Summer vacation is still a few months away. But you should start preparing your employees to save money on summer vacation now.
The average American family racks up about $1,100 in debt to go on vacation. Why not equip your employees with some money saving tips to help them avoid additional debt?
Encourage Employees to Bring Their Lunch
On average, Americans spend about $250 every month eating out. That adds up quickly! Encourage employees to bring their lunch to work at least once per week instead.
You could also try and start a lunch club or host a potluck. Employees can bring their favorite dishes to work and share with their coworkers.
Bringing lunch to the office could save your employees a few hundred dollars before the summer.
See if Your Benefits Providers Offer Discounts
Popular stores and businesses may offer discount programs through your benefits provider.
Discounts may include gym memberships to wholesale club memberships. Employees may have access to hundreds of dollars in savings through their existing benefits plans.
As you discover the discounts, send them out to your employees! Many employees may not even know they exist!
Challenge Employees to Budget
Budgeting is one of the easiest ways to find extra money in your paycheck to save for summer vacation. Connect with your financial wellness provider to see if you can create a contest or challenge to encourage employees to take the first steps towards building a budget.
Employees should prioritize saving every month and once they’ve built up an emergency fund, they can start saving for things like vacations or personal purchases.
You may also be able to find budgeting worksheets that you can download and share with your employees to make it even easier to save.
Work From Home Days or Car Pooling
The cost of commuting can be paralyzing in some cities in the US. Based on a survey in 2013, employees spend an average of one hour each day commuting to work, or about 32 miles of travel distance. Even just using the IRS’ standard reimbursement rates for travel costs of $0.54 per mile, that’s $17 per day.
If you let your employees work from home or are able to encourage employees to carpool, you can help them save big on their commuting expenses.
Share Your Favorite Apps
Money saving apps are a dime a dozen and everyone has their favorites. From couponing apps that can automatically help you find discounts at the grocery store to price-comparison add-ons that connect directly to the web browser, there are plenty of ways to find extra savings in day-to-day life.
Use your company’s intranet or create a centralized resource to let employees share their own money saving tips and apps with each other to help put some extra money back in their wallet.
It’s no secret that mounting debt affects employee performance at work. By helping your employees save for their upcoming vacations, you can help them avoid adding additional debt to their portfolio just to get away for a few weeks.