How to Make the Most of Your Job & Leverage Job Benefits

401K match

If your company offers a 401K with a match, take advantage of that match up to the full amount. So if they're matching 2%, you should be contributing at least 2% to your 401K or Roth 401K.

If they match up to 6%, you should be going up to 6%. That is money that they're offering to you and that is not included in your income. It has grown my net worth pretty significantly. It just goes a lot faster because I'm putting money in and then they match that.

Take advantage of a steady income

A steady income means you can pay your bills but also fund your side hustles or other things that you may want to spend your money on.

So for me, this is very, very important because I remember a time when I did not have a steady income coming in and I was very stressed out. I think a lot of people forget that a steady income is truly peaceful in your life.

I love having the money that I need to pay my bills, pay my rent, and everything that I need, to live my life. A steady income is great for anybody who's beginning with side hustles. You can use your full-time job to invest in your side business.

Appreciate that it provides structure

Your job provides structure and routine so that you can better manage your time. At least I find this the case for myself. So sometimes if I am given a full free day, I have the day off completely. I end up slacking off.

I find a structure with my full-time job. In the morning I typically stick to my routine, get some exercise in, read some, and get ready for the day, and then I work.

After work, I go to the gym. After the gym, I work on my side hustles and that's kind of the same thing every day, every weekday. I appreciate that because it puts this routine in my life that kind of forces me to do the things that I need to do.

Pay off debt or save

Use your pay increases and any bonuses that you receive to pay for debt or savings.

Anytime that I would get pay increases, that just allows me to put more money into my debt going forward. Once I become debt-free, I would put that towards investing. Kind of a reminder here too that your job is allowing you to create a better future for yourself.

If you don't want to work until you're 60 or 65, then you want to be using those raises and bonuses to invest and grow your wealth for the long term.

Use your PTO and benefits

Use your benefits and take your PTO. I try to use my PTO when I need to. I think still a lot of people end up dedicating too much of their life to work. I hate to see when people tie in their whole identity with their job.

To me, that can cause a lot of issues, emotionally, especially if you end up losing a job.

You should be taking your PTO. Just stay at home if you don't want to travel or staycation or something, or book some travel, because I think it is so important to take a step away from work and experience life outside of it.

Also, use your benefits as much as possible. If you have health insurance, go to the doctor and get your checkups every year, go to the dentist, get your cleaning every six months, go to the eye doctor every year, do everything yearly or every six months, however often you're supposed to go.

Same with any other benefits that your company may offer. Check out what your company has if you don't already know because sometimes there's more included that you may not even know about.

Network and advance your skills

Number six, the final thing is to use your job for networking and advancing your skills and career development if that's something that you do want to pursue because many people do want to move up the ladder or at least get promoted in some shape or form.

If I get promoted I can increase my income and that helps me to reach financial independence faster.

I also keep on learning the specific skills that I need to know for my job so that I can use that to get a promotion at my current job or use that elsewhere when I look at other companies. Take advantage of any career advancement that your company offers.

How to leverage your job benefits

Those are the six job benefits that I had in mind for taking full advantage of your job and using it to its full potential.

I know at the end of the day, it is such an amazing thing to have a job, especially to be in a job where you can excel and keep on growing and have amazing people around you, who are there to support you and help you.

Let me know in the comments down below what you appreciate about your job, what benefits you use, and how you take advantage of those benefits in any shape or form.