Income & Career Money: free beginner lessons
Income & Career Money is a FinCon topic with 5 short lessons. Understand your paycheck and grow your earning potential. Each lesson takes about five minutes and ends with a quiz.
What will I learn in Income & Career Money?
You will work through: Understanding Your Paycheck, Growing Your Income, Multiple Income Streams, Negotiating Your Salary, Understanding Total Compensation.
What is in each Income & Career Money lesson?
Understanding Your Paycheck
Your paycheck is more than one number. Before money hits your bank, it gets sliced up: 💵 Gross pay: Your total earnings 🏛️ Federal taxes: Income tax to the government 🏠 State taxes: Varies by state (some have none!) 🏥 FICA: Social Security + Medicare 📋 Deductions: Health insurance, 401(k), etc. What's left = your net (take-home) pay.
Key sections of your pay stub: 📊 Earnings: Hours worked × rate (or salary portion) 📊 Taxes: Federal, state, local, FICA 📊 Pre-tax deductions: 401(k), HSA, health insurance 📊 Post-tax deductions: Roth 401(k), life insurance 📊 Net pay: What you actually receive Check your stub regularly—errors happen!
What's the difference between gross and net pay? Gross pay is your total earnings. Net pay is what's left after taxes and deductions—the money that actually hits your bank.
Your W-4 tells your employer how much tax to withhold: ⚠️ Too little withheld → You owe taxes in April 💰 Too much withheld → You get a refund (but gave the government a free loan!) 🎯 Goal: Get as close to $0 owed/refunded as possible. Use the IRS withholding estimator annually.
Is a big tax refund always a good thing? A big refund means too much was withheld—you lent the government YOUR money for free. Adjust your W-4 to keep more each paycheck.