Day 104

Today is the 6th day of the 15th week, the 14th day of the 4th month, the 104th day of 2023

Today should've been payday.

Bright and early this morning I got a text from my direct report asking me if I had approved her time card Monday.  Er - I think so?  was my response because I honestly didn't remember..  So full stop on what I was doing as I was stumbling around half awake, and dive into the Paylocity app.  It took me a about 10 minutes but finally, I sent her a screen shot of the approval.

Why?  The CUSO is a tiny organization of currently 8 employees counting the CEO.  One of our five equity owner credit unions provides our IT and HR, and the payroll processing.  For some reason over the past five years, my direct report has not gotten her pay via direct deposit four or five times [counting today], so she always meticulously checks.   Yup, to both of our annoyance, HR didn't pay her again.

Another 10 minutes or so goes by.  Then I get a text that none of us at the CUSO were paid.  Not one of the eight of us.  And HR didn't realize this until contacted by my direct report this happened, then sent out a company email.

But I am on vacation!  So, I stirred the pot, and called HR, leaving a message explaining I was out of the office, and had checked my account [which I did of course after talking to my direct report] and the money wasn't there, so what happened?  

Processing error.

?????  Ours?  HR's?  Paylocity?  not ours, apparently, but that was all the info I could get.  The promise was by 6 PM it would be fixed and they got the money in the accounts before 4 PM.  

Fortunately this was a mid-month paycheck, not the one at the end/beginning of the month that pays all the auto-debit bills and the rent.   And very fortunately, even if it hadn't been resolved today, I at least, had enough funds in the checking account to cover any pending bills.  But that is a relatively recent development over the past two years, for a while there?  As Medicare's monthly payments soared, and before I got Social Security, there were weeks when that would've been a complete and total disaster.

And I am not alone - many Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck.  Financial counselors recommend a minimum of five months of pay in the savings account - eight if you ask others so that you can lose your job and survive the job hunting period. I am not anywhere near that, altho I feel I have a comfortable margin at the moment.  And this is why I say that, like many others, despite having worked all my life, I am one accident, one job loss, one disaster, away from bankruptcy and potential homelessness.  

It is an uncomfortable feeling.....