If you were offered a salary that exceeded your cost of living . . . ?

Question

. . . would you ever ask for a pay cut, considering you have no immediate use for the extra money and it might be better spent elsewhere? I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only person in the world who would do this. (And, no, I'm not a Communist.)

Answer 1

Quite simply, I don't believe you would do this any more than I would or anyone else answering on this board.  And why would you ask for a pay cut instead of putting the money to good use elsewhere?  Most companies can afford to pay you FAR more than they do...the place I work has a machine (just one of over a hundred that are there) that puts out about a million dollars worth of profits a week...the 6 people that work on that machine make a combined total of about $4000 a week-does THAT seem fair?  I'd be much more likely to donate what you consider "excess" money to a worthwhile charity or use it to help out friends and family if I was concerned about it being "better spent elsewhere".

Answer 2

That wouldn't even make sense.

Answer 3

Something could come up where you needed the extra money. And of course you could always indulge yourself a little bit, or donate the extra money to a charity. There's endless possibilities!

Answer 4

Personally, I would never ask anyone for a d**n paycut. Times are too freaking hard to not accept any money. If you don't want it, I need it.

Answer 5

No, me and my husband make more  then our standard of living because we live semi frugal. We invest the rest and save for children's education, plus donate to various charitable causes.

Answer 6

I would not take a pay cut.  

If you think you are over paid, give more to charity to help others.  (You are giving to charity now aren't you?)

Answer 7

So what if it exceeds your cost of living today?  You have no idea whether you will EVER get another raise.  So take the excess and invest it.  Create more capital so you have a nest egg to fall back on should you ever need it.

Remember that you aren't doing your employer any favors by refusing or returning any portion of your salary.  They've already budgeted for the expense, and if you give the money back they're just going to give it to someone else.  But they WON'T give it to someone below you on the pay scale who actually NEEDS a raise - most companies tend to give "found" monies like this to their more highly paid management as part of their bonuses.

Answer 8

How about taking the extra money & giving it to a charity you really thing is important but undersupported?

I would use the extra income to save money for my neices.  There father is usually unemployed.  And the mother works at minimum wage.

But you have to take care of yourself so you don't become a charity case yourself.  Set aside money in a savings account for a rainy day.  Then put in your will for it to go to a good charity.

Answer 9

I'm in Canada too.  And no I wouldn't ask for a pay cut, but I did offer to cover 10 people's "Ray Days" which would have been the equivalent of a 20% pay cut for the year.  "Ray Days" were time taken off without pay by public servants at a time of provincial budget troubles.  I worked in a hospital and thought I was more expendable.

We were comfortably off at the time and I thought I could cover my work at home and spend more time with my kids.  My employers didn't take me up on my offer.

I'm not a communist either

Answer 10

No! I'd donate the extra myself. Better in the hands of a charity than in the hands of some greedy fat cat.

I can't imagine having too much money though. What a problem to have.

Answer 11

better spent elsewhere? meaning someone elses pocket?...

Answer 12

F*ck no!

There's nothing unethical about that AT ALL!

If someone paid me $200K a year to sit down and scratch my as$ all day then I would take the job with no remorse.

If they'll offer the job to you at that pay rate, then why the heck WOULDN'T you take it?

If you're religious, then you can give your excess funds to your Church.

If you're not, then you can help out by donating your excess funds to charity!