Paycheck to Paycheck

[pikachu]

This isn't a thread to discuss how much you earn but just to discuss paychecks in general.

How often do you get paid? Daily? Weekly? Bi-weekly? Monthly? Other?

Do you get paid by cash, check, or is your money direct deposited?

Do you take out any additional deductions for charity, investments, taxes, etc?

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I get paid bi-weekly and I prefer that. I only had one job where I was paid monthly and it was difficult to struggle through if I ran out of money before I ran out of month. At least being paid bi-weekly, I know I only need to get through 2 weeks before I get paid again.

The only problem with being paid bi-weekly is that some bills "migrate". Instead of payment being due the same day each month they can fluctuate so sometimes a bill starts off being due toward the beginning of the month but after a few months, it's due closer to the end of the month. Right now I'm in the situation where most of my bills are due in one two-week period so I have to save up enough money from one paycheck to help cover the bills due on the next paycheck. I'm waiting for it to balance out again.

As a state worker, I'm required to have direct deposit but that's fine with me. I'd rather have my money go to the bank directly so I don't have to make a special trip there to deposit my check before I can spend it.

After having two years in a row where I actually owed money on my income tax, I started withholding money from my paycheck. The first year I withheld an additional $10 per paycheck and this last year I bumped it up to $20. I like getting money back after taxes so I can put a big chunk down to pay off some of my credit cards or get deferred maintenance done on my car.

I recently signed up with ING to get some mutual funds so I'll be taking an additional $10 out with that. I'm a little concerned about if I can afford it since my budget is already so tight but I need to start some kind of savings plan to provide for my future.

In the past, I've deducted charitable donations to the American Cancer Society and the Lighthouse of the Big Bend (an organization for the blind).

[Gutmutter]

I get paid bi-weekly, but one summer it looked like there were going to be serious budget problems and our union rep recommended we take the summer checks in one lump sum (I'm a teacher - that's an option). I did and really messed up somehow, even though I thought I had it all figured out. I had to hit my credit cards to make ends meet. When I was first divorced with 3 teenagers living with me, I added my 3 big expenses together and divided them by two and took them right off the top of the paycheck (mortgage, heat, and car payment). I was left with so little that now I don't remember how I ever did it. But now my kids are all grown and my mortgage is practically non-existant so I have a little left over every check. It is a wonderful feeling I've never had before.

[pikachu]

The biggest paycheck fiasco I ever had was when I interned at Disney World. I was going to be working full-time at the Main Operations center at the Magic Kingdom but until I got trained at that job, they had me working at Epcot. Because of the mixup in locations, I didn't get my first paycheck for a whole month after I started working there. Thank goodness I hadn't bought many groceries with my roommates (because I hadn't decided on what I wanted). I had to ask my parents to send me money from my checking account in Tallahassee to make it through. I was seriously concerned for awhile that I was going to have to give up my internship and go home because I couldn't afford to stay there without a paycheck. I was sooooo relieved when I finally got paid!

I had wanted to have my money direct deposited but they didn't do that for interns. Instead they sent our checks to the location we were working at and personnel in those locations were supposed to hand them out. I never did find out where my checks had been hiding out. It shouldn't have taken a whole month to get them to me!

[Lizard]

Pikachu if thededuction does not workwith youbudget, change it. I prefer doing my own savings. I am biweekly. I believe that and weekly (for non governmental) are most popular

[KatesMom]

I actually get paid monthly. Add to that that I am a partner, and my check does not have taxes taken out, so I have to be very careful about that. The biggest mistake I made was the first year I made partner. I budgeted for the taxes, but knew nothing about the self-employment tax, which I was now responsible for. I ended up being about $13,000 short at the end of the year!! Thank goodness for parents who could help me out. Now I have an accountant who tells me exactly what to hold back each month. I am also lucky because my husband is paid twice a month - on the 15th and 30th. So we have set up most of our bills to be paid on the first of the month (I also get paid at the end of the month). Then we have his other paycheck to handle groceries and other stuff that comes up during the month. It has worked out really well for us.

[pikachu]

I ended up being about $13,000 short at the end of the year!!

Ack! It was bad enough for me when I owed $900 one year! I had to sign up for a new credit card and transfer the balance to it or I would never have gotten it paid on time. I couldn't imagine owing that much in tax! I don't think my parents could even help me get out of that deep of a hole.

It's definitely worth having an accountant in your case.

[JLuvs]

I am paid one a month. Last year was the first year that a was paid 12 months out of the year as I could opt into that when I signed my teaching contract. When I was a sub it was very stressful to figure out how to stretch it all and I worked every day. Now that I am hired again I can breathe, but I am looking forward to next year when I will get pay as right now I am an intern and a large part of my paycheck goes to Cal State.