<p>My husband hasn’t had a raise EVER in his job- but he like Dad II is highly leveraged with bonus $$. He has always made us live off of the flat salary (which really bugged me!) and we always had bonus 2 or 3 times his salary. However, this year we won’t get one and I’ll have to say I very much appreciate his frugalness (real word?). The bad news is that all the money he saved over the years went to the stock market for savings and of course that doesn’t do much for us now. It’s a bummer but somehow- I am not sure our nation didn’t need to look at how we were living- way beyond our means. And hey if you need extra cash…have a garage sale. My son had one for a school project and the family’s were so blessed to be able to get things at low prices and you’ll get a little spending money. My son’s group bought CFL lightbulbs for HUD/Low income families. But when my kids were young I subsidized my stay at home mom salary with garage sales.</p>
<p>2by2 - I think that the term is “frugality”, and I think your husband is a wise man - if not great at investing, who is these days???</p>
<p>MD in a closely held corporation, we call them “bonuses”, but they truly are income distributions. We will be down only about 5-8% this year, but we ultimately work for the government, and I expect the impact of this downturn to be delayed to us by about 1 year. I expect next year will be worse for us than this year. We are frugal also though, we live within the base salary as well, using bonuses for college expenses as someone else did. We are very blessed.
Our area of the country is also one of the most insulated from the downturn, only healthcare is having difficulty.</p>
<p>Consolation–I hope you find a solution that allows you to keep your home. I’d agree with Jym–in my area the going rate for private tutors is in the $50 range.</p>
<p>We were very fortunate as Dh’s company exceeded expectations this year. When the fiscal year ended in August, he got a sizable bonus (28% of his base pay). 2009 is not looking so good. My dh is extremely frugal and we never counted on his bonuses in our monthly expenses. I work per diem as an RN so next year, if need be, I can pick up more hours. We do realize how lucky we are right now that both of us have jobs!</p>
<p>In our area, the rate for private tutors varies greatly depending on qualifications and the student’s ability to pay. $50+/ hour is common, but there are many who refuse to accept more than $20/hour as well, so it is highly variable & also depends on demand & competition.</p>
<p>Hope things improve for all those who are having an especially tough time right now. I feel fortunate that my small non-profit is in the middle of its two-year grant and that no one is RELYING on us for their livelihood (we mainly have independent contractors who want to help serve the public and are glad we can give them a few dollars in appreciation).</p>
<p>Uugh. Have to share with someone, so I’ll do it here. The boss told me today over the phone that there would be no bonuses this year. We have had a bad year, but of the 3 employees that she has, I’m the one holding up the business, literally. </p>
<p>What’s worse is that I told her I was disappointed. She knows I am having a tough year with my husbands upcoming layoff, and my ex not paying child support. I actually got a little teary when I told her that I understood, but that I was disappointed.</p>
<p>I’m having all these non-Christmasy, non -christian thoughts, like she gets to go to Cancun this week and I am broke. The other 2 employees contribute nothing to the business, and now I am doing my job and the office manager’s job because they let her go and did not replace her.</p>
<p>I know I am lucky to have a job. I don’t know why I have all this resentment and anger over a bonus that would have only been $300 to $500 anyway. </p>
<p>Somebody tell me that I am not an evil person. I feel miserable because I am getting no bonus AND I called her out on it, and she said that I was making her feel bad. I was unprofessional at best, and maybe a bit childish at the worst. </p>
<p>Uggh. I don’t know how to feel. Should I apologize tomorrow? Thanks for letting me vent.</p>
<p>You are not an evil person. Not evil at all. This is a darn hard year, particularly for you and sometimes it’s hard to put a good face on it. You are welcome to come here and vent whenever you need to.</p>
<p>I think it was fair for you to let your boss know you were disappointed, especially since you’re doing the job of yourself and the office manager AND she’s going off for her vacation in Cancun. I would be a bit miffed myself, even without the husband’s upcoming layoff just sticking with the situation you outlined at your firm. I really don’t see that you owe any apologies, but do what makes you feel best (and be on the lookout for a job where you are better appreciated for all you do–it’s out there).</p>
<p>Thanks guys. With all the financial pressures I have, and working 2 jobs , and having 3 kids in college, I don’t know why this is the incident that is driving me to tears. I guess it’s the feeling unappreciated thing. I just needed somebody to tell me that I’m not a bad person- so thanks again for doing that.</p>
