The fifteenth of every month has holiday status for Wittenberg students: pay day. As a freshman or sophomore living in the dorms with a meal plan, the once-a-month pay period may not be too inconvenient. But when utility and grocery bills become part of life in the world of student rental properties, once-a-month just does not cut it.
Most part time jobs pay employees once every week or once every two weeks, allowing earners the flexibility of “pay-as-you-go” spending. This flexibility becomes especially important when gas, electric, internet, credit card, and car bills do not all fall conveniently at the same point in the month. This may not be the experience for other renters, but I have several bills due at the beginning of the month, several in the middle, and one at the end of the month. A whopping paycheck in the middle of the month doesn’t give me a lot of room to pay them on time.
Not only would getting paid at more frequent intervals make bills more manageable, but the stress, guess work, and potential for late fees would be nearly eliminated.
Now, I love waking up to the Wittenberg Payroll email telling me however many hundreds have been posted to my account just as much as the next person—I do. Seeing your paycheck all in one sum does give you a fluttery little feeling of sudden wealth. But apart from a big mid-month smile, I have seen no other benefit to this peculiar punctuation.
So why are we paid once a month versus once or twice a week? Some have alleged that keeping money in the bank longer allows the University to collect interest from the money we earn, but I asked Laura Siemon of the Office of Student Employment to debunk the mystery. <<hoping she debunks the mystery soon, sorry guys>>
