From Played to Paid – Week 1
- Christine Stolpe CPP
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
The Summer You Take Your Paycheck Personally
That moment when you check your pay stub and realize you’ve been working full-time but somehow getting paid part-time energy. 😩💸
Welcome to From Played to Paid—your 10-week summer guide to finally figuring out what the heck is going on with your paycheck. If you’ve ever looked at your direct deposit and thought, "Wait, where did the rest of it go?"—you’re not alone. And you’re in the right place.
This isn’t a lecture. This is real-life payroll literacy for employees who want to stop getting surprised by their pay stub and start taking control of their money.
Let’s kick things off by talking about why so many of us feel like we’re getting played by payroll—and how this summer is going to flip that script.
How You Get Paid vs. How It Feels
Payday should feel like a win. But for a lot of folks, it feels more like:
Confusion when your net pay doesn’t match what you expected
Stress when your bonus is taxed higher than your regular check
Frustration when no one explains what those deductions even mean
We’ve all been there. And that’s exactly what this series is here to fix.
The Problem Isn’t You—It’s the System (Kind of)
Most schools don’t teach payroll basics. Most jobs don’t either. So unless your parents were payroll nerds (which is unlikely unless you're one of my kids), you’ve probably had to figure it out on your own.
Here’s what that leads to:
W-4s filled out in a panic
Pay stubs ignored out of confusion
Benefits left on the table
Surprise tax bills (or refunds way too big to be efficient)
It’s not your fault—but it is your paycheck. And understanding it gives you more power than you think.
What We’ll Cover This Summer
Each week we’ll break down one of the most confusing, frustrating, or flat-out unfair parts of the paycheck experience:
✔ What happens before payday (and why timing matters)
✔ What to do if you’re overpaid (yes, it happens!)
✔ Why bonuses feel smaller than they should
✔ Final checks, missing PTO, and end-of-job pay
✔ What really happens when payroll makes a mistake
✔ And how to stop feeling helpless when your pay doesn’t match your expectations
Plus, we’ll shine a light on the people behind payroll—because when they do their job well, nobody notices. And when they don’t, everybody does.
What You’ll Get Out of This Series
Confidence to ask smart questions
Tools to catch problems early
A better relationship with your paycheck
And maybe, finally, peace on payday
Let’s be clear: this summer isn’t just about getting paid.
It’s about knowing what you’re getting paid for, why it looks the way it does, and how to make your pay work harder for you.
If you’ve ever felt played by payroll—this is your glow-up. I will be here every week through Labor Day (and yes, this series ends during National Payroll Week, because timing matters).
Until next week, go check your latest pay stub—and this time, actually read it. 👀
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