This is the most important number on your pay stub as every other number on your pay stub gets based on this one figure. Gross pay is the total amount of money you earn before anything comes out of your check. Read on to learn how to read a pay stub so you can catch costly errors. No matter the cause, if you live paycheck to paycheck like 78% of the American workforce, you can't afford someone else's mistakes. And yes, sometimes, your employer is trying to get one over on you, but that's pretty rare. Have you ever received a paycheck from your employer and thought, 'Man, this looks a little light?' If so, you are not alone.
