October was "the extra paycheck" month

I've been paid every other week in every job I've ever had (30 years of work). That means 26 paychecks a year. However, 2 months of every year have 5 Fridays which sends people into the dance of joy because they get "an extra paycheck." I do not, have not, and probably will never understand this. CPAs and financial types, get ready to explain this to me.

My mortgage is due the 1st of every month, so I pay it with the paycheck closest to the 1st. In October, this was, oddly enough, the 1st! So October was paid October 1st. Paycheck of October 15th (or whatever the 3rd Friday was) paid for car, Bob, etc. November (Nosevember) mortgage was paid with October 29's paycheck. So where is this extra paycheck and why don't I have more money?????

I apparently am the only person who cannot figure this out.
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I think this means you wont be paying any mortgage out of November's 2 paycheques. So for October and November, you got 5 paycheques, and you paid mortgage twice. Most times, you'll get 4 paycheques and pay mortgage twice. At least, that's what I think I'm seeing here.

Our mortgage is payed every 2 weeks, so those 3 paycheques months, we pay mortgage 3 times. We never get a free paycheque then, but I guess the upside is we're paying down the mortgage a bit faster.
This can be a very annoying problem to many. I have developed a solution to anyone who is suffering from these "extra" or "free" paychecks. simply endorse them and mail them to Bailee's Dad and I will properly dispose of them. I am willing to do this for EVERYONE who has this problem. :wink:
Baba wrote:
I think this means you wont be paying any mortgage out of November's 2 paycheques. So for October and November, you got 5 paycheques, and you paid mortgage twice. Most times, you'll get 4 paycheques and pay mortgage twice. At least, that's what I think I'm seeing here.


But I paid November's mortgage with the Oct. 29 paycheck. I'll get a check November 12 , then I will pay December's mortgage from the November 28 paycheck.

So Bailee's Dad, I don't have an extra check to give you cuz there isn't one!! :lol:
I love this convoluted logic. :lol:
I never bought into that extra check thing either. Especially the jobs that paid in 1 monthly check...that was hard to budget though!
Currently on every other Friday now...much easier.

Maybe just be glad you get a paycheck and call it good?? :wink:
Your mortgage comes 12 times a year, and you pay it monthly. Same for all of your standing bills. Your salary comes 26 times a year, but you still have your monthly budget, which of course doesn't change (basically) from month to month. If you were paid twice a month (1st and 15th typically), you would have more or less days per month to take into consideration between the last pay check of the month and the first one of the following month.

Point being, in the end the money is the same. There isn't an "extra" pay check. It just depends on how you divvy it up.
I also get paid every other week for 26 pay weeks and get the"extra" check too...Nope, not extra here either :roll: The more I get, the more I spend! :lol: :lol: In this day and age, I am just thrilled to get A paycheck, especially one that comes every two weeks, no questions asked. So, I guess I am of no help :?
Paula O. wrote:
Baba wrote:
I think this means you wont be paying any mortgage out of November's 2 paycheques. So for October and November, you got 5 paycheques, and you paid mortgage twice. Most times, you'll get 4 paycheques and pay mortgage twice. At least, that's what I think I'm seeing here.


But I paid November's mortgage with the Oct. 29 paycheck. I'll get a check November 12 , then I will pay December's mortgage from the November 28 paycheck.

So Bailee's Dad, I don't have an extra check to give you cuz there isn't one!! :lol:
To stay on schedule and discover your "free" check, you should have paid the October mortgage with your second September check.

Instead of your "closest check" logic, simply decide that the mortgage will always be paid with the second check of the month, and put it on the calendar!
Ron wrote (because there's too much quoting for me to figure out):

To stay on schedule and discover your "free" check, you should have paid the October mortgage with your second September check.

But the September mortgage was paid with the first check in September, so if I paid October with the second September check, I wouldn't have any money.

In the end, I agree with rdf. The amount of money is the same. So I'm putting this "extra paycheck" nonsense out of my mind!
When budgeting on the edge, it can be difficult to look at the issue on a yearly basis. So to "take advantage" of the "extra" two paychecks per year, you need to break out your sheepie calendar and dedicate the checks to the expenses.

You'll then be able to budget for those two extra checks, able to decide when you'll have it and when you can use it to pay for a necessity (or a splurge), or to put it towards savings.
My dh is of the "extra" paycheck mind.

My personal thought is you still get the same money no matter how many checks you recieve.
Ron wrote:
When budgeting on the edge, it can be difficult to look at the issue on a yearly basis. So to "take advantage" of the "extra" two paychecks per year, you need to break out your sheepie calendar and dedicate the checks to the expenses.

You'll then be able to budget for those two extra checks, able to decide when you'll have it and when you can use it to pay for a necessity (or a splurge), or to put it towards savings.


