Ha ha--first paycheck!

[icallmedan]

At my job bagging groceries, I make the fairly good starting pay of $6.35 an hour. Pay is given out on friday for the previous weeks pay period (Sun-Sat). I had a an orientation last week,but I wasn't sure how many hours it was, and then today I got my paycheck. I open it up, not sure how much it is for...

$5.60, for 1 hour!! LOL! It's almost pitiful in a way.

The sad thing is $.75 was taken off by the government before I even got to see it! I just thought I'd share this funny little story. I am however glad I am now earning a paycheck. It is a nice feeling to see your hard work pay off. Next week my pay check should be bigger since I got to work about 11 hours, and I may get to work tomorrow yet too!

[Panama Red]

Congrats to ya! The first paycheck is always exciting. My first paying job was the same as yours, bagging groceries. Slight difference though, mine was for $.85/hour in 1964!! Do this with every check and one day you will be one of the wealthiest people around - put 10% in a savings account and never touch it. Always pay your self before you pay anyone else. (concept from the book, "The Richest Man In Babylon")

[jibby06]

haha i'm glad your excited about your paycheck, no matter how much you got. that's quite funny too hehe. i haven't gotten a job yet, so i haven't got my first paycheck yet. (i need a job though ahh so i can pay for my build!)

[Tin]

PR has some great advice there. ive been doing the 10% thing since i was 16....almost 8 years and i havent touched it. hell, i dont even know how much i have saved....i havent even bothered to look at my balance sheet.

[ja83]

haha congrats on the job! I remember one time I got an extra check for like $2, I forgot what it was for, but I was like ok.
What's your location and what store? Safeway(most in cali or northwest) pays the baggers like $8.45 per hour. However, cali is a more expensive place to live.

[HAL9000]

Must not be the same laws there as here... around here, you MUST be paid a minimum of three hours.. even if they only had you in for one.

[bailey]

thats great, hope there is many more to come.

I got my first paycheck in over two years the other day, and it was a bit more than the one you got, my take home was over 1k for two weeks.

[Panama Red]

thats great, hope there is many more to come.

I got my first paycheck in over two years the other day, and it was a bit more than the one you got, my take home was over 1k for two weeks.

Bet it feels good to be back in the saddle, eh bailey? ;)

[icallmedan]

Congrats to ya! The first paycheck is always exciting. My first paying job was the same as yours, bagging groceries. Slight difference though, mine was for $.85/hour in 1964!! Do this with every check and one day you will be one of the wealthiest people around - put 10% in a savings account and never touch it. Always pay your self before you pay anyone else. (concept from the book, "The Richest Man In Babylon")

That is very good advice Panama. I am in the Boy Scouts and took the Personal Management merit badge, and they teach the same "Pay Yourself First". I plan to do this. Thanks for the reminder though.

To Tin:

That would be interesting to see how much you had. 10% of your income times 6 years could be a hefty sum.

To ja83:

It probably is the difference in living costs...Although it would be nice to make that much here, to start!

To HAL:

I wish you could only be paid for a minimum of 3 hours. That would have meant that I got paid $18 to sit in an orientation and watch a movie.

[bailey]

sure does, but my mind keeps wondering off to window shopping on all the toys I can buy.
started off with the new sony DSC-F828 digital camera, and yesterday I got me a new router, linksys wireless-G.
it works a lot better than my old one.

also I am now working the grave yard shift with a 6% increase in pay, and 6 days a week.

[MulderMan]

they have a safeway in america? anyway i havent even got my first pay cheque, will do in a few years time. nearest thing ive got to packing bags is in the supermarket with scouts raising money!

[icallmedan]

I know bailey...I don't want to spend all my paychecks. I htink the only things I am going to upgrade are a my soundcard and speakers. ($250) for the Audigy 2 ZS and the Logitech Z5300 speakers. I actually get to work again today, so thtat will be about 18 hours for me! I'll rake in about $100 clear!

[Colonel Sanders]

I'm eh, working at a gas station. :( Make $6.50 an hour before tax, and end up getting almost 10-12 hours each day (3-12, and however long it takes to close, which usually takes till 3am if I'm alone...), got possibly 5 days in a row this week....

The bad thing is in 4 weeks I've watched 4 people quit the store, me and another girl are the only 2 night shift workers who know what to do (me and her will leave before the end of August), and there is one person working the morning shifts now. I still don't know who is ordering stuff, be the ordering is never quite right. I think our Anehusier Bush-man drinks a little too much of his product because his delivery is never anywhere close to what we need/sell (had 30 cases of bud-light and 7 cases of budweiser last time....).

L J

[avx]

10% of every pay check is a great place to start, but once you hit 21...Get a 401k, that will be one of the most imortant things in your life. No matter what job you have, if you start a 401k while your still very young, you have the potential to retire as a millionaire.

