#MoneyManagement #FinancialPlanning #SavingsTips #Budgeting #InsuranceCoverage
🤑 OMG! It’s like you got a raise! 🤑
If you have ever been in a situation similar to the one described above, you might have found yourself feeling frustrated and misunderstood. When your employer tells you that switching to a better and cheaper insurance plan is like getting a raise, it can be difficult to see it that way. In reality, it’s not a raise at all – it’s simply a smarter way to spend your hard-earned money.
In this article, we’ll delve into the concept of feeling like you’ve gotten a raise through smart financial decisions, particularly when it comes to insurance coverage. We’ll explore the benefits of optimizing your insurance plan, as well as provide practical tips for making the most of your money.
##Understanding the Myth of “Getting a Raise” by Switching Insurance Plans
It’s a common misconception that switching to a more affordable insurance plan is equivalent to receiving a raise. The reality is quite different, as the money you save from a better insurance plan is still a part of your total compensation package. Here are a few key points to consider when evaluating this claim:
###1. Defining a Raise vs. Savings
– A raise typically involves an increase in your base salary or hourly wage, resulting in more take-home pay.
– Savings from an insurance switch, on the other hand, are a result of optimizing your expenses without any actual increase in income.
###2. The Importance of Budgeting and Financial Planning
– Making smart financial decisions, such as finding a more cost-effective insurance plan, is an essential part of responsible budgeting and financial planning.
– It’s crucial to distinguish between genuine income increases and prudent spending choices to avoid misunderstanding your financial situation.
##Maximizing Your Savings through Smart Insurance Decisions
While it may not feel like getting a raise, optimizing your insurance coverage can certainly have a positive impact on your financial well-being. Here are some actionable steps you can take to make the most of your insurance plan:
###1. Research and Compare Insurance Options
– Take the time to explore different insurance providers and plans to find the best coverage at the most competitive rates.
– Utilize online comparison tools and seek recommendations from trusted sources to make informed decisions.
###2. Evaluate Coverage Needs and Adjust Appropriately
– Assess your current insurance needs and consider adjusting your coverage to align with your lifestyle and financial objectives.
– Avoid overpaying for unnecessary coverage while ensuring that essential aspects of your health, life, and property are adequately protected.
###3. Leverage Employer-Sponsored Benefits
– Capitalize on employer-provided insurance options and carefully review available plans to identify potential costs savings.
– Understand the range of benefits offered by your employer and make strategic choices that align with your individual and family needs.
###4. Seek Professional Financial Advice
– Consult with a financial advisor or insurance specialist who can provide personalized guidance in navigating the complexities of insurance planning.
– Gain insights into long-term financial strategies and establish a comprehensive approach to managing your insurance expenses.
##Empowering Yourself Through Financial Literacy
One of the most effective ways to combat the misconception of “getting a raise” through insurance savings is by empowering yourself through financial literacy. By educating yourself on personal finance principles and making informed decisions, you can take control of your financial future. Here’s how you can enhance your financial literacy:
###1. Read Personal Finance Literature and Resources
– Dive into books, articles, and online resources that offer valuable insights into budgeting, saving, investing, and insurance management.
– Stay informed about the latest trends and best practices in personal finance to refine your understanding of financial concepts.
###2. Enroll in Financial Education Courses
– Consider enrolling in financial literacy courses or workshops offered by reputable institutions or online platforms.
– Acquire practical skills and knowledge to navigate financial challenges and make sound financial decisions.
###3. Engage in Open Dialogue with Financial Experts
– Engage in conversations with financial professionals, such as accountants, advisors, and insurance agents, to gain clarity on complex financial matters.
– Seek opportunities to ask questions, seek clarification, and broaden your financial knowledge through expert guidance.
##Final Thoughts: Redefining the Notion of Getting a Raise
In conclusion, the idea of “getting a raise” through optimizing your insurance plan is a misinterpretation of sound financial management. While it may be challenging to change the perspective of employers and colleagues, it’s essential to recognize the true nature of insurance savings as a smart financial decision rather than an increase in income. By taking proactive steps to maximize your insurance benefits and enhancing your financial literacy, you can assert control over your financial destiny and build a secure foundation for future stability.
Remember, making informed choices about insurance coverage and overall financial planning is crucial for achieving long-term financial success. So, the next time someone insists that “it’s like you got a raise” through an insurance switch, you can confidently assert that it’s simply a savvy way of managing your money.
They’re not giving you any more money. You are simply spending your dollars elsewhere for a better deal on healthcare.
Not to mention that those $400 weekly dollars are now taxable and will be far less on the bottom line of your paycheck.
And is that $400 a net savings? Does it include the money now coming out of your spouse’s check?
Fuck this line of thinking. How it is a raise that I’m no longer trapped into paying for your overpriced benefits?
