Author Topic: Freebies at work  (Read 13964 times)

o2bfree

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 271
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Freebies at work
« on: August 06, 2015, 10:07:24 PM »
I expect to work for 2-1/2 to 4 more years, so I'm keeping my attitude positive by thinking of all the freebies I get there:

  • Free food sometimes. Not everyday, but usually five or six times per month at least. If there's a lot, I'll take some home because it usually just gets stashed in the fridge and forgotten.
  • Along with free food comes free condiments --packets of ketchup, mustard, mayo, hot sauce, soy sauce, butter, etc. There's always a bunch left over, and they're great for camping and road trips, or for backup when you run out of stuff at home.
  • Birthday cake every month!
  • Free popcorn and soda/juice. I don't drink soda, but a juice is nice every now and then, and it's something I don't usually buy.
  • A free copier/fax machine.
  • Locker room with showers. Saves a little hot water usage at home.
  • Free computer for home use. Our IT group likes to replace them after 3-5 years, so I take my old one home to use. The company seems ok with this, and after all, I do use it when I work at home. I haven't bought a computer since 1991!
  • Convenient for donating blood. They come to our office every two months. And there's another chance for a free food item in the canteen afterwards.
  • Intranet "for sale" board. Better than Craigslist because you're selling to people in your tribe, so they're not as flaky.
  • Possibly the best of all: The "free" table. It's a table near the entrance where people deposit unwanted items from home or office. All kinds of cool stuff gets dropped off: books, tools, holiday decorations, electronics, usable clothing, gourmet food items, bottles of body lotion, dishes, small appliances, hobby supplies, toys, you name it. And it's fun to puzzle with coworkers over occasional mystery items when no one can figure out what they are.

I'm sure other companies have even better freebies...what will you miss?

Hall11235

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 246
  • Age: 30
  • Location: Mass
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2015, 07:06:00 AM »
I wish I had ANY of these. My republic phone bill is paid for and my gas, but that's about it.

MrsPete

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3505
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2015, 07:27:51 AM »
As a teacher, I can attend high school sports events, plays and concerts for free.  And I can bring one guest to sports events.

I get a free calendar every year.   

I receive an unflattering but free staff shirt every two years.

We have luncheons about three times a year, and they're always very good.  We used to get free tea in the cafeteria, but they stopped that. 

We receive LOADS of coupons from local restaurants, etc. in our school mailboxes.  Every now and then we get free passes to a brand-new movie.  And a fairly large number of community businesses give a discount for showing a teacher ID.  When I am just about to retire, I am going to have a new ID made with an old-as-possible picture ... so I can keep getting teacher discounts in the community.

I have a laptop for school use. 

I can check books out of the library -- yes, that's no advantage over the public library, but the school library doesn't require an extra trip, and they don't charge me five cents a day if I'm late in returning the book.  On the negative side, the selections are mostly teen-oriented. 

The OP mentioned access to blood drives.  You might not consider this much of a "perk", but coming from a family afflicted with hemochromatosis, I do.  One of the treatments for hemochromatosis is to give blood as often as allowed. 

mskyle

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2015, 07:42:01 AM »
1) The biggie: I get free breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day. If my boyfriend didn't mind eating dinner alone I could have free dinner too - before he moved in my grocery bill was almost nothing! Oh and coffee, tea, and assorted flavored seltzers.
2) Showers. I don't usually use them in the winter, but I guess it is good to save a little on hot water during the two-shower days of summer.
3) I've actually learned a ton about finance working here - I work on software for portfolio managers.
4) Work computer that I use for personal use as well... hopefully not too much.
5) Nice coworkers who I learn a lot from!

Rural

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5051
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2015, 08:03:40 AM »
Laptop for home use because I teach online, ipad as part of winning a grant - meant some grant reporting responsibility in addition to the original application.


Free parking, as if that were a perk in the rural South. Except mine's no longer free since we now pay $65 a semester for a student pass for my husband in spite of carpooling. (He doesn't even have the pass, just the fee). No getting out of this; I have a student who is blind and who has to pay this fee.


Every now and again there's food, and sometimes it's edible (our upcoming faculty  retreat lunch is not an example of edible - very popular, very greasy fast food hamburgers and fries, no options for vegetarians, allergies, etc at all).


