Written by Paul Davidson, LDE for Computer Science & Electrical and Computer Engineering
You’ve just landed your next/first full-time job. It’s time to celebrate and it’s time to PLAN. Currently, most young people entering the workforce post-graduation will begin earning their largest paychecks in their lives to date, so to avoid the words ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’ of The Notorious B.I.G., the Life Design Lab wants to equip students with some knowledge. In order to design fulfilling lives, finances can’t be ignored. There are costs associated with basic needs, but saving is also important to finance hobbies, passions and goals.
- What to expect in your first check?
- In your job offer letter, you may see an annual salary. What they don’t share is that is the amount before taxes and deductions. We will review all of the different deductions, both mandatory (federal, state, and local taxes), and some of the optional deductions (retirement benefits, health insurance, life insurance, etc.)
- Before joining the session, test out this salary paycheck calculator from ADP.
2. Strategies to set a budget
- Discussion of fixed versus variable expenses with common guidelines and rules of thumb to get started
- How these strategies can alleviate stress when emergencies happen (they will)
3. Saving for your future:
- Do you really need to open a retirement account in your early 20s?
- What are some of the common retirement accounts?
- How can you make your money work for you? There are strategic ways to both pay off debt and save!
View the session slides and download them for later
We are not certified financial planners, but are aiming to provide you with some basics to develop a helpful practices for a successful financial life. Managing finances is challenging, and money is consistently one of the top sources of stress for Americans. Hopefully, knowledge of some key terms and resources can reduce sources of stress, so you can celebrate all of your successes that got you to this point!
