SEVERANCE PAYCHECK

Here's how much I got paid as a high earning 37-year-old working in strategy based in Houston, Texas. Spoiler alert, I got laid off, so this was my last paycheck from my employer, which included my severance, unused vacation and my prorated bonus for 2026. For some context, this company for nine years across many different roles. I was in what I describe as a senior level individual contributor. So let's see how much money I have to fund my career sabbatical. My gross pay was $172,389. I got my unused 2026 vacation and my already accrued 2027 vacation. Let's break this down. I had 149 hours of unused or unaccrued vacation, which was $13,302. Since I was there for nine years, we got one month of pay for every year of service. So my actual severance pay was $137,925. I also got my prorated 2026 bonus for $21,262. Part of this pay is benefits bearing, so I do have some deductions. Since I got 60 days notice, I could max out my 401k contributions, so I could max it out. $3,240 in deductions, $7,322 to post-tax. Of course, the federal government has to get theirs. I paid $43,157 in taxes. Leaving my total net pay to $118,671. Of the package, some of you will say this severance package is not generous, they are designed to get as much out of you for as little as possible in return. But I like to use the word fair. Employers are never generous for no reason. There, I worked there almost a decade and in exchange for this pay, I released them from any liability or claim there. Half of my adult life was spent working there. Follow for more money transparency and education. If you're nosy and want to see how I'm budgeting, hit that paycheck.