1. What Affects Income

b. How can you increase the money you bring home

Let’s look first at your current earnings  to identify benefits, deductions and take-home pay on your paycheck stub.

Your earnings
Gross pay is generally the amount of money you make per hour multiplied by the number of hours you work. Some people are paid on commission, based on what they sell.  The words “earnings, wages or earned income” are other ways to describe gross pay. Some people are paid a salary which is payment for work tied to the completion of specific duties usually covering a week or more. Often, salaried employees supervise others, work longer than 40 hours a week and don’t get overtime pay. Sometimes the paycheck for a salaried employee will read as if they worked 40 hours in a week or 80 hours in two weeks even though they may work longer.  To determine an hourly amount for a salary, divide the annual total evenly by 52 weeks (the number of weeks in a year) and then by 40 hours (the number of hours in most employers’ work weeks). Many people are paid hourly and their paycheck reflects pay for the number of hours they worked in that pay period rather than a flat, 40 hours per week. 

If you have or are considering a job that is paid hourly, use this calculator to help you determine your paycheck amount.

Paycheck Calculator