This website has already discussed how certain jobs can help individuals pay off their student loans. Indeed, some jobs offer bonuses to employees who work harder or originate business, and certain employers even pay for school or have debt-repayment benefits. However, there are other job perks that can help you pay off student loans, and student debt borrowers should look for employment that can impact their bottom lines on multiple levels.
As previously discussed, the last job that I worked while paying off my student loans required me to travel extensively. I spent the majority of my time on the road, and slept in hotel rooms around 70 nights the last year I was paying off student debt. As a young lawyer in my 20s, traveling extensively was a huge perk to working at this firm.
However, traveling for work also provides individuals with job perks that can help you pay off student loans. For instance, while I was on the road, I was generally able to expense all of my meals. Food is a major cost for everyone, and I usually spent around $500 a month on food while I was paying off my student loans.
However, since I was on the road a ton for work, and my meals were paid for, I spent less on food while working at this job. This meant that I had additional money that I could use to pay off my student loans. In addition, since I had a sizable allowance for food while I was traveling, I typically had some great meals on the road. Oftentimes, the other attorneys with whom I was traveling and I would go to fancy restaurants in various cities around the East Coast, and we would have a blast at these dinners. Having such meals reimbursed by my firm meant that I was less likely to go out on my own dime, which also indirectly benefited my bottom line.
As mentioned in a prior article, another one of the job perks that can help you pay off student loans is the points you can earn from airlines and hotels as a result of business travel. After traveling for business for a while, I ended up earning about ten free nights in hotels and 4 or 5 free airline flights. The cash value of these rewards was several thousand dollars, and these were definitely job perks that can help you pay off student loans, since this meant I did not need to spend cash on travel expenses.
I did not travel much for vacation while paying off student loans, but these points came in handy for other purposes. At times, I needed to travel for family emergencies, weddings, and other occasions. In each of these situations, I was able to redeem points instead of paying for these costs out of pocket, and this substantially impacted my bottom line.
The time spent traveling itself is another one of the job perks that can help you pay off student loans. Whereas many people spend time at their jobs occupied with work, I spent much of my job simply traveling. This included a ton of time in airports and hours each week on airplanes.
While I was traveling, I could spend my time pretty much however I wanted. Sometimes, I would use this time to work on my side-hustles, and this increased the amount of money I could devote to student loans. In addition, I spent travel time writing articles for Student Debt Diaries and other websites for which I write. In fact, some of the best articles I have written were typed out on my tablet while traveling for work. Extra time and flexibility are definitely job perks that can help you pay off student loans.
In addition, a number of employers provide benefits to their workers which saves them money so that additional cash can be devoted to student loans. For instance, I had one employer who gave each employee $2,000 a year that was placed in a health savings account for use on medical expenses. These funds rolled over from year to year, and belonged to the employee, even if they left the firm. As a result, while working at this firm, I did not need to reach into my own pocket at all to pay for medical costs, and this allowed me to devote more money to student loans.
It is also not uncommon for employers to match contributions to 401(k) plans. Indeed, one of my employers offered a substantial match, and although this required me to contribute money myself, the match ensured I increased my retirement savings without going into my own pocket too much. Furthermore, many employers have transit subsidy policies, free parking, and other job perks that help you pay off student loans, since they lessen the amount of expenses you may have. As a result, it is important when deciding on jobs to look not simply at how much you will be paid, but if your employer has any other job benefits that will affect your bottom line.
All told, there are a number of job perks that can help you pay off student loans. Of course, some employers offer debt repayment or pay for tuition costs, and these programs can directly impact your bottom line. However, even if a program at your job reduces your expenses or provides more flexibility, these benefits can indirectly help you pay off your student loans.