My Family’s Money

Another thing about my wife’s job is that we don’t really know how much she makes. Crazy, isn’t it. I mean we know what she gets from her paychecks, but her hourly wage is somewhat of a mystery to us (and more specifically to me). She used to get paid a flat $1700 a month before her most recent review and schedule change. That was easy enough to figure out. Her boss probably figured how much she could afford and back calculated what an hourly wage would be ($10.89) but acted like she was paying a salaried employee. This scheme probably worked better for her, given her understanding of the finances of her business.

But now, since a supposed raise and a schedule change that has my wife working overtime, her actual hourly pay is now hidden in her employers complex payroll system. It doesn’t really bother my wife, but sometimes it drives me crazy. Why can’t her payroll be simpler? It really hampers my attempts to make predictions about what a change in her working hours will do to her pay. I’ve had to resort to doing estimates and random predictions. From what I have been able to tease out of the information I have decided that she makes about $12 an hour. If this estimate is true, then the following chart helps us understand just how long it will take for us to meet each of our goals based upon her saving power:

As you can see, each goal is broken down in the number of hours and full 8 hour work days that it would take to save for the various financial goals that we have on our list. These numbers can be used both for good and for evil. If for good, we can see them as providing a context for us to persevere through the tough times that her job brings her. We can put them on a calendar and mark off each day we march closer to our goals, counting each day a triumph. If for evil, we can see these numbers as road blocks to the things that we really want out of life, obstacles that seem insurmountable and strong.

I think I prefer to look at these numbers in the positive light, how do you see them?

Other Posts in this series (in order of appearance):
Jobs, Can’t Live With ‘em …
The Job Dilemma – The Numbers
The Job Dilemma – My Wife’s Potential Income
The Job Dilemma – The Decision
The Job Dilemma – The Resolution