If you have been hit by the recent financial crisis, or are new to consultancy and owe several thousands in student debt there are a number of ways to top up your salary by the perks of the job:1. Hotel benefits. Being on a long term project away from home can mean staying in some luxurious hotels. Hilton/Marriott/etc have points programmes per stay. Making the most of this could mean you will rise through their own tier system. If staying in the same chain of hotels for a year could be equivalent to accumulating enough points for a week holiday in a nice hotel. Assuming a week away and £100/night = £700 cost saving. Depending on hotel and your achieved tier, you could access the Executive lounge, offering complimentary food and drink. Cost saving = £10/night.2. Flights. In flying each week to client sites make use of the airline points system similar to hotel systems. Could save enough for flights for 2 to a nearby destination (a free holiday with the hotel saving above). Saving = approx £400+. Also if you accumulate enough points, you will have access to airport lounges, with food and drink access for free.3. Credit Cards. Some offer points for pounds spent, or 1%-5% cashback. Points could be used to top up hotel/flight points, and if your spend approx £3000 on expenses per month, cashback would be at least £30/month.4. First class travel. If you have the option to travel 1st class on trains this will typically invlove a free breakfast/dinner. Saving = £10 per meal.5. Company resources. Some consultanies offer their staff (for their own and home use) resources such as laptop bags, umbrellas, external hard drives, printers, etc. You can save a lot by buying your own and charging back to your company.6. Petrol. If you drive to site and use your own car, you can claim petrol expenses. Typically your company will offer slightly more than what you paid, varying for what they charge the client. This can typically be up to 10p per litre saving.7. Food allowance. Some companies offer allowances for dinner, e.g £30/night for dinner. If you don't manage to spend it all, go to the local supermarket and buy some ammenities for home, if this is food, you could recharge this to your nightly allowance.8. Unethical methods. There are a number of unethical methods people use to save money, probably not worth mentioning here.Can anyone else add to the list? Also I would like to get peoples view on which consultancy and practice I work for.