Its like you got a raise! No, its like you are not getting ripped off anymore…
Actually, since they don’t have to contribute to your premiums anymore. It’s like you’re giving them a raise.
Classic HR gas lighting. Glad you stood your ground
You didn’t get a raise. They have a bad healthcare plan at your company so you switched. That’s what actually happened.
Damn op, I’m annoyed for you
Just say, “I see it more as a damning indictment of how poorly you manage the benefits program.”
$400 a week savings? So you were paying over $400 a week for insurance for a family of 3?
>I don’t think this company would use it as an excuse to not give me a raise
Uuuhhhhhhhh…. you sure about that? Because companies have done more callous things than this.
A few years back I got kicked off my PPO plan because the company was going with high deductible plans. Since there were only a couple dozen of us left, HR met with each of us over the plan details. I asked how much this would save the company and they claimed it was just about saving money for the employees. That was BS and the high deductible plans don’t work great if you have the “wrong” kind of expenses.
Hold on, why are you using your insurance at all now? If hers is better and cheaper then you should all be on her plan as a family and you can stop paying into yours entirely.
My company finally, after 5 years of 2% raises, gave everyone a 5% raise late last year. Then in December, the new health insurance plan comes out and of course our rates, deductibles, and co-pays go up so much as to completely offset the raise.
My last company started getting shady and give one time bonuses in lieu of raises. Dumbass people were so happy. “Look man I’m getting an extra $2,000.” Had to write it down on paper for them to see how much that would cost them over a career.
Reminds me of a few yrs ago when i worked at Sooubway, the state min wage was going up a dollar and my manager was trying to sellit as “you guys are getting a raise!” She seemed upset when i corrected her by saying ‘the government is forcing you, if it wasn’t for them we wouldnt be getting a “raise” ‘
#WHEN WILL YOU GODDAMMED FUCKING YANKEE SUCKERS STOP VOTING AGAINST YOUR INTERESTS JUST TO P0WN THE LIBZ? UNIVERSAL COMPULSORY HEALTH INSURANCE WORKS WELL AND NEVER HAS BANKRUPTED ANYBODY!
With love — Canada
My company raised our family plan so high I couldn’t afford but kept because son has expensive medical needs. Hubs changed jobs (loved his job) just to get insurance for him & son. My job was appreciative because it’s a “self insurance company” & sons meds & ICU visits costly. I in fact got a raise lol.
It would feel like a raise to me, but it would anger me with the heat of 1000 suns for my employer to pretend like they did me some favor by having terrible, prohibitively expensive insurance for their employees families.
Old HR gal here: They shouldn’t be offering up any comments in regards to your financial decisions. They should shut up, say thanks for letting us know and process your change of status. It was once my job to coordinate benefits and changes. I would *NEVER* be so presumptuous to add my .02 about anything an employee decided unless it was asked the pros and cons of those decisions.
HR does what HR does. I’m certain they’ll try and pretend they gave you a raise, when infact. You are the one saving them money.
Wow you’re getting evicted?? No more rent!! Its like getting a raise!!
It’s like your wife got a raise and your HR is breaking their own arm patting themselves on the back
Oh yes. I retired after 21 years in the Navy, several years ago. Every single position I’ve interviewed for since then, the employers always speak of my retired pay and Tricare Prime as though it’s part of their compensation package. Not once have any of the positions discussed annual income, while not including my retired pay in the sum.
My retired pay from a previous career has no place in the compensation package discussion.
I’m a very easy-going guy, but this one issue has really ticked me off, each time it’s come up.
Should have reversed that back at them.
So when people get insurance from the company it’s like taking a pay cut? Is that what you are saying? Because they keep insisting that you got a raise when you switched insurance companies to your wife’s paycheck.
Yes, it’s a crazy way of thinking.
Lol those fuckos will do anything to not pay people what they’re deserving of.
Oh you’ll definitely be skipped on the next raise cycle unless its mandatory.
I’m a temporary employee where I am. I’m finishing the process of becoming permanent. My pay is going down $5/hour because I’ll be getting benefits that aren’t offered to temporary employees.
In Missouri, we have another saying:
don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s rainin’
Why are you still on the plan at your work and not on your wife’s plan as well?
Reminds me of my old work giving me a mandated minimum wage raise increase (CA has minimum salary wages tied to minimum wage that increased the past years every year) and calling it a merit raise. I was like cmon man I can look this up and you’re paying me the minimum down to the cent – not even rounding up to the nearest dollar!
TL:DR One of my old jobs slashed benefits to the tune of $12k/yr and fired me for having an issue with it.
One of the companies I worked for covered our insurance premiums 100%. Then they were bought by another company (but sold it to us as a merger), and the resultant organization murdered two things – our bonuses (~$8k/yr) and our insurance plans. The new insurance plan they offered was about $300/month employee responsibility. So with that almost $12k in effective salary reduction, I asked for a salary increase to compensate because I couldn’t survive off of what they were paying me. I kept being told “we’re working on it” for months while being one of the best engineers for the company, before I started getting loud about the issue. Then, despite being given a “meets expectations” annual evaluation on Wednesday, was fired on Friday for “job performance”.