Library and database access, though, is a big deal. We have a small library on my campus, but I have access to all of the state univrsity system plus most of the privates, plus university libraries in the neighboring states as a courtesy. I can interlibrary loan from the state flagship, which is a major research library. There's not really any scholarship produced in English that I can't get my hands on in a week or two. I'll have similar access when I retire, assuming academic library access still matters in a few years.


Books from publishers, oh, my god the books. They won't stop sending them, unrequested and unwanted. I've taken to handing things back to textbook reps when they come and interrupt my work.


I think I get some athletic event access, but I'm not sure and don't much care. I'll go if I ever have students to whom it seems important to see me there, but that's more work obligation, not a freebie. There are concerts and lectures that matter to me, though. There are also plays, but those are not free. I go anyway, and the cost is low; they just don't count as freebies.

Chranstronaut

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 713
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2015, 08:45:13 AM »
Free luggage and backpack.  It's for company travel, but I could use it personally if I wanted.  At minimum, it keeps my real bags from getting worn out on frequent work trips.

Free coffee and espresso all day, e'ry day.

Occasional free food at work (usually pretty poor) and free food on travel (usually very good).

Lots of free clothes! 
One perk of being opposite gender of most people is that when our client company sends old/unsellable merch, I get more options and easier "dibs".  I've been given pants and shoes for use during travel (engineering testing), and we get a clothing allowance each year of a couple hundred bucks. 

Almost forgot: Free tickets to races.  I went to the Indy500 and our local combined World Challenge/IndyCar race with my SO - fo' free.  As a side benefit to the races, they give out tons of SWAG at the vendor booths.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2015, 08:46:47 AM by ChransStache »

WYOGO

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 165
  • Location: Salt Lake City
  • Great Basin
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2015, 09:01:20 AM »
-Regular food/meals I choose multiple times weekly and reimbursed work travel expenses
-Generous reimbursement process and policy
-Laptop provided and paid for
-Smartphone provided and paid for
-Wireless modem/internet provided and paid for
-Clothes, luggage, bags, household and other cool brand promotion/reward and recognition items I order at my discretion
-Flexibility to adjust days to create longer weekends

These are the most valuable ones in my opinion...
« Last Edit: August 07, 2015, 09:03:02 AM by WYOGO »

zephyr911

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3619
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Northern Alabama
  • I'm just happy to be here. \m/ ^_^ \m/
    • Pinhook Development LLC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2015, 09:09:16 AM »
Locker room and occasional free food, and that's pretty much it. Still good though. Federal organizations are limited in what they can provide to employees. On the plus side, great bennies.

acroy

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1697
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Dallas TX
    • SWAMI
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2015, 09:10:57 AM »
Yeah!!! lots of freebies

-AC! this is a big deal :)
-Water, soda, often even food
-PAID to ride my bike to work. Kid not - $2/day!

those are the biggies

sleepyguy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 669
  • Location: Oakville, Ontario
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2015, 09:14:47 AM »
- water/coffee/pop/juice
- blackberry phone... although they can call me 24/7, i use it as my personal phone now for over 10yrs
- home internet, again because i work from home a lot... but still it's something
- lunch about once every couple weeks
- free sporting events... some nice private corporate boxes that i'm sure cost an arm/leg... paid drinks and food.  doesn't happen too often, maybe twice a year.

That's about it off the top of my head.

o2bfree

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 271
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2015, 09:20:16 AM »
I receive an unflattering but free staff shirt every two years.

Oh, yes, we get shirts and sometimes nice jackets with project team logos on them. It's been just in the past 5 years or so that there's been an option for women's sizes, which fit so much better.

I've been trying for years to get project managers to spring for team mini-skirts, but it just ain't happening.

bobechs

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1065
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2015, 09:28:22 AM »
A large feces sandwich.  Not every day, but all too often.

Have to supply one's own grin though.

bobechs

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1065
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2015, 09:39:57 AM »
Oh, I almost forgot... little half-stacks of Post-it notes.

Not so good when they have been through the washer and dryer, though.

bogart

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1094
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2015, 10:38:06 AM »
Oh, gee whiz.

Tons of free food.  Some free travel, with reasonably good flexibility over which trips I do/don't take.

Access to a shower (I don't use as much as I might, but it's there).  Laptop computer provided for my use with no attention to personal/work breakdown of the resource (I use it lots for work, but also for personal stuff). 

