Week 01, Class 01
The First Paycheck
Earn and manage your money
A first job quotes a number that no student ever receives. Between the advertised wage and the bank deposit sit withholdings and deductions that surprise plenty of adults. The first class of the program decodes that gap.
Students learn to read a US pay stub line by line, separate gross pay from net pay, and compare job offers on what actually lands in the bank rather than the headline wage. By the end of the hour, the distance between earning and receiving is a calculation they can perform and explain.
Topics covered
- Hourly wages and salaries
- Reading a US pay stub
- Gross pay
- Net pay
- Common paycheck deductions
- Direct deposit
- Comparing job offers on take-home pay
The practical activity
Each student receives a hypothetical job offer and its pay stub, then produces a paycheck breakdown: what was earned, what was withheld, and what actually reaches the bank.
The learning outcome
Students can read a US pay stub line by line and explain gross versus net pay.