Also for the record, my company pays a lower salary than industry standard for my field because the benefits are so good. So I could be making more, but perhaps wouldn’t be getting as much for 401K match or as low health.

My healthcare is for a single person by the way because my wife and I work for the same company but because we don’t have kids, its cheaper to pay for 2 singles than the family plan.

Good post!

icup, thanks for your comment here. Your feedback is one of the reasons I wanted to post my paystub, to see if what I’m getting is reasonable. It seems that it’s taboo to discuss such matters openly, which makes it difficult to chat with co-workers and associates.

On to your points:

“1.) He pays A LOT for health care. Mine is something like $65 a month”

The insurance covers heath, optical and dental for a family of four (two kids under two years old) and life insurance for myself. The money put into the financial FSA is very high because one of the kids was born this year, and we knew it would be a c-section.

It’s still high, but we do get a fair number of benefits.,.at least I thought so

“2.) … Up until now, I think I was under the impression that everybody’s company was doubling what they put in up to almost 5% of salary. I can see now that my company’s plan is much better - as I contribute 5% they contribute something like 9.5%. So my numbers look opposite his, with the company putting in the bulk of the 401K payment.”

This is a pretty small company (>60 employees), which just barely started offering a 401k in December, and started offering matching in February.

The match percentage is higher for employees who have been with the company longer than a year, and will supposedly be increasing for everyone later this year.

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Thanks again for your comments. I’ll keep them in mind as I search for a job with better benefits

1.) He pays A LOT for health care. Mine is something like $65 a month

2.) I understand now why Dave Ramsey advocates paying down debt first, when people have such BS as company match of 401K contributions up to 3% of salary. That is such a paltry amount, I can see why you would get a better return on your money by paying down your debt first, even if you are throwing money away.

Up until now, I think I was under the impression that everybody’s company was doubling what they put in up to almost 5% of salary. I can see now that my company’s plan is much better - as I contribute 5% they contribute something like 9.5%. So my numbers look opposite his, with the company putting in the bulk of the 401K payment.

I guess you really do learn something new every day.

(The missing 1% is rounding error.)

I really wonder how many people pay attention to how much is taken out of their paychecks. I bet it isn’t very many people.

-SFS

I’m not sure food is the best example since states frequently exempt food from sales tax. Every dollar you don’t spend eating out?

Oh right, you’re in Oregon.

Here’s another: If your marginal income tax rate is 35%, every $65 you don’t spend on eating out is $100 you can put in your 401(k).