The ironic thing is that I don't budget on the edge. I've been told I use my checking account as a savings account. So it's really an intellectual exercise for me. And sometimes my brain can use all the work it can get!
I just experienced this phenomenon when I realized I already paid my student loan this month. Extra money party!
I am an accountant, but you are thinking way too much! Just keep paying bills on the same schedule as always.

You reallly don't have an extra paycheck, because there are 52 weeks in a 12 month period.
So really that is 4.33 weeks per month, not just 4. Really the other 11 months, you are being short-changed. Uncle Sam always wins!
Also, with my employer and many other employers, that 3rd paycheck in a month does not have any deductions beyond the mandatory tax withholdings, including FICA, etc. There is no deduction for health insurance, automatic deposits into other kinds of accounts, etc. So, it's also usually a little 'bump' in your pay that pay period.

But I'm with you: somehow, that 'extra' paycheck is never quite 'extra.' There's always something to pay for, it seems. And it always seems that whenever I accumulate some decent sum of money in my regular savings acct, then something will happen that, by strange coincidence, costs EXACTLY that decent sum of money. Which is either a good thing because I happen to have that money around or some kind of curse: I never get to save up for that really fabulous (fill in the blank) because there's always some minor disaster that requires that savings.

Fortunately, I am broke, broke! I tell you for the next few months. All my money and future money is spoken for!
i've been lucky at times tgir and had windfalls. when i received these i would wait for the wind to make a tree fall on my house or car. seems like sumthin always came along to eat my windfall. that's life, but if you've still got your sheepie, you'll be ok. :D
tgir wrote:
Also, with my employer and many other employers, that 3rd paycheck in a month does not have any deductions beyond the mandatory tax withholdings, including FICA, etc. There is no deduction for health insurance, automatic deposits into other kinds of accounts, etc. So, it's also usually a little 'bump' in your pay that pay period.

I've not had THAT experience! In fact Joan has withheld extra amounts for state and federal each pay period (monthly), and when her company gives a small-but-appreciated year-end bonus, the entire amount is consumed by the extra withholdings and she gets a $0 check.

I offer to cash it for her for free. I wonder if Walmart would charge $3 ??!??
I've never worked anywhere there were end of year bonuses.

I think it depends on how your employer structures certain things. For example, my employer bases the amount of pay withheld for insurance coverage on 24 pay checks (2 per month), meaning on those 2 or so 3 pay check months, that money is not deducted. Same thing if you participate in a health care savings acct. etc. Also works for my United Way contribution. My husband's employer does it slightly differently: some association fees and retirement acct. contributions max out before their fiscal year finishes, meaning that a couple of pay checks a year are 'extra.' This is also partially because his work contract is for about 10 months a year but he elects to receive his pay over 12 months. Occasionally, there's a 'bump' of extra pay if there is a raise (it will be a couple of more years before we see one of those, at least) because that's usually paid retroactively in one lump sum. And mostly consumed by the withholding which is taken out as though that were the usual pay for every pay period, instead of a one time thing.

Somehow, I feel that Walmart would want their $3.00.
Not only can I not figure out the "extra paycheck" thing, my employer took all the standard deductions (including 401b contributions, etc) out of the supposed extra check!
Ron wrote:
tgir wrote:
Also, with my employer and many other employers, that 3rd paycheck in a month does not have any deductions beyond the mandatory tax withholdings, including FICA, etc. There is no deduction for health insurance, automatic deposits into other kinds of accounts, etc. So, it's also usually a little 'bump' in your pay that pay period.

I've not had THAT experience! In fact Joan has withheld extra amounts for state and federal each pay period (monthly), and when her company gives a small-but-appreciated year-end bonus, the entire amount is consumed by the extra withholdings and she gets a $0 check.

I offer to cash it for her for free. I wonder if Walmart would charge $3 ??!??


She can stop the extra withholding during the bonus cycle and start it again after. Federal law is bonuses are taxed differently (at a higher rate) than your regular paychecks.
Yes, I have THAT experience, too. LOL

The withholding extras for Joan is more than the very small bonus. It's WAY too much of a hassle to file a new w4 before and after just to get the money a couple of months before tax refund time. The extras are needed so that estimated tax payments don't have to be made on a quarterly basis. Sometimes we're all about convenience. :-D
We pay every 2 weeks also, so they extra check thing is only in my husband's mind. I put everything on my "sheepie calendar" too. I need to make sure I get myself one printed for next year too.
It is puzzling to me every time I hear people not understanding the extra paycheck idea. If you pay your mortgage with every other paycheck, then in those two three paycheck months the third paycheck is indeed free and you should only need that money for gas and food, the rest is EXTRA or SAVINGS. If you paid your mortgage on the 1st of each month, for instance, then the third paycheck IS EXTRA and then you pay your next month mortgage with the next check. The date of the mortgage payment WILL shift BUT you will NOT be late with the payment. Then you just keep going as you were doing every other paycheck to mortgage.
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