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Christmas Vacation Question
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:45 am
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:45 am
Just rewatched this classic last night and there's always one thing I've wondered about - how much was the bonus check Clark was expecting? I've never been in a profession where Christmas bonuses were a thing, so I don't really know. Apparently it would have been enough to cover the cost of installing a new pool, which isn't cheap, and, presumably, still have a few bucks leftover. So what type of money are we talking about here? Keep in mind this was filmed in 1989.
19
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:48 am to jfw3535
I’m guessing 10K, so 12K by the time the cops are busting in the windows.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:48 am to jfw3535
quote:
So what type of money are we talking about here?
He was some type of food chemist who worked for a large company. He stated that employees counted it as part of their salary. Maybe $25Ksh??
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:50 am to jfw3535
My Brother in Law received a 60k bonus check last year and is expecting a 25% increase to that this year. I would imagine in 1989 we should assume around 15-20k which would probably be enough for a pool back then.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 9:59 am to jfw3535
I always thought he was looking for $10k-$15k.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:01 am to Saskwatch
quote:
He was some type of food chemist who worked for a large company. He stated that employees counted it as part of their salary. Maybe $25Ksh??
This was 1989. Even in Chicago a $25k bonus probably would have been BIG. That said, no "bonus" is ever guaranteed. So how poor of a money manager is Clark if he he is risking putting himself in dire straits financially by putting in a pool SOLELY reliant on the bonus coming through?
Even if he received a bonus every year don't you have to be at least a bit conservative on the off chance, for whatever reason, that bonus gets eliminated?
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:02 am to jfw3535
quote:
Apparently it would have been enough to cover the cost of installing a new pool,
I remember it being just enough to cover the down payment for the pool. He had to put the down payment down so he could get on the schedule as soon as it was warm enough to dig.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:20 am to Alt26
quote:
Even if he received a bonus every year don't you have to be at least a bit conservative on the off chance, for whatever reason, that bonus gets eliminated?
Clark addressed this. He told his boss that if he had planned on eliminating bonuses he should at least have let his employees know so they wouldn't assume they'd get one as they had every year prior.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:21 am to jfw3535
quote:
Just rewatched this classic last night and there's always one thing I've wondered about - how much was the bonus check Clark was expecting? I've never been in a profession where Christmas bonuses were a thing, so I don't really know. Apparently it would have been enough to cover the cost of installing a new pool, which isn't cheap, and, presumably, still have a few bucks leftover. So what type of money are we talking about here? Keep in mind this was filmed in 1989.
From what i hear in those days non-sales bonuses could be 10-15% of your salary for hitting certain goals. Assuming suburbs of Chicago, my guess is Clark's salary was $140k - $200kish. So like $14-19,000 probably, which would make sense for a pool.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:26 am to Saskwatch
quote:
He was some type of food chemist who worked for a large compan
Not only that but he also developed that award winning lacquer for the cereal that prevented milk from making it soggy.
That was probably worth a lot to the company so maybe Clark was figuring on a little extra.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:42 am to Alt26
quote:
So how poor of a money manager is Clark
That has clearly been answered in the other 3 Vacation movies.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 10:48 am to jfw3535
Not just the pool but also flying his terrible family down for the pool grand opening
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:02 am to jfw3535
In the late 80s, I got a year-end bonus check from my employer almost equal to my annual salary.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:04 am to jfw3535
I went through this process last night and came close to trying to find pool installation costs from the late 80s
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:09 am to Pettifogger
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:19 am to jfw3535
In the first Vacation, Cousin Eddie wanted to borrow $50K so there’s that.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:27 am to Freauxzen
quote:
Assuming suburbs of Chicago, my guess is Clark's salary was $140k - $200kish.
Great house, too. To be such a screw up, Clark really brought home the bacon.
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:30 am to Cash
quote:
I remember it being just enough to cover the down payment for the pool. He had to put the down payment down so he could get on the schedule as soon as it was warm enough to dig.
Yeah, I recall that he put down a downpayment but didn't actually have enough in his account to cover the downpayment check, which is why he needed the Christmas bonus so badly. This still means his bonus must have been pretty big, but it wasn't going to cover the entire cost of the pool.
This post was edited on 12/3/20 at 11:33 am
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:36 am to schatman
quote:
Great house, too. To be such a screw up, Clark really brought home the bacon.
and, i mean, look at his wife
Posted on 12/3/20 at 11:36 am to Alt26
quote:Bet you're a fun guy to go to a movie with. Even more fun to live with.
how poor of a money manager is Clark
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