumbnail cracked me hard hahahahahahhahahahaha best thumbnail ever... keep up the great work you been a big help.. and i am not even in america.. thank you so much
Great video! I had to use this logic about 2 months ago to decide which job brought me the most value. The personal value benefits were the hardest to decide on once the numbers were in front of me
This is why I love yall. So simple but effective way of breaking down total compensation by hourly rate to see how they compare.
This couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Thank you.
Hello my fabulous peeps!!! Love your videos as always. I always look forward to the next one. Great visuals, editing, sound, and script work. Easy to understand and super thought provoking.
Keep it up!
Jen
For me its all about PTO, stock options, and how big of a 401k match they offer.
I am starting out my first job. I am glad that I came across this. Will use this next time to evaluate on my next offer letter
This is perhaps my favorite episode y’all have ever done
Learning a lot from your channel. Wish someone taught me all this at an early age. Your kids are really lucky!!! Thanks for the great videos!!
I love this! I am on the job hunt and this is super relevant and helpful for me right now. Thank you guys very much!
Wow. Wow. Wow. Of ALL the research I've done trying to figure out how to calculate my time/value versus salary + benefits have I EVER come across a formula so...... fantastic. EXCELLENT content!!! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for this video! It could not have come at a better time for me.
Love all your videos! Super informative & the neat graphics are very memorable!
My husband has turned down job offers because the actual job was not worth it even with all the benefits. Granted he doesn't make as much as he would in a higher paying job. But he is much happier and has more time with the family.
My personal finance teacher introduced me to your content in class and it has been a big help
LOOOOOOVE!!!! YOU CONTENT! So much quality in this channel. Thank you guys! Keep it up!
You guys give some of the most applicable financial advice on CZcams thank you and keep it up👍
I like how brief and detailed the videos are from this channel. I learn more about money in a few minutes. Keep it up guys 💯❤!
Love how info is presented on this channel! That being said as a recruiter for over 10 years on the East Coast of the US, I have to say all of the management jobs I’ve hired for as well as those I’ve spoken to candidates about require more than a 40 hour work week. I would say most have an average requirement of 45-47 hours per week required, with some as high as 60 hours per week. I think the question should be asked about the hours a person should expect to work, but expecting any salaried position to be at 40 hours per week, I would be surprised.
This was a great video for me to watch as comparing offers. Thank you very much!
This video came just in time. Thank you for the advice 😊
I'm a workforce analyst and you should really use 2080 for the hours because whether you work or not you're going to get paid for those hours in a year. Earned time is the same amount of money as productive time so it's just easier to add the two weeks into it.
That thumbnail is 10/10
Love you videos, lots of learning with interactive pictures and fun, thanks for posting fun learning educational videos...!!!
Great video! I love the idea of a breakdown to hourly rate. Personally I would value that gym membership at about 30% of what the company pays because it's value to me is much less than the actual cost. I had a job offer years ago that offered a salary that was 45 hours/week with paid overtime over 45 hours. I'm glad I didn't take it. I average about 42/hours week now. If I could be paid 80% of my current pay and work 4 days per week I would do it in a heartbeat. I have a friend who has a job like this.. you choose your "standard hours" per week and if they need you more than that, they pay you for more time.
7:39 You know, I wish this was a topic people talked about more. My first real job out of grad school was at a biotech startup, where I was working 50 hours/week minimum. I almost landed an offer at a company which was offering me $10,000 less on paper, but the interviewers assured me it was strictly 40 hours/week. So per hour, I would actually have made more at the other place.
I love how inclusive they are!
this is a great video! So important the run the numbers before you make a big decision!
This is very eye opening as to how to view these things. I’m definitely going to pay more attention to the math from now on
All your videos are very informative, nice work!
I love you guys. Sharp advice all the time.
This video was very informative. I like the approach you took in trying to monetize all perks into an hourly worth. Makes it really easy to compare offers.
