I get a 3rd paycheck this month!

[Danoz]

So, I knew this was coming... due to the way we get paid (every two weeks) there are oddball months that we get a 3rd paycheck with no benefits taken out. Seeing as how I've been breaking even lately and with the holidays over, this is quite a boost for me. I'm running my monthly numbers (food, rent, utilities, student loans, transportation etc.) and I'm doing it, for the first time in months, without that annoying damnit-this-is-going-to-be-tight feelings. In fact, I feel motivated to save even more so that I can finally put something in my savings.

I'm new to the whole "salary" and "full-time job after college" thing. Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

 

[Small White Car]

Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

No, this is bizarre. If you get paid every 2 weeks (which is what I get too) then why would this happen? Every 2 weeks is...every 2 weeks!

 

[sidious618]

Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

No, this is bizarre. If you get paid every 2 weeks (which is what I get too) then why would this happen? Every 2 weeks is...every 2 weeks!

That was my thought as well.

 

[Trekker4747]

I get a bonus check this month!

 

[RevDMV]

Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

No, this is bizarre. If you get paid every 2 weeks (which is what I get too) then why would this happen? Every 2 weeks is...every 2 weeks!

But bills are monthly, and most months it's two checks.

If you are paid bi-weekly you get tow months a year with an "extra" check.

I like getting paid weekly or monthly(we do that at my business) easier to to deal with, IMHO.

 

[Kelso]

It sounds like his benefits are structured for 24 bi-weeks (2 bi-weekly payments per month) rather than 52 weekly payments. So, on 6 week months (if there are 3 paydays in a month) he gets a paycheck that doesn't have benefit payments taken out of it.

 

[Small White Car]

If you are paid bi-weekly you get two months a year with an "extra" check.

I now understand what you're talking about...EDIT: Scratch that, I'm still confused.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I'm new to the whole "salary" and "full-time job after college" thing. Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

You get paid on Fridays, on the 2nd, 16th, and 30th. I get paid on Fridays, too - but it's the other Fridays. So I don't get a 3-paycheck month until May.

"Every two weeks" occurs 26 times a year - 52 weeks divided by 2. But if it were always two checks a month, that would be 2 x 12, or 24. So twice during the year, in months with 5 of the day of the week you get paid on, you get another check.

Don't get too happy - it isn't all extra. You still gotta eat during those two weeks. It is nice, though.

I used to get paid weekly, and FOUR times a year I would get 5 paychecks in a month. But those were smaller checks, so it isn't as nice as it sounds.

 

[sidious618]

I think I get it now. I'm paid every two weeks but since I rarely worry about money (and spend zilch) I guess I just don't think about it.

 

[Small White Car]

Ok, so like, you're getting paid on the 3rd, the 17th, and the 31st (or something like that.) So I understand how there can be "3 paychecks in one month."

But I still don't understand why this matters. You're still getting paid for the time you've worked. I thought you were saying you were getting paid extra for work you didn't do...like you worked 25 days and are getting paid for 30...or something.

But that's not it. So I understand what you mean, but I don't get why it matters.

 

[Trekker4747]

Ok, so like, you're getting paid on the 3rd, the 17th, and the 31st (or something like that.) So I understand how there can be "3 paychecks in one month."

But I still don't understand why this matters. You're still getting paid for the time you've worked. I thought you were saying you were getting paid extra for work you didn't do...like you worked 25 days and are getting paid for 30...or something.

But that's not it. So I understand what you mean, but I don't get why it matters.

Look at it this way. Say his check is $800 and his monthly living expenses is $1000. This month he has $1400 in "extra" money rather than $600.

It's... "extra" money for the month!



Me, I get paid bi-weekly, truly. No "get paid" on the 15, 30, or whatever. I get paid every other week. Period. So it's "possible" for me to get three checks a month.

 

[Captain Ice]

Same here. In fact, I'll get checks on the 3rd, 17th, and 31st this month.

 

[Small White Car]

Look at it this way. Say his weekly check is $800 and his monthly living expenses is $1000. This month he has $1400 in "extra" money rather than $600.

It's... "extra" money for the month!

Ok, I understand.

This didn't occur to me because I think of my expenses as "weekly," even if they're not. It's just the way I think, so this never occurred to me, even though it must happen to me too at some point.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I'll get a third one aound April and again around October.
I'm paid every 2nd Wednesday

 

[DonIago]

Of course, to some degree the "extra" money gets canceled out when your next check is practically in the middle of the following month.

(gets paid every two weeks also)

 

[WillsBabe]

Anybody else get oddball paycheck months?

September/October is usually a good month for me. Our annual pay increase is negociated by the Union. It takes effect in April, but it usually takes until September/October to be ratified, which means that we get a few months back pay in a later pay packet. This last October I got about £300 backpay. It's like a little savings club.

 

[RoJoHen]

Look at it this way. Say his weekly check is $800 and his monthly living expenses is $1000. This month he has $1400 in "extra" money rather than $600.

It's... "extra" money for the month!

Ok, I understand.

This didn't occur to me because I think of my expenses as "weekly," even if they're not. It's just the way I think, so this never occurred to me, even though it must happen to me too at some point.

I think of my expenses as "Oh shit, I need to pay my bills."

I also tend bar, so I get paid every day!

 

[Scout101]

Of course, to some degree the "extra" money gets canceled out when your next check is practically in the middle of the following month.

(gets paid every two weeks also)

Not really, not when you consider monthly expenses. If your mortgage is, say $1500/month, there's a big difference between 2 paychecks and 3 that month. "Daily" or weekly expenses, such as food, gas, and whatnot, aren't affected by this at all, as you consume at the normal rate, but nothing gets cancelled out, as next month, you'll still get the normal 2 paychecks that you budget from. Just twice a year, there's an 'extra' paycheck from the POV of your monthly budget.

You're still paying for 30-31 days a month, regardless of paychecks, so your expenses don't shoot up, just if you get paid every other week (usually Thursdays for Fridays), the day of the month that it starts on sometimes results in a 3rd paycheck that month...

 

[SPOCKED]

^^ Hey, I get 5 paydays this month and no amount of wizardly revisionism is gonna take that away

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I only get two paychecks this month.

But one of them will have my quarterly bonus on it, and finishing first should mean a nice little check.