Lesson 01 of 07
Life on your first paycheck
The number you agreed to and the number that lands in your account are two different numbers. This lesson is about the gap: what comes out, what you chose, and how to plan a month around what actually arrives.
Watch
The short version
- Gross is the offer; net is the deposit. Gross pay minus federal withholding, Social Security, Medicare, state tax, and any benefits you signed up for. The stub lists every one of them.
- Read the stub once, properly. Four lines matter: gross, taxes, deductions, net. A 401(k) contribution or a health premium is a choice you made, not a fee someone took.
- Payday is a plan, not a windfall. Fixed costs first, then a set amount moved to savings the same day. Money that sits in checking until Friday gets spent.
- The first $500 is the whole game. A tire, a copay, a cut shift. Five hundred dollars absorbs most of what turns a bad week into a bad month.
If the first paycheck is smaller than you expected, that is normal. Read the stub, note the difference, and budget from the net — never from the offer letter.
Next
Six questions on the video.
Watch first, then take the quiz on its own page. Four right is a pass, and your best score is kept in this browser.
After this: Lesson 02, Spot the financial scam