Ever notice that your mom is able to take a week off for a family vacation and doesn't get fired? Or that when you went to the hospital because you decided it would be fun to jump from your balcony onto a trampoline, your parents didn't become destitute from all the medical bills?

You have benefits to thank for that.

Benefits are perks that come with a job. Sometimes, they're just things your bosses do to be nice—like ordering in lunch every Monday—but usually, benefits are paid for by deductions from your salary (although it costs less than paying for them directly).

Here's what you're looking at:

Health Insurance

Depending on the terms, your health coverage might pay for doctor's visits, hospital visits, medication, dental care, eye care, mental health care…and even care for your entire family. You can be on your parents' health insurance plan until you're 26, at which point you're either going to pay out of pocket or get some assistance from your employer in the form of a benefit.

Vacation Time and Sick Leave

Some jobs allow you to take a certain amount of time off each year for vacation, and will even pay you all or part of your salary while you're not at work. (That's why it's known as PTO or paid time off.) Some employers will also pay for a certain number "sick days"—no one wants their coworker coughing all over them, arewerite?

Retirement Funds

Certain employers will set up a retirement fund for you; the idea is that you can contribute pre-tax money to the account so you have more money in the bank earning interest. In some cases, your employer will actually match however much you put in, meaning that whatever you put into your retirement account, they put in, too. Yep—free money.

Stock Options

Some companies offer stock options (i.e., tiny shares of ownership in the company). Stock prices can go up in value as the company does well; if the company gets sold or goes public (or already is public and continues to do well), you can sell those stock options and make a decent amount of cash. It's not guaranteed money, but it can be a huge benefit if it pays off.
Life insurance

Some companies will pay an employee's family if the employee dies. It often amounts to about a year's worth of salary, but some companies, like Google, might continue paying out for years.

Disability Insurance

If a worker is injured on the job and can't go back to work, disability insurance would pay them enough to get by.

Flexible Savings Accounts

A job with a flexible savings account lets an employee set aside some of their cash before taxes get taken out. That money is then put into a special account and can be used for things like daycare expenses and medical care.

Worker Training

Want to get your MBA while working as an investment banker? Hoping to get your degree in education while teaching? Some employers send their employees to free classes or offer financial help for classes and degrees. On a smaller scale, some employers will send their employees to conferences and other training sessions where they can gain skills—and straight-up knowledge—to help them be better at their job.

Worker Discounts

If you work in retail, you'll probably get some discounts on the store's products. It helps the store because you can then speak better on behalf of the products; it helps you because you always smell like coconut lime verbena.

Bottom line: benefits matter. They add up monetarily, so much so that a lower-paying job with more benefits might actually be more financially sound than a higher-paying job with no benefits. Something to think about.