Great contribution (~10% of gross) to my retirement savings, regardless of whether I do/don't contribute.  Free tuition for my own further education (I haven't used this).  Fairly decent (by US standards) and heavily subsidized health insurance.  Heavily subsidized bus pass.  Great tuition benefit for my college-aged kids (none that age yet).  Some access to free mental-health counseling, the sort that can be helpful with short-term crises/need for advice.  Good (by US standards) PTO.

Free, ready access to a really, really great research library, and the staff support it offers. 

It's probably obvious -- I work for a socialist utopia private university.

norcalmike

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 52
  • Location: Santa Cruz , CA
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #14 on: August 07, 2015, 10:52:05 AM »
not much free other than the occasional leftovers from a work party.
I do get to keep my health insurance for free when I retire at 50. Thats pretty sweet

EricP

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 477
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2015, 11:16:42 AM »
Free gym and granted an hour of work time a day to use it so that helps with overall health a lot.

Also, get free cake from time to time and free meals when people have retirement and promotion ceremonies.

Also I have a subsidized dining facility so food is relatively cheap. Get a full meal prepared for 3-4 dollars depending on what I order.

BrandonP

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 105
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2015, 11:22:32 AM »
There is free coffee. But I don't drink coffee so doesn't affect me.

The occasional free snack. The manager is very generous.

Free use of internet. Typing from work atm! Although some websites are blocked.

Free use of printer and fax machine.

zoltani

  • Guest
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2015, 11:57:23 AM »
Not many freebies at my current job, lots at last. At last job they would tell us how much they spent on employee free food etc, one year it was around $700,000 company wide! At the time there were maybe 350 employees, so about $2,000/employee. I'd have rather taken it as a bonus honestly.

Albert

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1244
  • Location: Switzerland
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2015, 12:36:28 PM »
Depends what one counts as freebies. We have a gym, showers and outdoor sports fields free to use for employees. Also tea and coffee is free. Beyond that occasional business lunch or a dinner, but that depends a lot on your position. There is some entertainment budget used for organising barbecue or dinner/lunch in a restaurant when some important project is finished. Sometimes it's possible to combine business travel with vacation because we are allowed to go to location A for say 4 days for business, then stay for a week of vacation in the same place and the company would still pay for the plane ticket back. My business travels are rare and not to very interesting places, but I have used this option once or twice. A friend was working in an internal audit however and she rarely paid for her own tickets to travel around the world.

zephyr911

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3619
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Northern Alabama
  • I'm just happy to be here. \m/ ^_^ \m/
    • Pinhook Development LLC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2015, 01:01:30 PM »
Total coincidence: one of the new directors here (not mine) put on a big welcome breakfast for all his employees, with piles of fruit, donuts, and bottled juices. One of said employees is a regular contact and friend of mine, and he called me for help with the leftovers. Om nom nom...

OddOne

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 85
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #20 on: August 07, 2015, 01:57:53 PM »
Mr. Tooth's employer puts $400/month on a special debit card that can only be used on transit vending machines, to cover his commute. He uses $116/month for an unlimited subway pass, so the balance kept building. So on a lark,  last night I had him buy two more passes and I posted them on the community list serv, offering them at a slight discount. $700 in orders later, I have a new, very easy side hustle. I got my first $170 today for about 5 minutes of work. And any unsold inventory we'll just use for our own commutes.

We also get a 10% discount on the first $1000/yr we spend with Mr. Tooth's employer, which is great. They pay his phone bill in full too.

I get free coffee, tea, milk, the occasional lunch, and a $50/month reimbursement to cover my cell phone's data plan. Or, you know, the entire bill.

That is genius Serpentstooth!

zsmith

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 59
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #21 on: August 07, 2015, 02:17:06 PM »
Love this:

Free food - fancy catered lunches
Free booze - happy hours and a fully stocked fridge with beer, wine and soda
Swag - from events and samples (in the past year I've gotten diapers, bbq set, books and golf shirts)
Company car and gas
Phone reimbursement
Team outings
Reimbursement for work travel and all the loyalty points associated with it
Reimbursement for cell phone

Not to mention the 401k match and healthcare stuff. hey my job is pretty cool.



Debts_of_Despair

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 544
  • Location: NY
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #22 on: August 07, 2015, 04:37:20 PM »
I work for the govt so... Heating? Air conditioning?

