Just found out - no paycheck in July!

**Ilovesewing** · 07-21-2008, 04:39 PM

I work for our local school district and have several weeks off in the summer. When I started five years ago I had them spread my paycheck over 12 months so I wouldn't go without a paycheck during the summer. So far so good.

This morning I got a phone call from our district office. I'm scheduled to go back to work two weeks from today. She told me that because the school board changed the school calendar and pushed starting date of school back by one week - I will NOT be getting a paycheck in July......the one I THOUGHT I was getting 10 days from now

She told me since I'm now going back to work on Aug 4 (I start two weeks before school) and I'm not working in July this year - no paycheck for me. (and quite a few others I work with)

I understand how it all works, and everything appears to be on the up-and-up, but damn that irks me that they waited until 10 days before payday to let us know this! My paycheck pays my mortgage. Now I have 10 days to figure out how to come up with my pay. It's impossible to replace this late in the month. My paycheck is $1859 a month.

Now, I DO have the money in savings - but that is earmarked for dd's wedding in October. And had they told me this three months ago when the board made this change (they tell us absolutely nothing - we're on our own to figure things out) I wouldn't have spent $378 on groceries last week. I would have been using my stockpile instead of adding to it. That's the whole point in a financial crisis right?

Now we are cancelling our vacation for next week. DH just signed up for the week off on Friday night. It's too late to cancel his time off. So now he has a week off work and we can't go anywhere because we are short in income.

Ugh, frustrated isn't the word ....you don't want to know the words I'm thinking about!

**freebs** · 07-21-2008, 04:41 PM

Hugs to you

.

**Mom23boys** · 07-21-2008, 05:09 PM

UGH! How frustrating!

Honestly, I would use the money saved up for the wedding to pay my mortgage and work on raising funds as quickly as possible to replace the funds taken from the wedding to pay the mortgage.

**itsahumanzoo** · 07-21-2008, 05:14 PM

I would definitely use the savings, and then worry about replacing it late.

Since hubby already has the week off maybe he can find some odd jobs to do around town? Mowing lawns, helping people move big stuff, dog walking etc. Anything for some money! You guys could also use the time to go through the house and find things to sell, then at the end of the week, have a yard sale, or list stuff on ebay.

Hope it works out for you!

**danni** · 07-21-2008, 06:44 PM

I'm so sorry!!! I would definitely use the savings and then work on saving it up again.

**Ilovesewing** · 07-21-2008, 07:37 PM

I will definitely be pulling the money out of savings, it just really makes me angry that I need to do that. If they had been upfront about it a few months ago I could have spread that shortage over a few months and it wouldn't have hurt. And I could have left my savings alone.

Aargh..it's always something!

**Darlene** · 07-21-2008, 08:21 PM

I would have been po'd at the short notice too. They think people don't count on paychecks to pay bills? Sorry for the mad scramble & change in your plans. Maybe you can check out some local attractions during the vaca.

**Momof3girls** · 07-21-2008, 10:08 PM

That is really crappy. They should have told you that well before the previous school year let out, so that you could plan. :hugs:

**Michelle68** · 07-21-2008, 10:47 PM

That is a real bummer! I'm sorry this has happened. It really crummy that they gave you such short notice about it.

--Michelle

**kmsinsa** · 07-22-2008, 04:22 AM

I'm sorry that you found out last minute about your paycheck. I would use the savings to pay the mortgage, then use next week to try to pick up some odd jobs to work towards adding back to the savings (mowing yards, etc...usually some things posted on Craigslist). Use CL to sell anything else you can get rid of, I know here as long as things are properly priced they sell pretty quickly.

**suebeehoney** · 07-22-2008, 07:10 AM

Wow, I'm SO sorry to hear this happened to you! What a shocker that must have been for you.

I know it's not much consolation, but at least you have the savings to fall back on. Just think if you didn't - you'd have the items in your stockpile to use for food, etc. - but the mortgage, the utility bills, the car payment - all those things - would have to go unpaid. I know that's not what you want to happen! None of us do. But I'm sure there's more than one person in the same predicament, but without the savings cushion.

Do you have the means to replace the savings used later on? At this point, you have to do whatever is necessary to keep the boat afloat!

Hugs!

**Ilovesewing** · 07-22-2008, 01:40 PM

Well, thanks everyone for listening

I sat down with my budget last night, re-worked some things, tweaked here and there and think it will be ok. I moved $500 from savings, moved a couple of dr. bills I was paying to August, cashed in some stocks I had sitting (I had a thread about that a while back. It was found money and I wasn't sure what to do about it. It came in handy now!), and at the end of the month I'll be about $100 short. Dh's paychecks should make up for that as I only estimated.

We had told our dd how much we would give her for her wedding about a year ago. She has been making plans based on this and we are now 2 1/2 months away. While I 'could' have, I didn't 'want' to tell her the money wouldn't be there. It's rather late to be looking for better deals on florists, dj's and such. The invitations are already printed so the place is set in stone now. And frankly, we've been working on this for 10 months - we already have the best deals!

So it looks like everything will all work out - barring something else coming up

**nessarowdy** · 07-24-2008, 10:37 AM

Being a teacher and having your income spread out over 12 months, won't you be compensated for that regardless? I guess I'm confused. My sister is a teacher and she worked it to get paid every month. I would think that you are getting shorted here...

I'm glad that you are able to cover the month, though!

-Vanessa

**Ilovesewing** · 07-24-2008, 12:23 PM

That's what dh thinks too, but I think it's correct.

Last year I started in July so I got paid every month from July thru June of this year. This year I don't start until August so my first pay comes in August - nothing in July.

School pay (and everything else!) is almost impossible to understand! Give me the private sector any day....