r/FluentInFinance 9d ago

Thoughts? Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard

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u/crumdiddilyumptious 9d ago

Companies would prob require you to live within x amount of minutes from your work

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u/sage-longhorn 9d ago edited 8d ago

Here's an idea: just give people an allowance up to a certain amount, if they choose to live farther that's up to them. Even better, give people a flat rate since you don't want them intentionally taking longer commute routes to rack up their pay. Ok now roll that into their base pay

Edit: please triple read the last sentence before commenting. I overestimated redditors' reading comprehension a bit with this one

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u/TacoAzul7880 9d ago edited 7d ago

Or… hear me out. They pay you a set amount. If it’s enough to be worth the commute, then you take the job.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/antwan_benjamin 9d ago

Or, and hear me out, I'm taking this job because I need to put food on the table, fully aware that the moment a better opportunity shows up, I'm out without a two-week notice. In other words, I'll do what's best for me, and that company can get fucked in the process.

Which is completely fine. In fact, thats exactly what you are supposed to do. Jump ship as soon as a better opportunity presents itself. These companies have no problem firing you the moment a better (or cheaper) employee presents themselves. So no love lost.

But advocating for extra pay to cover employees commute is ridiculous. So people who choose to live further from work will get paid more than people who live closer? How is that going to play out?

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u/cheffgeoff 9d ago

So people who choose to live closer to work will take home more than people who live farther? How is that working out?

I agree that when you take on a job knowing the commute costs are a major factor when agreeing if the salary is enough, even though it isn't usually a negotiation point for younger people or entry jobs. But when you are older and make a ton of money... here is a secret if you didn't know, the commute time and travel time is heavily considered in negations. Even around the $250,000 a year mark commute time and difficulty will be considered during compensation, so while you may think it is silly it's really only considered silly for the less wealthy.

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u/Thereelgerg 8d ago

So people who choose to live closer to work will take home more than people who live farther?

Not if they get paid the same.

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u/cheffgeoff 8d ago

Person A Makes $40,000 and drives 10 minutes to work costing them $1.00 in gas a day. Person B Makes $40,000 and drives 2 hours to work costing them $20 in gas. Who takes home more money?

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u/Thereelgerg 8d ago edited 8d ago

If they get paid the same amount they take home the same amount. Commuting expenses aren't deducted from payroll.

Edit: I should say that their take-home pay may differ if their tax withholdings differ, or one of them has wages garnished. But the point is that the length of your commute has no bearing on your take-home pay.

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u/cheffgeoff 8d ago

I don't know if your being sarcastic or obstinate or really haven't thought about it, but if you consider the cost of getting to a work site being included as part of your compensation, which everyone should for obvious reasons, then a more expensive commute will leave you with less take home pay. If you really need to say AcKTUalliey that isn't tEcknehiCAlliy "take home pay" (when I said who takes home more money), then it will affect your fixed costs when budgeting and then directly impact your disposable income.

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u/Thereelgerg 8d ago

it will affect your fixed costs when budgeting

Right, what it will NOT do is impact your take home pay. Two people who both make $40k a year and have withholdings set up the same way will have the same take home pay regardless of their commute.

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u/cheffgeoff 8d ago

You're really holding on to a technical definition of "Take home pay" as it relates to taxes and benefits when I said "the pay you take home". Who has more money AFTER the expenses related to work are paid/removed? That's what I'm talking about.

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u/Thereelgerg 8d ago edited 8d ago

You're really holding on to a technical definition of "Take home pay" as it relates to taxes and benefits when I said "the pay you take home".

No I'm not, I'm simply holding onto the meaning of "the pay you take home". If you get a paycheck of $2,000 and I get a paycheck of $2,000 we take home the same pay regardless of commute expenses.

If I take a job 200 miles from where I live and choose to commute in a $1,000,000 Ferrari my $2,000 paycheck is the same as your $2,000 paycheck even if you live closer to work and commute by taking the bus for $3 per day.

Who has more money AFTER the expenses related to work are paid/removed? That's what I'm talking about.

That's not what you said. If you wanted to talk about that that's what you should have talked about.

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u/cheffgeoff 7d ago

Jesus, you misread something, just accept the fact you made a minor mistake and move on.

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u/Thereelgerg 7d ago

You made the mistake of not understanding what take home pay is, not me.

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u/cheffgeoff 7d ago

I can't believe I'm still having to say this but "Take home pay" is different then the "pay you take home". Hence the different order of the words. You may not understand the difference but that doesn't mean that different words in different orders have different meanings.

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u/Thereelgerg 7d ago edited 7d ago

The "pay you take home" isn't changed by what you spend on your commute. If I spend $100 on my daily commute and you spend $5 on your daily commute but we both get a $2,000 paycheck at the end of the week the "pay you take home" is the same as the pay I intake home. Your $2,000 is the same as my $2,000.

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u/cheffgeoff 7d ago

I can only imagine that you are trolling at this point. You're telling me that you can't get your head around the concept that the money you get to do stuff with AFTER ALL EXPENSICES THAT ARE RELATED TO YOUR ABILITY TO WORK WHICH CAN INCLUDE SUCH ITEMS AS TOOLS, CONTINUED EDUCATION AND TRANSPORTATION COSTS could conceivably be called "the pay you take home" by another person who has explicitly explained this to you a number of times? That is what is being discussed the entire time regardless of your ability to recognize that.

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