There’s this saying, “What you don’t know cannot hurt you.” Poet Thomas Gray also wrote, “Ignorance is bliss.”

But there are times that what you don’t know may hurt you (and maybe your wallet, too) especially if they’re valuable.

Reddit is a social news aggregator and discussion website. This is where members post texts and links of basically whatever they like, with or without substance. Most of the time, though, it’s a gold mine.

There are also communities or what members call ‘subreddits.’ Of course, there’s a community by Filipinos and about the Philippines, r/Philippines. There’s a thread there started by user batangbronse where he asked, “What benefits do majority of Pinoys miss out on because they aren’t aware that those benefits are available to them?”

The original poster’s contribution is this: If you have been contributing for SSS for a total of 36 months, you can get a low-interest loan from them that you can pay via salary deduction.

Other community members contributed, too.

Free McDonald’s coffee

“McDonald’s offers free all-day refill once you purchase a large cup of coffee. It’s refillable for the whole day, even if you go off premises, for as long as you refill from the same branch, and you bring the receipt and the same cup,” writes user P-Noise.

I tried asking the nearest McDonald’s branch from our office about this. Yes, they’d refill if you buy a large cup of coffee, but they’d only refill it once. Others commented the same, too. Still, free large cup of coffee.

Benefit from Employees’ Compensation Program

“Kung ikaw ay naaksidente or nagkasakit ng dahil sa trabaho, meron kang benepisyong makukuha sa Employees’ Compensation Program. For more info, visit https://ecc.gov.ph/ or https://www.facebook.com/ecc.official/, or call 899-4251,” says zyxrbg.

(If you got into an accident or got sick because of your work, you have a benefit from the Employees’ Compensation Program. For more info, just visit their website, Facebook, or call 899-4251.)

Free septic tank desludging service

“Si Manila Water may libreng pa higop ng septic tank. Already availed this twice in the past 10 years. Tawag ka lang sa office nila para mag pa schedule,” says Lie_detector2000.

(Manila Water has free desludging of septic tank. [I’ve] already availed this twice in the past 10 years. Just call their office for a schedule.)

I got in touch with the Manila Water regarding this. They clarified that their free desludging service of septic tanks will only be available to the public if they coordinated with their Barangays for the scheduling and enlisting. “This is because the Barangays are assigned to get the list of households who need desludging service and being scheduled.”

However, if the households want to request for this service and don’t want to be scheduled, it’s available for P3,000 per tank for residential properties and P6,000 for commercial establishments.

P100,000 for 100-year-olds

“‘Pag umabot ka ng edad 100 sa Makati, may libre kang [P100,000],” writes FakeLouie.

(If you reached the age 100 in Makati, you get P100,000.)

Another user commented: “Actually, not only Makati. ‘Pag umabot ka ng 100 years, may [P100,000] cash gift ka from the national government plus letter from the president sa birthday mo. Kung taga-Makati ka, it’s [P100,000] from the [national government plus P100,000] from Makati LGU.”

(Actually, not only Makati. If you reached the age 100, you get P100,000 cash gift from the national government plus [a] letter from the president. If you’re a Makati resident, it’s P100,000 from the national government plus P100,000 from Makati LGU.)

Good luck to us in actually reaching 100 years old.

Social Security Service’s Sickness Benefit

“If you are an SSS (Social Security Service) member and had a medical operation, you can reimburse some of the cost. I had an operation that cost P36,000. I [used] my health card then [got reimbursed with] around [P15,000] from SSS,” writes joseph31091.

Another user also writes: “SSS member here who had his foot fractured and I was out of the office for [two] months. SSS paid my monthly salary for [two] months, computation something-something. This was [three] years ago. [If I recall correctly], I received approximately P60,000. Checkout SSS sickness benefit.”

For more information, check SSS Sickness Benefit on their website here.

Cheap (and sometimes free) pants alteration

“Alterations only cost like [P55] when you buy pants [at] SM Department Stores,” says penatbater.

Moreover, if you buy pants over P990 at Uniqlo, you can also avail of their free in-store leg length alteration service. The service can be as fast as 30 minutes, enough to do the rest of your errands in the mall.

Visit the thread for more benefits you think you don’t know yet.

Header image courtesy of Cebu Daily News