Salary Change

As you know, I am a government employee. I don't get to negotiate my salary, except for every few  years when our contract is up. Then it becomes a big deal of being offered nothing, because the govt has nothing, while the ministers seem to get a raise.  I think this is the last year of our last, long debated contract. The last time it was close to sanctions. The time before we did a couple of planned short term walk outs, where everybody hated us and said that we should all be fired since anyone could teach.


Anyhoo, while the increment happens in September, it's really hard to tell how much the increase is when September is when I max out on CPP and EI etc.

Thus brings the purity of January cheques.

As I compare 2017 to 2017, my gross  monthly salary was $140.00 more. Sounds exciting. With the slight increases in each of my deductions though, this $140 slowly gets whittled away. A bit more for Federal and provincial taxes. A bit more for CPP and EI. A bit for the automatic pension contribution.

My net increase that comes home with me each month lands on a very exciting $35.

I am not complaining. I have a job that I enjoy 90% of the time. I have a wee home and  a warm place to lay my head. I have the dif benefits that come with the job.

I am not sure where I will direct that $35. As one of my colleagues said, last year she bought 60 boxes of Kleenex for her classroom and I bought 72. And that was just Kleenex. I wonder if our elected officials who decide school budgets have to pay for their own Kleenex for themselves and whoever else shares their space? :-)

 A pity we're not allowed to claim that kind of purchase for personal income tax deductions.