Dont be afraid to play with your money in the stock market either. Having your money actually work for you is the real way to go.

[Punked Out Comp]

How old are you icallmedian?

avx- What do you mean 401k

It sucks that I cant get a job till 16. I have a lot of plans for when I turn 16, A LOT.

Also, we're all computer obsessed ppl here. why cant we get a 6 figure a year job in that field?

[Markoman01027]

Must not be the same laws there as here... around here, you MUST be paid a minimum of three hours.. even if they only had you in for one.

Thats how it is in Massachusetts

Minimum wage is 6.75 and at my job..I work at a gas station and it is the most boring job ever... I get 7.50 an hour..government takes 20% each week

[colecifer]

i'm a lifeguard and make $7.50 an hour, we get paid every two weeks and i ususally work 30-35 hours a week. Uncle sam usually gets about $100 of my paycheck. The good news is i don't make enough money to actually have to pay taxes so i get the federal and state tax money back in april.

[abnorml_chylde]

Looks like i top you all in pay...
Im rackin in the big $5.40 at Shoprite up here in New Jersey....
im only 15, so i guess you can say its decent... i started out at $5.15, but then when i was there for 1 month, we get .35 cent increase....
the best part is that when i turn 16, pretty soon in Semptember, i get 1 dollar more.... i think....



and yes, $5.15 is minimum wage here



EDIT: oh yeah, taxes suck, i get about $20 taken out of an $80 paycheck... it really sucks...



Jason

[Punked Out Comp]

taxes suck!!! why should you have to lose out on your hard earned money to help someone without the initiative to get thier own job??!!
Im not saying that its always pplz fault they dont hav a job, but why should you lose your hard earned $$$! ppl should give more to charity but they shouldnt be forced to part with *thier* $ that *they* worked for!!!

[Gibble]

I can't wait until I get back to work. I'm off on disability and the pay is not nearly as good. I'm sure there are people that will beat this, but I lose between 1/4 and 1/3 of my cheque to taxes. That is hard to take sometimes.

[ZeratulsAvenger]

I just got another application and hopefully an interview will come soon. Sadly school starts amazingly soon, so I will hopefully end up working part time, maybe weekends or something, assuming my schedule allows it. Pay for my friends doing the same job is $8.90. Min wage is $7.15.

I really hope I get this one, so I am getting together my contacts all ready so I can hand my interviewer a printed character referance sheet with several contacts. Maybe that, along with my dressy attire, along with the fact that all I have to do is drive a golf cart, clean golf carts, and maybe cut a few hedges, will get me the job :p

Here's hoping :)

EDIT: Oh ya, forgot, hope the check is nice :rolleyes:

[icallmedan]

How old are you icallmedian?

avx- What do you mean 401k

It sucks that I cant get a job till 16. I have a lot of plans for when I turn 16, A LOT.

Also, we're all computer obsessed ppl here. why cant we get a 6 figure a year job in that field?

I'm 15.

You can't just be computer obsessed to get a 6 figure job, you need a certain level of expertise, and being 'computer obsessed' doesn't cut it.

[MulderMan]

Whos this unlce sam?

[icallmedan]

LOL! Of course someone from England wouldn't know. Uncle Sam is the term used for the Government in the states. He used to be on the posters with the phrase "I want You" or somethign to that effect referrring to joining the military.

See here:

http://www.underhillid.k12.vt.us/enrichment/uncle%20sam%20iwant%20you.jpg

[MulderMan]

O like some of the old British propaganda used in the war.

[MrAustin]

Exactly like the British propaganda. LOL.

I'm making $12/hr right now at 22yo, and I swear I had more money when I was making minimum wage than I do now. Auto, Mortgage... my checks are gone before I even see them.

[mbossman2]

i feel your pain on the taxes...I am sure that there are people on this board who have more taken out in taxes than most people make in a year.

[Force Flow]

LOL! Of course someone from England wouldn't know. Uncle Sam is the term used for the Government in the states. He used to be on the posters with the phrase "I want You" or somethign to that effect referrring to joining the military.

As the story goes, durning the start of the war of 1812, there was a meat inspector named "Sam Wilson". Around the workplace, he was known as "Uncle Sam", for watching over the workmen in person, much like a concerned father figure. An elderly gentleman, "Elbert Anderson", was hired by Sam Wilson to inspect the provisions bought from Troy, NY. The provision containers were marked E.A.U.S.. One of the workmen for the company, who was asked the meaning of the marks, said he had no idea what they stood for, unless it meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam, alluding to Uncle Sam Wilson. The joke made the rounds among the workmen and eventually became an icon and symbol of provisions and finally that of the US government.

...and that's the rest of the story. ;)

[icallmedan]

Never knew that much Force Flow. Thanks for hte history lesson.

