Don’t overlook workplace benefits

Sure, you get a paycheck every week. But are you taking advantage of everything else your employer offers its workers? Open enrollment season is a good time to make sure you’re not overlooking or underusing benefits that can fatten your wallet. Here’s what you should pay attention to:

Don’t leave money on the table. Bob Nelson, author of “1,001 Ways to Reward Employees,” says it’s foolish to not participate in 401(k) matching programs. “Matching money is a gift,” he explains. It may be tempting to use your hard-earned money now rather than setting it aside for retirement but if your employer matches money “think long and hard before refusing that money on the table,” says Ronald Leopold, vice president of institutional business at MetLife.

Take advantage of other employer-paid benefits. If your company offers flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), they’re basically offering you free money. You can use these programs to cover your health expenses on a tax-advantaged basis, says John Gibson of human-resources firm Convergys.

Don’t overlook services you have to pay for because you’re probably getting a great deal. “There are a lot of options offered to employees where they have to pay, but they’re often a good value,” says Leopold. For example, your employer may offer life insurance that covers your salary, but you may be able to buy additional coverage for up to five times your salary. Employers can also negotiate a fair or discounted rate on services such as long-term or critical-illness care, so pay attention to what they offer before you go it alone.

Energy prices falling, but you can do even better

With prices for some types of heating fuel falling, many families can expect to pay less this winter to keep their houses warm — but that shouldn’t stop them from adopting energy-saving strategies to lower bills even further.

Homeowners who heat with natural gas, the most widely used fuel, face heating costs that average $826 this winter, down from $945 last year, according to the government’s Energy Information Administration. Propane prices also are expected to be down, though heating oil could rise a bit, the EIA is forecasting.

Kateri Callahan, president of the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C., noted that even with some prices easing, energy costs one-third more than it did just two years ago. And, she pointed out, the winter could be colder than forecast.

“Energy efficiency is an insurance policy against volatile energy prices and unpredictable weather,” Callahan said.

Callahan points out that there are many things families can do to improve fuel efficiency without spending a lot of money.

Simply cleaning or changing the filter on a furnace can help it function better. Caulking and weather-stripping windows and doors can cut a home heating bill by as much as 10 percent, and increasing insulation in attics, crawl spaces and the basement can cut an additional 10 percent, Callahan said.

Sometimes, job-hopping can pay

Gone are the days of joining a company after college and staying with it for a promotion-filled 40-year career. Today, more and more companies are seeking talent from outside their own pools, and tenure at one organization is rare. If you want to make it to the top of the corporate ladder, job-hopping may actually be the only way to get there, according to Curtis J. Crawford, author of the new book “Corporate Rise: The X Principles of Extreme Personal Leadership.”

“Companies are looking for people who have broad experiences and people who can capture knowledge, absorb it quickly and advance into other positions,” says Crawford, who has held leadership positions at many companies including IBM, AT&T and DuPont.

As a result, today’s employees striving for top roles can actually benefit from strategically moving from company to company. But don’t just switch jobs for the sake of change, advises Curtis. He suggests crafting a strategy for your career advancement:

Identify what you want to do. Develop a comprehensive personal career plan and review it with your supervisor. Articulate what you want to accomplish and where you want to be.