Mrs. Pomodoro

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 184
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #23 on: August 07, 2015, 05:13:57 PM »
* Free food - my favorites are organic tea and fruits. My previous group used to bring in gourmet food trucks every week in summer but the new group doesn't do that.
* Paid for smartphone and services - but my boss texts me after work sometimes so I guess it's not exactly free.
* Tuition reimbursement up to a certain amount, enough for 2 or 3 classes in nearby universities and colleges every year. Used to take advantage of that but haven't taken any classes since having a kid.
* Significant discounts on company's own and partners' products. We don't buy much but when we do it saves a ton.
* Occasional free movies/events/concerts, maybe at least twice a year.

Will I miss any of them once I FIRE? Mayyybe the free concerts...

Dexterous

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 209
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #24 on: August 07, 2015, 11:14:22 PM »
Also I have a subsidized dining facility so food is relatively cheap. Get a full meal prepared for 3-4 dollars depending on what I order.

The AF dining facilities are great and underutilized, especially for the cost of veggies.  My wife and I eat there every weekday for lunch.  Our combined bill is around $6 daily, which isn't too bad for full plates of food.  Most of my coworkers go to the BX or off-base and spend $7+ each for fast food combos or restaurant food + tip.

I also get the opportunity to leave work at 3:15pm to go to the gym every day.

pachnik

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1897
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #25 on: August 08, 2015, 06:57:14 AM »
I work in a small law firm.  One of the guys offered to do my will and power of attorney for free.  Plus I can ask questions about legal things I want to know about.

okits

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *
  • Posts: 13074
  • Location: Canada
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #26 on: August 08, 2015, 09:48:53 AM »
I work in a small law firm.  One of the guys offered to do my will and power of attorney for free.  Plus I can ask questions about legal things I want to know about.

I think that's the best freebie posted.  Services that would costs hundreds of dollars and you know the competency and trustworthiness of the lawyer doing the work.

I work for the govt so... Heating? Air conditioning?

Ha ha...  I relate. Other than occasional free pizza, um...  Unlimited tap water and fluorescent lighting?  For use at office, only!

kpd905

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2029
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #27 on: August 08, 2015, 04:25:54 PM »
There seems to be cake or brownies about every other day for some occasion.  So, free diabetes I guess.

cdttmm

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 249
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #28 on: August 08, 2015, 07:14:00 PM »
State employee/community college faculty:

Parking is free
Movie showings 2-3 times per year, not first run movies, but usually fairly recent stuff
Drag shows twice a year; they are fundraisers, but you can always attend and not donate
Six theater productions per year
Myriad concerts
Book club meetings with free lunch
Birthday cupcakes every month
Popcorn on Fridays for about half the year
Two huge outdoor barbeques per year
A variety of cultural events that always have free food
Regular pizza parties (if you know how to find them)
Free t-shirt or some other swag once a year
More textbooks than you could ever want
USB drives
Counseling services (for a pre-determined number of sessions)

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting.

Hotstreak

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 838
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #29 on: August 08, 2015, 07:26:01 PM »
There seems to be cake or brownies about every other day for some occasion.  So, free diabetes I guess.


Same here, and a coworker has been on diabetes related disability for the last two months .. Mr. Boss is upset he can't hire for her position, but you gotta sleep in the bed ya make!

NV Teacher

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #30 on: August 08, 2015, 08:06:41 PM »
I've gotten head lice - twice.  Does that count?

11ducks

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 573
  • Location: Duckville, Australia
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #31 on: August 09, 2015, 12:20:47 AM »
Mr. Tooth's employer puts $400/month on a special debit card that can only be used on transit vending machines, to cover his commute. He uses $116/month for an unlimited subway pass, so the balance kept building. So on a lark,  last night I had him buy two more passes and I posted them on the community list serv, offering them at a slight discount. $700 in orders later, I have a new, very easy side hustle. I got my first $170 today for about 5 minutes of work. And any unsold inventory we'll just use for our own commutes.

We also get a 10% discount on the first $1000/yr we spend with Mr. Tooth's employer, which is great. They pay his phone bill in full too.

I get free coffee, tea, milk, the occasional lunch, and a $50/month reimbursement to cover my cell phone's data plan. Or, you know, the entire bill.

That is genius Serpentstooth!

I don't know, the ticket one makes me uncomfortable.  The money is intended for work related use, not to on-sell for your individual profit. I have access to the stationery cupboard at work, but would consider taking and selling stationery in it to be stealing. I suspect if you got caught doing this, your partners company would have cause to fire them for misappropriation of business funds?