[avx]

avx- What do you mean 401k

It sucks that I cant get a job till 16. I have a lot of plans for when I turn 16, A LOT.

Also, we're all computer obsessed ppl here. why cant we get a 6 figure a year job in that field?

A 401k is a retirement plan. Some companies have it, some do not. It's good to have, but there are other solutions to a retirement account if your company does not have a 401k program.

A 401k is basically the same as a savings account, only you decide how much you want to take out of your paycheck each time, anywhere from 1% to 30%, you can change it from month to month, and they take that month, and instead of just putting it into a savings account, they put it into 1 of several different kinds of money market accounts, ususally a mutual account, where they take a group of people's money, and invest it into the fortune 500 companies, and only in the fortune, because thier reasoning is, they are the fortune 500 companies for a reason, they are the most reliable, and stand the best chance of making money for you, and since your cash is in the market with a group of other peoples money, its much safer for you. My boss has had his 401k for 7 yrs and its about to hit 55k this year, and you have to consider the stock market has been pretty bad this last few years, but he has always made money off of it. So just think about how much money he will make in the next 7 yrs when the stock market starts to spark who knows how much he will make. And if you ever need to barrow money, instad of going to the bank, where you pay interest and throw the money out the window, you can barrow from your 401k and you pay the interest back to yourself, so you barrow your own money, and pay yourself your own money back, with interest...Its a win/win situation...

Look at me, Im rambling...sorry...ask your economics teacher or use google.

-avx

[bailey]

401k is still playing the gamble of the stock market and I have also seen people loose everything thay had from it.
you might as well go to vages and invest in the slot machine too.
at least that is the way I see it

[mbossman2]

the big advantage of 401k's is that allow you to tkae the money out of your pay pre-tax, basically deferring the tax collection until you are 60. the reasoning is that the tax bracket you are in now is higher than the tax bracket you will be when you retire. So why pay the tax man 35% now, when you can pay him 20% later.

Now for you young 'uns that tax break is minimal (or non-existent) as early in your working lives you are more than likely in the lowest tax bracket possible (and will probably never be in that tax bracket again). In your case you are not paying 15% taxes to pay 20% taxes later. For you, I would look into what is called a Roth IRA, this allows you to contribute post tax dollars in to an investment account which will grow completely tax free withdrawable when you retire.

http://www.fool.com/money/allaboutiras/allaboutiras.htm

401k is still playing the gamble of the stock market and I have also seen people loose everything thay had from it.
you might as well go to vages and invest in the slot machine too.
at least that is the way I see it

not necessarily. most companies offer a wide range of investments from money markets (basic savings accounts) all the way up to an including foreign market penny stocks (they make the lottery look like a good investment).

The stock market can hurt you if (1) you don't know the rules and (2) if you bet on one thing and one thing only. The best way to invest is to spread your money across as many companies as possible (via mutual funds when you 1st start out) and do what is called dollar cost averaging (http://invest-faq.com/articles/strat-dol-val-avg.html). Over the long term, the stock market as a whole will give you a good solid return on your dollar (the market has, since its inception, averaged approx 10% annual growth...the key part there is averaged..it will go up and it will go down...on the whole it will go up)

[sdkfz]

I am the 401K advisory business - if the firm offers a match it is like someone walking up to you and asking "Hey you want this 100.00 bill? No Strings" Free money! How it works (If it is offered) is for every dollar you save the comapny gives you some too. Sometimes as much as a one for one match up to say 5% of your annual income. So you save 1.00 and the firm at a match of 50% puts in another .50 for 1.50 total. 50% interest in other words.

Investing the money - you are almost guaranteed a range on investments from money market (ie savings account) to the previously mentioned really crazy foreign stuff. You MUST invest in some stocks and bonds else you are losing money. If inflation is say 4% and you earn less than that in interest then your dollar and less then 4 cents in a year can not buy what the dollar could today.

Anyway, sure you will lose money in the short run, but the stock market is always going UP, you just need to be patient. Check out these charts.
http://www.stockcharts.com/charts/historical/
In the short run it has its ups and downs but you are investing for 45 years here (Assuming you are young) and when you start getting closer to retirement you shift from the risky stuff to the safer stuff when you no longer have the time to wait for the upswing.

Social Securty will not go away (it can not since it takes your taxes and pays them right back out - if they saved your money and gave it back to you in retirement then they could end it and just give you what ever you have paid into the system back - but it was a depression fix it and they never thought people would stop having so many kids) but it will not buy you anything when you get there - take a 401K if is offered and increase the contributions when you get a pay raise splitting the raise up.

Oh - never ever take the money out - unless you are eligible to take it out without penalties - the penalties are about 50% of the amount you take.

End ramble....