<p>The bonus situation here in NY is serious. A lot of folks here depend on that bonus, and have jobs where most of the pay is bonus. Some even draw on that bonus. There will be bonus payouts from many companies that do not look like they should be giving a dime because of their situation, but they may have agreements and contracts with executives that spell out the what the pay is for specific individual performance as well as company performance. I am hopeful that H gets something as his personal contributions have been high and his department is one of the few in the company that are doing well. He’s brought in some new contracts and clients even in these slow times.</p>
<p>I think it will make you feel better to apologize so I’d do that. Your boss now knows you’re disappointed and why - that’s good too. It’s possible that the vacation was booked long enough ago that it wouldn’t have been easy to cancel, but I can appreciate that it rankles. You’re not a bad person at all, but I’d keep the peace.</p>
<p>Vderon - you are not a bad person. You have every right to be upset about not getting a bonus. I am sure you made your boss feel bad, but it comes with the territory for your boss. I just got the bonus pool for my staff yesterday. I don’t feel it’s enough. I am making a big enough stink they are going to increase it. But at the end of the day I know some people will still be upset and disappointed. Many people use the bonus to pay for their mortgage or even just something a little bit nice for the holidays. It is a big disappoint when they don’t get it.</p>
<p>^^ Yeah. My husband doesn’t think I should apologize, but I probably will. I think it will just be too awkward if I don’t.</p>
<p>I was so upset today, I told my boss to let me know when he could afford us full time. I am sure it went over really well.</p>
<p>Oh, my gosh, you are not evil at all! I know how you feel … sometimes the unfairness of life just gets to be too much. Yea, we all know life is unfair. We tell our kids that all the time! But the reality sometimes is just too … well, REAL … and we just have to vent (and yes, even feel sorry for ourselves).</p>
<p>Vderon - I think your frustration is understandable. It seems logical to me that you would be disappointed about not getting a bonus. </p>
<p>I have my own business so no bonus here. Unfortunately, as a headhunter, there are so few jobs to fill that I feel as though I’m unemployed.</p>
<p>Will get a bonus this year, based on company’s performance in '08. Predicting '09 will be bad, so won’t plan on it next year. Bonus is a nice to have, not something we depend on.
Business is food related, one that does OK when people choose to eat at home.</p>
<p>However, I must say, they are working us like dogs. It seems the attitude is, you are lucky to have a job, so we will get our pound of flesh out of you for a while. Projects are being cut to the bone…consultants let go, but deadlines and expectations will not change. The employees will work many additional hours to complete things on time and on budget.</p>
<p>The company is successful for a reason. Very conservative spending, at all times. No fancy offices or facilities, crazy lavish parties, no free wheeling execs. Our former CEO, whose net worth is colossal, lived in a modest 4 BR colonial in an upper middle class suburb.</p>
<p>Let’s hope for better times to come.</p>
<p>Things are tough. If my former manager was still with me, she’d be getting the the same or increased bonus from last year. Which was a LOT – so much it reduced her to tears when I handed it to her. I was aware of her financial situation and we’d had an incredible year that she got a lot of credit for making happen. We have had a good year – also due to her efforts. She would have been rewarded for that. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I am at the beginning of my holiday season, with two totally new managers – at least they are not new to retail, just to our industry. And something like eight teenagers, which include two stars, three or four rising stars, and two or three non-stars. I have two stars from previous years returning for the final push.</p>
<p>Last year my manager got a large cash bonus, my assistant manager a smaller cash bonus, and the teens all got a gift bag with $50 Visa gift card, stuffed animal, and chocolate! This year – I will probably do something similar. Although one manager will have worked 3.5 weeks by Christmas Eve, and the other will have worked 7.5 weeks – so there won’t be any <em>big</em> cash bonuses.</p>
<p>I work in a public library so you know I don’t get a bonus. At our last staff meeting we were told that depending on local funding we may see some hours cut next year. My husbands company has a profit sharing plan year round but according to him, there won’t be a profit to share this quarter.</p>
<p>I worked in the commercial mortgage securitization business (now basically non-existent) until I was laid off earlier this year. I was paid a partial year bonus (based on an average of the last 3 years’ bonuses) as part of a severance package, and I frankly think it will be better than the full-year bonuses received by the folks who are still employed, as 2008 turned out to be a terrible year, and although 2007 was pretty crummy in CMBS, 2005 and 2006 were good. Unfortunately, our bonuses exceeded our salaries, so a greatly reduced bonus will be a huge hardship for a lot of people. Lucky for us, DH is still gainfully employed and expects to make as much as he did last year.</p>