You recently graduated from Kelseyville High School and got hired at Griffith Enterprises in Kelseyville, California as an office assistant producing educational videos and multimedia. Griffith Enterprises is located at 5480 Main Street, Kelseyville, CA 95451 and the phone number is (707) 279-1234.
Your beginning salary is $2000 per month and you will be paid on the 1st and the 15th of each month. You will receive your pay in the form of a voucher check which is typically divided with perforations in two parts -- one part being the actual check (the Net Amount of your pay) and the other part being the voucher (or record) of how your pay was calculated. You typically Deposit the check portion into your bank account and file the voucher away for your records.
In discussing your salary with your new employer, you have learned that the following items will be deducted from your paycheck:
- Federal Income Tax: Approximately 15% of your income goes to Federal Income Tax. This can be less or more depending on your situation. For example, if you are single and make less than $8,500 in a year you may only have to pay 10%... but if you make over $34,500 you may be paying 25-35%. (And depending on your deductions and credits, you may get some [or all] of that money back in an income tax refund at the beginning of the next year.)
- State Income Tax: Current Estimates are that California Income Tax is equal to about 9.9%.
- Social Security: Currently we are paying approximately 4.2% of our pay toward Social Security; a program provided by the Federal Government that includes old age and survivors' insurance, old age assistance, and unemployment protection. This is sometimes listed as FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) on a voucher [or pay stub].
- Medicare: Currently charged at 1.45%, Medicare is used to cover medical costs for older people.
- Medical/Dental: Because you are a new employee, you are not yet eligible to receive medical or dental insurance. Once you are eligible you will be asked to select from plan options.
Because there is a full-service bank next door, you decide to leave your old bank and set up an account with this closer bank. Complete a New Account Application for Bank of KHS (
download one here) using the following information:
- ACCT #: (leave blank for now)
- Required Signatures: 1
- Account Type: Free Checking
- SSN: (use 123-45-6789)
- Title: Your own full name
- Business or Occupation: Multimedia Production Assistant
- ATM or Debit Card? Yes
- Internet Banking? Yes
- Previous Bank: Clear Lake Savings & Loan: 101 Lakeview Drive, Clearlake, California 95422
- Previous Acct. #: 8675309
- Amount of Deposit: $226.68 (Description: Transfer)
- Type of Personalized Checks: Regular Free
- No., Style, Color, and Cover: (leave blank)
- Starting Number: 101
Because we are starting over with a new bank, we will also begin a new Check Register. Fill out the front of your check register with your information. We are bringing $226.68 from our previous bank into our new bank, so open the check register and enter that amount in the "Beginning Balance" spot.
One method of keeping track of items in your checkbook is to use one line per transaction. For our simulation, we will be using two lines per transaction -- the actual transaction on the first line and the balance and additional information on the second (usually shaded) line.
Believe it or not, there are scholarships for some very strange things. If you're a guy over 6'1 or a girl over 5'10 you can qualify for a "Tall Clubs" scholarship. There's a scholarship for left-handed people. There's a scholarship for duck callers. If you're a skateboarder, you can qualify for a skateboard scholarship. There seriously is free money out there if you're willing to work for it. (Here are some other strange scholarships)
