What does your paycheck look like before and after wage garnishment?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money What does your paycheck look like before and after wage garnishment? We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht May 1, 2026 / 10:34 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A wage garnishment can transform your paycheck, turning what was a manageable budget into a strained one. Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images Your paycheck should feel predictable, as it's the foundation of your budget — the number that determines what gets paid, what gets saved and what has to wait. But if you're a borrower who has fallen seriously behind on their debt, there's a chance that your reliable weekly, biweekly or monthly paycheck may suddenly change, and it can do so without a raise or a job switch. If a legal order redirects part of those earnings elsewhere, your paycheck can shrink, quietly but significantly, and in some cases, without much warning.That scenario, known as wage garnishment, is becoming more common as the financial pressure builds in today's economic landscape. With collective credit card balances sitting at over $1.23 trillion and borrowing costs remaining high despite last year's Fed rate cuts, and with more borrowers becoming seriously delinquent on their debt, lenders are escalating collection efforts — sometimes all the way to court-ordered wage garnishments. For the people on the receiving end, that shift shows up in their take-home pay.But while garnishment is a pot...