Recently my dh has been picking up a lot of extra shifts at the hospital. We communicate so well that I didn't even know about the extra shift incentive program that was going on hospital wide. So, when his boss called the other day and asked me to be at the department because something "BIG" was happening,I have to admit, I was a little excited. I guess he threw his name in a hat a couple of times in December. So,in a room packed with co-workers, VP's and Bigwigs they presented my dh with a $6000 trip from AAA (no cash value)and a very tangible gift basket with a beach towel, sunglasses and candy.
It was quite a shock. In the 10 years my dh has been at the hospital he has brought home a mug or two, a t-shirt or three a free ham at Christmas and a gold star. It seemed too good to be true that all his hard work finally earned him a reward...Days went by and it started to settle in. Should we go on one big trip or two smaller ones? Wonder what the weather in Europe is like in the spring? Are the kids tall enough to ride the rides at Disney Land?
After working three 12 hour nights in a row, dh came home this morning with the news that as soon as we schedule our trip the taxes will be automatically deducted from his paycheck in one lump sum. YIKES? What are the tax implications? ONLY 28%!!!!!!!
My antimath mind started it's squeaky rusty wheels moving....so if we spend all $6000 of that money on one trip we have to pay nearly $2000 which is WAY more than a single paycheck after everything is taken out. Okay well, that is just stupid.
The only way it makes sense is if we were planning a large trip anyway and then this would be like a 60% off sale. Who in their right mind has that kind of cash lying around? Let's see kids, either we go to Disney land for a week or we eat.
I know I may sound a little harsh and some of you are probably thinking, "hey lady take the discount and go somewhere". But that is not my point. My point is... if this is truly a reward then why doesn't the hospital just say after taxes it's more like a $4000 trip and just give that to us. It doesn't make sense. We are going to have to scrimp and save to come up with the taxes so that we can 'enjoy' our trip.
I know I am cheap and there are probably hundreds of you that would pay the $2000 to get the big trip. But the way I see it the extra shift pay that dh earned for those shifts he picked up in December won't even cover the taxes for our trip.
My kids did get candy of the deal. I got a cheap pair of sunglasses and a thin blue towel. Dh got some aloe vera gel for baseball season and the extremely difficult job of trying to convince me that it's worth it. Oh and I can't forget that huge check, maybe I can cut it up and use it as coasters...maybe I can sell them to raise the money for our trip?
Way to go Sioux Valley! Thanks for rewarding your employees with such amazing incentives. Maybe you should stick to gold stars and free hams, you're better at it.
1 comment:
oh my.
you know, it kind of reminds me that sometimes the "other half" is not cognisant of how many of us live ... and in their well-meaning, they kind of miss the boat.
i think that you got a gift from a large corporation, and the gift is probably reflective of that.
i remember when i was looking for a house, my former boss (whom i dearly love, but who lives in a far different economic zone than i do) suggested an "older" house for sale in his area of town (actually, at the time, it was my neighboorhood too - i rented there) . great idea, but the house was about three times my budget! and about three times the square footage i could afford!
was he serious?
yes, i think he was. and i think svh is too, but i think they probably missed the mark bigtime...hope the kids are not quite packed and ready for disneyworld yet.
Post a Comment