Apples

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1375
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #32 on: August 09, 2015, 06:07:39 AM »
I get my oil changed and filters replaced in my car for free.  I get free peaches and apples all summer and fall.  I have a free toolbox and tools in it, which are mostly wrench sets and pliers.  I get a truck.  I get access to a shop full of tools for fixing things from vehicles to things around the house.  My grandma drops off free pies and cookies.  Free fishing and hunting.  Free use of a backhoe or other equipment the farm owns, none of which I have used but several people have used to dig out the septic tank or push back woods.  Free Spanish lessons haha.  Of course, one day I will buy the farm, and then as the owner I will be paying for all of these things, so then they will not be free to me.  But the still are to other employees.

2Birds1Stone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7964
  • Age: 1
  • Location: Earth
  • K Thnx Bye
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #33 on: August 09, 2015, 07:02:40 AM »
Catered lunch 1-2 x per month. (The only caveat is that this is usually a meeting or lunch n' learn)
Lots of delicious coffee and tea, we have a machine similar to Keurig with 15 types of coffee/iced coffee and 10-12 types of tea/iced tea.
Free milk (I bring in dry cereal and use their milk for breakfast)
Beer Cart Fridays - 4 months out of the year, the last month of each fiscal quarter they bring out beers from 3-5 PM on Fridays.
Company happy hours. Our team goes out every other month and company foots the bill.
Team Dinners - If you hit your quarterly sales commit you get treated to a very fancy dinner the following month.
Team building activities - Bowling, darts, BeachBQ etc during work hours
Free gym, university style with everything you would ever need, including basketball court, racquetball, spinning studio, etc
Showers w/ soap/shampoo dispensers, clean towels that get dropped off every morning.
EV Charging stations for employees with electric vehicles, free of charge
Temporary work from home arrangements for personal reasons, bad snow, etc.
30 days of PTO between vacations, sick, personal, holiday time.

Typing this out made me realize how freaking lucky it am to work where I do. It definitely contributes to my happiness in a big way. I used to hate my job prior to making the switch.
 

Zamboni

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3886
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #34 on: August 09, 2015, 07:12:21 AM »
^That all sounds pretty sweet!

I used to work somewhere that had a towel service as part of the gym. We also could request long-term lockers for storing our deodorant, running shoes, and other stuff in the shower area as opposed to at our desk areas. Now that you mention it, I really miss that.

frooglepoodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1309
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #35 on: August 10, 2015, 01:13:26 PM »
Coffee & tea
Doughnuts most Fridays
Lunches at work for all-hands meetings and sometimes lunch & learns, around once a month
In-house happy hour (beer, wine, soda, and snacks) once a month
Fantastic holiday party (open bar!)
Big, catered company summer picnic with bounce house for kids and mechanical bull for adults
Company outing to local NBA and MLB games (once each per year)

Plus it's a pretty great work environment, so that's always a plus.

kimmarg

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 750
  • Location: Northern New England
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #36 on: August 10, 2015, 02:55:48 PM »
Locker room and occasional free food, and that's pretty much it. Still good though. Federal organizations are limited in what they can provide to employees. On the plus side, great bennies.

Yea I'm a fed too and I get.... Free use of the scanner? Not much. They don't mind us printing the occasional personal item or fax, otherwise your tax dollars are pretty tight! I allowed to accept gifts up to $20 value. This usually ends up being lunch provided by some external meeting group, although a tour group gave me a baseball hat once.

Noodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #37 on: August 10, 2015, 10:05:43 PM »
Non-profit here, so more than the government workers but less than the corporate folks!

Let's see--

Free food when we work an event, plus leftovers; also, we rent some of our spaces out for meetings and the organizers generally leave their catering leftovers for staff rather than pack it all up and take it along with them. Also, free access to some pretty cool events and people when we are working.

Free parking (I forget sometimes this is a big deal many places)

Use of the scanner and judicious use of the copier and fax machine (this was super-helpful when I was buying a house and had to send the bank a ton of scanned documents).

Free or discounted classes and events in other divisions of our organization.

Free access to the New York Times online and other scholarly research databases

Free professional membership in our national society

MsPeacock

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1571
  • Location: High COL
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #38 on: August 11, 2015, 08:00:41 PM »
Government here too - so no free food, clothing, internet, computer, etc. I had a blackberry for a while but it was a PITA and I gave it back. Would rather not be *quite* so accessible.

