Dollars? Cents.
There's nothing quite like the night before payday.
Mrs. Thinker was not very happy with me when she opened up Money and saw that the balance in my checking account was better than $800 in the red. "Where the hell did it go?" was her question, though she phrased it a bit less delicately.
Where did it go? Our first half property taxes were due; that was about $300. Paid a lump sum on the auto insurance; so long, $450. The hearing aide specialist needed a partial payment on the Little (s)Thinker's new mold for her hearing aide; that was $100.
"That's about half your take-home already," she pointed out.
Don't I know it. My monthly net is about $2,000, including my $150 a month stipend for the after school enrichment classes. Every now and then there's a little extra when I teach the before school remedial classes.
Right off the top of that comes my mortgage, $700. Cable, electric, telephone, gasoline, food. Copays for my daughter's frequent appointments. A couple of magazine subscriptions. Snacks, teaching supplies, and prizes for the classroom.
"I know, I know....it adds up."
When I've been paying bills I hate that phrase, because it usually adds down. 3 months out of 4 I play that game where I let the checking account get dangerously close to zero, often writing checks that fall well below, hoping to God that I've timed the mail right. When I haven't WaMu sends me a $29 love note and thanks me for my financial foibles.
I don't do the job for the money, but I also can't ignore that aspect of my life, especially with a special needs child. That's why reports like this from the American Federation of Teachers are so important, because they demonstrate beyond any shadow of a doubt just how far behind we've fallen. There's talk of a 4.3% COLA on the horizon for next year, and I thank WEA-PAC for all the great work they've done in that regard, but there are hard, hard days when I can't help but wonder why I have to leave my daughter early and get home late so that we can stay even.
Anyhow, check out the full report. It's great reading, and I commend Ed and all the other folks at the AFT for their work. I think it's also one of the most important conversations we can have as a profession; please join in.
Mrs. Thinker was not very happy with me when she opened up Money and saw that the balance in my checking account was better than $800 in the red. "Where the hell did it go?" was her question, though she phrased it a bit less delicately.
Where did it go? Our first half property taxes were due; that was about $300. Paid a lump sum on the auto insurance; so long, $450. The hearing aide specialist needed a partial payment on the Little (s)Thinker's new mold for her hearing aide; that was $100.
"That's about half your take-home already," she pointed out.
Don't I know it. My monthly net is about $2,000, including my $150 a month stipend for the after school enrichment classes. Every now and then there's a little extra when I teach the before school remedial classes.
Right off the top of that comes my mortgage, $700. Cable, electric, telephone, gasoline, food. Copays for my daughter's frequent appointments. A couple of magazine subscriptions. Snacks, teaching supplies, and prizes for the classroom.
"I know, I know....it adds up."
When I've been paying bills I hate that phrase, because it usually adds down. 3 months out of 4 I play that game where I let the checking account get dangerously close to zero, often writing checks that fall well below, hoping to God that I've timed the mail right. When I haven't WaMu sends me a $29 love note and thanks me for my financial foibles.
I don't do the job for the money, but I also can't ignore that aspect of my life, especially with a special needs child. That's why reports like this from the American Federation of Teachers are so important, because they demonstrate beyond any shadow of a doubt just how far behind we've fallen. There's talk of a 4.3% COLA on the horizon for next year, and I thank WEA-PAC for all the great work they've done in that regard, but there are hard, hard days when I can't help but wonder why I have to leave my daughter early and get home late so that we can stay even.
Anyhow, check out the full report. It's great reading, and I commend Ed and all the other folks at the AFT for their work. I think it's also one of the most important conversations we can have as a profession; please join in.
posted by Ryan at 10:18 PM
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