If you are looking at different job opportunities to help increase your income, you may want to consider some jobs that can pay you twice. Once, they pay you in your regular paycheck, and twice they pay you in the form of valuable benefits and perks. When you are trying to stretch a dollar every which way, it pays to know what different employers are offering besides just a paycheck. Keep in mind that there may be a minimum number of hours you must work to meet the requirement for a discount or freebie, but even working part-time in some places you can still score some great deals.

Discounts on Essentials

If you work at a grocery store, you can get a discount on food purchases in some chains. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are examples of organic food stores that offer their employees between a 10 to 20% discount on food purchases. If you are unsure whether a particular store offers an employee discount, ask a current employee.

Some specialty food stores, like Starbucks, also offer their employees some freebies. They are reportedly allowed to bring home one pound of coffee a week, on Starbucks tab. If you are a caffeinaholic, this might be a job that can pay you twice in terms of how much money you save in coffee drinks.

Working at or Attending a University

There are a number of different angles that can be taken advantage of if you are either working at or attending a university. As an employee you have multiple benefits from gym memberships and health perks to access to student cafeterias where prices are low. If you are attending a university, you will want to use a part-time job to help offset the cost of your tuition and use the perks that the university’s student ID card can give you.

Okay, the pay is usually not good at a university to start with although that might vary depending on what you do for them. However, they are legendary for the number of benefits and perks that they give their employees. If you are looking for healthcare or just cheap furniture, being a state employee can give you access to some places to get lightly used university equipment and furniture at their surplus stores.

Another way to get any job to pay you back twice, if you are attending a university, is to find one that offers tuition reimbursement for your particular career path. Tuition is very expensive and getting this perk can more than make up the difference between a low-wage job and a higher paying job. Just make sure that the degree you are pursuing will be approved for reimbursement, otherwise, you will want a higher wage to pay the tuition bills.

Discounts on Entertainment

If you are semi-retired or a student working part-time, you may want to look into jobs that pay you back in terms of entertainment. Working for the movie theaters, for instance, can score you some free or discounted passes. Working for the symphony can get you in cheap too. It doesn’t have to be about essentials, and it’s nice to have a few extra tickets that cost little to nothing for days when you want something fun to do.

Working in Retail Stores

If you are in need of clothing, working in retail stores can pay you back in employee discounts on merchandise and clothing. Whether it’s furniture, house wares, or clothing, many big retailers offer their employees a discount. Some will even go as far as to offer it to their part-time employees.

You will want to be careful to purchase necessities and items that last a long time. If you blow your entire paycheck on buying items at the store because of a discount, then it’s no longer such a good deal. Stick to items you can resell to others or that will last indefinitely, like cookware. Clothing can be had for an even deeper discount if you wait for clearance items and then use your employee discount, if that is allowed. Remember that stacking discounts is a great way to save money. This is definitely one way to stretch your dollar to make your ends meet.

Getting Your Perks Without Being a Direct Employee

Even when you don’t work for someone, they can still offer you a perk for bringing in new customers or being a new customer yourself. Payday loan companies allow you to refer people to them and get yourself a free payday loan. So, you don’t always have to work for someone to get a potential discount or freebie. Check out your own free payday loan for being a new customer with an online payday lender today.

Other forms of perks that are given to people are similar to the auto industry offering 0% financing to their regular customers. Of course, that deal is over, but don’t be surprised to see more and more of these perks being offered to the general public as a way to bring in new business.

Then, you have benefits based on social demographics. If you are a senior citizen or a student, for instance, you can get discounts on meals, transportation, and entertainment. Some daycares offer discounts to single parents, but you have to ask them for it. If you think you are part of a special demographic that can get a discount here or there, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Where to Find Information on Perks and Benefits

If you are unsure as to whether a benefit is available or not, you can usually spot discounts online. If you are going to a university-sponsored event, it’s almost a given they offer a student and senior citizen discount, but you can ask when you order tickets.

Before you interview with a company, you can also check their website to see what their benefits are. It’s not recommended to ask about perks and benefits at an interview because it shows that you are more interested in the perks than the jobs. So, keep that your little secret and after the job is offered you can hammer out the benefits with human resources.