There is an awesome gym and 50 yard swimming pool at work - so that is the best free thing when I have time to use it.

Free workshops and CE credits w/ onsite training that happens several times per year (absolutely no money for travel or paying for CEs outside of the work place though).

401K matching at 5% (free money) and pension (for which the govt contributes far more than I do) - more free money.

ClassyCat

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 58
  • Location: Danger Zone
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #39 on: August 14, 2015, 12:41:50 PM »
I work from home, so currently my employer pays for internet (up to $50) and phone (up to $100) since both are required for the job, which is really spiffy.

I develop software campaigns for companies who want to advertise and promote their products. Because of this, we'll sometimes get freebies from the companies. Last time it was free movie tickets from Fandango.

We also do annual company meetups since we're scattered across the country, and they pay for our hotel, food, travel, all expenses.

nobodyspecial

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1464
  • Location: Land above the land of the free
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #40 on: August 16, 2015, 08:50:46 PM »
Use of the scanner and judicious use of the copier and fax machine (this was super-helpful when I was buying a house and had to send the bank a ton of scanned documents).
Arghh banks and fax machines
Work in super high tech industry, we don't have fax machines, we don't even have regular phone lines to plug one in, even if I could find a laptop with a modem.  I spent $100 and hours at Staples faxing the bank massive  amounts of paperwork.

zephyr911

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3619
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Northern Alabama
  • I'm just happy to be here. \m/ ^_^ \m/
    • Pinhook Development LLC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #41 on: August 16, 2015, 08:53:45 PM »
We had a potluck for our departing summer intern on Thursday. I'm still eating leftovers.

lbmustache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 926
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #42 on: August 16, 2015, 09:15:20 PM »
I literally don't get anything free at work... ugh. I guess I get free printer paper and free coffee. :(

ZiziPB

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3418
  • Location: The Other Side
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #43 on: August 17, 2015, 01:23:54 PM »
Let's see:
- gym with towel service and private lockers
- parking (had to pay for this in my prior job)
- fax/printing/scanning/paper shredding
- catered summer picnic
- occasional lunches with outside service providers
- best of all: generous 401k match (had none in my prior job)

zephyr911

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3619
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Northern Alabama
  • I'm just happy to be here. \m/ ^_^ \m/
    • Pinhook Development LLC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #44 on: August 17, 2015, 02:04:13 PM »
Speaking of which, I should go use the weight room while I have the chance.

theSlowTurtle

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 45
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #45 on: August 18, 2015, 11:01:26 AM »
Was just talking to a coworker about this and got a laugh: "Going to the bathroom at work is great! You are getting paid to crap, and you don't have to pay for toilet paper" - Hard to fault this logic

Bric-a-Brac

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #46 on: August 18, 2015, 11:11:42 AM »
Where I work they give out free cookies, pretzels, and M&M's.  Some thrifty Mustachian has taken things too far and is absolutely clearing out the shelves on delivery day. :D  There's a huge office shitstorm about it. 

This is my last week before retirement so I'm kind of enjoying the drama.  A solid 50% of people here are morbidly obese so the thief is probably doing the company's health insurance bill a favor.


zephyr911

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3619
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Northern Alabama
  • I'm just happy to be here. \m/ ^_^ \m/
    • Pinhook Development LLC
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #47 on: August 18, 2015, 12:17:13 PM »
Ohmygod guys, I was dropping off some prep materials for a meeting in the executive suite, and they had just finished some kind of potluck. Snagged a sweet veggie sub, two kinds of delicious salad, and a cake whose crust was made from crushed pretzels. Mind = blown.

BTDretire

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3074
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #48 on: August 18, 2015, 12:37:50 PM »
I'm self employed, everything comes out of my pocket.
Nothing free!
 DARN  IT.  :-)

nobodyspecial

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1464
  • Location: Land above the land of the free
Re: Freebies at work
« Reply #49 on: August 18, 2015, 01:20:10 PM »
Ohmygod guys, I was dropping off some prep materials for a meeting in the executive suite, and they had just finished some kind of potluck. Snagged a sweet veggie sub, two kinds of delicious salad, and a cake whose crust was made from crushed pretzels. Mind = blown.

Quote from: zephyr911
Speaking of which, I should go use the weight room while I have the chance.