The thumbnail is golden
Excellent video as always, glad to see the original animator is back!
I've always watched you guys for financial advice and this particular episode speaks to me because right now I'm trying to Traverse leaving my job in looking for a new one
AMazing content! Love yall channel
Thank You for these videos!! They are awesome!
Thanks for the value!
Excellent video and very sensible advice.
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you Two Cents.
The thumbnail>>
The content>>>>>
Y’all are amazing! Keep it up
Thank you so much for this video! I'm graduating college this year, and I will be looking for jobs, so this video came in a really good time for me. 🙂
great video as always
cant wait for next one
So helpful. Thank you for this video!! So great.
Needed this thank you
Great content..... Keep up the good work as usual👍
Thank you for sharing this important information.
Keep em coming! The more the better off society will be! Thank you
Weighing a job option this weekend, great timing.
The run the numbers was awesome.
Yesss, new video. Greetings from Peru!
Loved it! great job!
Keep it up guys! Great stuff
I love this channel
What an amazing thumbnail 😂 Another great video from you guys!
Good and honest video
Perfect video for me right now, cause I'm currently in between jobs
What a great video to put out during the 2021 Great Resignation!
You guys are really cool!
Great work
thank you for this!
Very nice video! Thx!
These guys deserve millions of subs
Really fantastic informative video...keep up the good work 👍
If only I could remember the calculations used for the next job search...for now I'm ok
Thank you so much for the info!! Another big thing is staff turn-over rate.. If this is high ask why as it could either be upward promotion or them leaving the the company
Love this approach to analyzing jobs, I do the same thing every time I think about quiting mine, but the benefits are just too good to leave in my area. When I "run the numbers" on my employer's benefits it turns out to be a 38% pay increase if I utilize all of them, which I do.
Side note: I noticed in the "run the numbers" picture there is no 1 or 9. I imagine that's because 1 has already crossed the finish line and of course 7 eight (ate) 9.
Coming from a pension actuary, this is a great explanation!
Stock options vs. equity is a really important consideration. All things being equal, the opportunity to own a significant portion of a company that will be acquired or go public is a worth much more than short term benefits.
this should be taught in school
great work !!
That thumbnail was the best!!
I love the future work idea at the end, will check out later
I also wish more young people like myself would weigh ALL benefits and not just salary...........
The thumbnail for this video was hilarious.
The knight costume got my sub. Great moving tapestry cannot be denied.
In South Africa you take whatever job you're given
The thing about sales is that it's difficult to compare the compensation, one month you may be making nothing, and one month you may be making a whole lot, it's difficult to compare to a salaried position when your income is so variable.
For me, a major benefit that I appreciate is simply not having to worry about handling certain aspects of my financial life. Since my insurance and retirement options are laid out for me and the business aspects are handled by someone else, I don't have to waste time price shopping or searching for a good financial planner. And since my employer can leverage its large number of employees to get better rates, it's to their advantage as well to offer benefits rather than the additional pay that I would need to get the same results.
Awsome topic guys a lot of this going on right now. Good info. 😉
If your job offers you espp and they offer it at a discount, that's a guaranteed return on investment if you sell after you buy
Many ESPP plans restrict the sale of stock, forcing employees to risk their principal. My last employer (Microsoft) lets you sell immediately so the 10% discount can be realized immediately, but some employers require you to hold onto the stock for a year or more - at least while you are employed there.
I'm really great ful thank you guys 🙂🙂🙂🙂 educational videos make mi look so dumb but I learn so much never too late too learn
I think it’s more important to enjoy the job you have, almost regardless of pay/ benefits
Vacation days are most important to me. I will take a lower pay for more Vacation time
I predict you are a teacher, maybe a tutor
@@wreckingopossum Or just lazy.
@@wreckingopossum I'm a mental health counselor
@@LG123ABC I have a family and like to travel. Our lives aren't spent to work all the time. We have to enjoy ourselves too.
Loved it!