Check your pay stubs!

[u/Practicalbeaver]

I feel like this should go without saying, but it always amazes me how many people I see on here who run into problems because they never check their pay stubs. I’m getting my annual bonus paid out soon and I realized the amount listed on my pay stub was wrong. The CFO had calculated the bonuses incorrectly for anyone who got a mid year raise last year.

I would’ve been shorted $500 if I hadn’t double checked the math.

[u/AdditionalAttorney]

I transcribe my paystub onto excel and put down notes for things

Then when it changes mid year i add another version

[u/AdvicePerson → u/AdditionalAttorney]

I get paid twice a month, but one item only appears monthly, so I have every paycheck planned out in Excel at least a year in advance, and update it as I go. That sheet feeds into another sheet to figure our taxes so I can plan and adjust withholding throughout the year.

[u/Richinaru → u/AdvicePerson]

Would you mind sharing the template, I'm god awful at excel and this sounds like a god send for budgeting

[u/AdditionalAttorney → u/Richinaru]

I just recreate my paystub in excel

Gross at the top

Then tax

Then deductions

Then retirement

And then net

Also for budgeting YNAB has been the biggest game changer

[u/tuneificationable → u/AdditionalAttorney]

Just curious, I haven't used YNAB. How is it different than something like Mint? Does it operate the same way, or is it better in some way? I've been using Mint but haven't found it incredibly helpful.

[u/AdditionalAttorney → u/tuneificationable]

Mint is retrospective. It’s abt tracking what you’ve already spent money on

YNAB does that too but it also pushes you to make decisions. If you’re trying to budget you’d pull out YNAB and check if you have money in a specific category BEFORE you spend it. If the money isn’t there you have a choice

1) spend anyways and take on debt or pull from savings 2) don’t spend and wait till you have money for the category 3) look if another category has money you can use instead (say you only have $30 left in your dining out category but want to go for a $50 dinner. Your shopping budget has $100 that you were going to spend on shoes. So you make a choice - I’ll take some money from shopping and delay buying those shoes bc this dinner w friend who’s going through a break up is more important.

The number 3 to me is the most powerful. Before YNAB I’d just justify getting both - I need these shoes for an important work function. And my friend needs me so I need to go for dinner. So I’d pull money from savings… it’s only $20 no big deal… but over time it all adds up.

For me YNAB has made me feel so much more free w money. It feels like i spend more, save more, and I’m not making any more. It really helps hone in on what your priorities are for you (you start to see which categories you borrow from and which you never touch), and let’s you be more intentional

Biggest downside os that it’s a paid app ($100/year) and has a steep learning curve bc their system is different than what I was used to before - envelope budgeting.

It’s solves the “omg I keep trying to save but I just can’t” or the “I’m trying so hard to pay back cc debt and it’s just not working” Problems

Fwiw I also tried mint years ago and didn’t find it useful. I also discovered YNAB like 15 years ago and thought it was too confusing and my spreadsheets were better. Seriously one of my biggest financial mistakes. I got into it 2 years ago and haven’t looked back

[u/AdvicePerson → u/AdditionalAttorney]

I second all this!