Your wife’s company gave you a raise by offering significantly more affordable insurance, not yours
You have to pay for health care? What backwards, third world country is this???
Four hundred fucking dollars A WEEK?!??!?! What in the american flavored dystopia is this bullshit?
> I don’t think this company would use it as an excuse to not give me a raise
They are 100% going to use it as an excuse to not give you a raise, or give you a smaller one than you deserve.
Sitting in the UK—lol, that stuff is free over here! Part of a thing called the social contract. It is the glue that holds societies together. Go back and ask why your taxes are being wasted on killing people instead of educating you and keeping you healthy. We have people here, paid by USA lobbyists, trying to get rid of socialism, but it ain’t very successful.
I recently retired from a huge corporation that went almost entirely WFH during the pandemic.
Just as WFH was winding down our VP had monthly “round table” Zoom meetings for ten or so non-direct reports to discuss, well, *his* feelings usually but ostensibly it was to get an idea how the rank-and-file were doing.
He brought up how “hard” it was to deal with employees had couldn’t come back into the office because they had taken the “opportunity” to move to cheaper places to live and yet the company still had to pay them what they were paying in our more expensive local area. He claimed that the savings rightly “belonged” to the company and was exploring with HR lowering the wages of off-site workers so the *company* could be compensated for workers being off-site.
The only member of my group who moved away was a guy with four kids whose wife got laid off during COVID and was offered a job in Arkansas, so the family moved to maintain the income they needed to support them. The VP used this case as an example of “the problem” (apparently he didn’t know I knew the guy and didn’t mention his name) and went on and on about how much of a raise my co-worker was getting for leaving the area. Now the new mandate was everyone was required to come into the office on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the VP was trying to work out an “arrangement” where my remote co-worker would take a pay cut if he refused to adhere to the new scheduled (ie, refused to move uproot his family again and move 2,000 back to where we were based).
The kicker to this story is that the VP himself had moved to Oregon during the pandemic and he was handling this dilemma by spending every third month locally and working remotely the other two, and even though this wasn’t *technically* Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the office (or even 3/5 onsite for that matter) it was close enough for him to decide he was exempt from the taking a pay cut for not being a local employee.
It’s almost like our society would be tons better if we had a single system that everybody was a part of, and corporations just paid a portion of their insurance costs into that pool. That would free everyone of being shackled by a job just to get health insurance. Employees could choose careers/companies that truly made them happy, or at least less miserable, and productivity would rise. Companies could even offer premium add-on plans to woo employees, or pocket the difference between what they were paying and what they are. Profits would rise.
Literally everybody would win, except private/for profit health insurance companies, but it’s rather been established that they’re pariahs on society anyways.
But no, a certain party here has to trash any attempt at changing the status quo. *sighs*
This reminds me of the time on a manager call that HR was talking about how we should tell our team that even though they only make what they make, the employee actually costs the company about 30$ an hour per person. Thankfully my senior manager took the phone away when I reached for it. I was 100% about to lose my job asking “what idiot thinks any employee gives any fucks about how much they are costing the company.”
I was hot that day. Even ended up putting in a few feelers to other companies.
As a matter of fact the business got a raise. Your single plan is now cheaper than the family plan you used to have.
Health insurance shouldn’t be tied to your work. It makes people do desperate things.
I made exempt min wage for 4 years, and even forfited my benefits that were paid for because they sucked and I did not use them.
After 4 years, when I asked for a raise I was laughed off and told no. I was told that the min wage increases that had been happening on the 1st each year counted as a raise and they were unsure why I was saying I never got a raise.
They also showed me metrics that the min wage increases I got were more than they were ever going to give me.
Companies who act like these are trash.
After the second time she said it, I would have looked up and snapped, “Stop saying that.”
And if the next words out of her mouth were anything other than agreeing to process my changes, I’d repeat it, “Stop saying that. It’s workplace harassment, and I’m going to get Legal involved if you don’t stop.”
The worst about insurance is when you pay for the shit and they try and penalize you! My work takes $20 a check out if you don’t do their health assessments and shit. Like ummmm I am paying for my insurance!
That first sentence. Why the fuck are we doing this to ourselves for!?
Divorce HC from employment! We have to stop letting them have this control!
I’m a Brit, I paid £50/month for access to private health care which also included my spouse and children, and even then I was considering getting rid of it for my £600/year as I never used it, NHS was good enough. Paying $400/week is INSANE.
> I don’t think this company would use it as an excuse to not give me a raise
That is *exactly* what they were trying to do. They kept repeating it 1) to ingrain it in your head as ‘fact’, and 2) to try and get you to verbally agree with them, thus going on-record as considering this a raise.