How to Adult: Wait, What Happened to My Pay Check?

Here's an interesting video featuring college seniors and what they know about 'real life,' particularly where their money is going to go, now that they're about to launch their careers....Even a Business major didn't know most of them.


https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+adult+&&view=detail&mid=7D8AF44E83099AF75C327D8AF44E83099AF75C32&&FORM=VRDGAR


Did you know what any of those were??
W-4 - This is the form you sign when you accept a job offer (any job, anywhere). It will indicate your tax filing status (single, married, with or without dependents) and that determines how much tax your employer will take out of your check. You may be surprised at how much you actually see on your paycheck. Your employer will withhold Federal and State taxes, Social Security (FICA,, Federal Insurance Contributions Act): https://www.paycheckcity.com/pages/article.php?page=what-is-FICA , amounts for medical and/or dental insurance, and possibly costs of life insurance you have opted for, possibly union dues, and your retirement plan, as well as savings you may have opted for. These costs can easily run over $200 or more per check. You can also indicate you wish a certain dollar amount to be deposited in a savings account at a bank or credit union, or a retirement account.

A Flex Account is money withheld from your check and put into an account to pay medical costs not covered by insurance. If you had a co-pay, or if you visited a dentist or bought new glasses, you could use your Flex Account to pay for it (it is your money).


As to savings, if you saved $100 a month for 10 years in a bank account at 2% interest, you would earn $13,394.09 with interest (as long as you never withdrew any money). Here is a calculator: https://www.edwardjones.com/preparing-for-your-future/calculators-checklists/calculators/retirement-savings-calculator.html

Every year, anybody who earns over a certain dollar amount ($10,000 for a single person and $20,000 for a married couple filing jointly) has to file their taxes, essentially telling the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) how much taxes they paid. The form you receive from your employer is the W-2 and it is supposed to be in your hands by January 31 of the new year. All the information about your pay from that employer is on that form. You will also get tax forms from any other source of income for that year. If you file your taxes and you have overpaid, you'll get a refund from the IRS.

401K-A form of retirement savings, with your employer also chipping in money. Here's an example, if you start young and save 10% of your pay and your employer also contributes (that's what a 401K is), see how much you might be able to accumulate: https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/401-k-retirement-calculator.aspx

                                 This assumes a return and employer contribution you may or may not receive---it's one example
Of course, it's not likely you'll stay with the same employer over that many years, but you will probably continue to earn the same or more salary wherever you work. 401K accounts can be 'rolled over' from one employer to another.


IRA-Individual Retirement Account (there are several kinds of these)
How it impacts you: If you start at a young age stashing away money in a retirement account, when you reach retirement age, you can have a nice pile of money for whatever you need: Bill paying, vacations, whatever... and you earned it yourself.

Credit Score: Three companies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, track your use of credit and give you a score that reflects how well you handle credit. A score of 850 is the highest you can get, and 300 is the lowest, although 300-549 is considered low. The scores are based on how much money you owe, whether it's a new credit application, how long you have made reliable payments-they are predicting if you are a good credit risk. Sometimes, if you aren't a solid credit risk (if you haven't been great at handling credit or haven't had a credit card before), you can get a loan or credit card, but it will have higher interest rates, such as for a car or a house, or may have a limit how much you can charge.

                                                                                 Aaron.... what were you thinking??


Here is a calculator to figure exactly how much money you'll give the credit card company: If you owe $2,000.00 on a credit card that charges 18% interest, and you pay $35 a month, it will take you almost 11 years to pay it off (IF you never charge anything else). In the end you will pay them $754.43 in interest. https://www.calculator.net/credit-card-calculator.html?balance=2000&rate=18&minimum=35&payoffoption=0&fixedpaymentamount=35&ctype=1&x=52&y=22 

You can check your credit scores free, once a year. Be aware that your credit report and your credit score are two separate things. If you apply for a loan, you can ask to see your credit score and/or report from the lender.

HMO-This is a Health Maintenance Organization, which is a type of health insurance. You'll pay a monthly fee, and will also have a deductible and "copays" which means, when you visit the doctor you pay a smaller amount, like $30, and the insurance picks up the rest or a certain percentage of the rest.


PPO-Preferred Provider Organization, Another similar type of health insurance, but it will only cover specific doctors/clinics/hospitals. You will also have a deductible and co-pays with this type of health insurance.  With any kind of health insurance, you need to check and make sure your 'provider,' or doctor, is in their covered network.

Congratulations on your first 'adult' job, and welcome to all things confusing when it comes to your pay.

How To Adult: Eggs

You can still get a dozen eggs for under $2.00. That gives you a simple way to get some protein that doesn't cost a whole lot. Add a piece of toast and some juice, and there's some good fuel for getting through your day.


But, how? You ask.

OK, there are several ways to 'make eggs.'


Scrambled   https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+eggs+youtube&&view=detail&mid=B589B5669A797050521BB589B5669A797050521B&&FORM=VRDGAR

                                                          This is a pysanky Ukrainian decorated egg

Fried ('sunny side up') https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+eggs+youtube&&view=detail&mid=A098F6E41047E40F59BCA098F6E41047E40F59BC&&FORM=VRDGAR

Hard boiled  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+eggs+youtube&&view=detail&mid=1DEB725329C2CDACCB951DEB725329C2CDACCB95&&FORM=VDRVRV

Soft boiled  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+soft+boiled+eggs+youtube&&view=detail&mid=B2F28E1FA2DD1435E2BBB2F28E1FA2DD1435E2BB&&FORM=VRDGAR




Poached  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+eggs+youtube&&view=detail&mid=A3DDF3AABC1D3588EFE3A3DDF3AABC1D3588EFE3&&FORM=VRDGAR

And remember to thank a chicken for her efforts!!

Marie Curie

If you've heard of Marie Curie, you probably think: Radiation. Scientist. France. That's maybe all you know. But her story is much more than that.

'Marie' was born Maria Sklodowska in Poland November 7, 1867, to parents who were both teachers. Her father taught math and physics, and her mother ran a boarding house/school until Maria was born. While never wealthy, her father found it hard to get a job when he supported the Polish rebellion to free them from Russian rule. Maria's mother died when Maria was only 10.


Her father brought home experiments for her and her siblings to try out, and taught them as his own students. When she finished her basic schooling, Maria found she was not allowed to attend college in Poland because she was a woman.

One option was the 'Flying University' or 'Floating University,' a sort of underground school for women to learn the same as men. She and her sister Bronislawa took courses there, and then decided that since a woman could study alongside men in Paris, that first Bronislawa would go while Maria supported her, and then Maria would go while her sister supported her. To earn money, Maria took jobs as a governess. In one home, while she took care of the younger children, there was a grown son named Kaczmeirz with whom she fell in love. However, his parents didn't approve of him marrying a penniless woman (meaning, her father was poor), and so sadly they had to break up. Ironically, her sister Bronislawa fell in love with another man also named Kaczmeirz and did marry him.

                                                                Maria on the left, Bronislawa on the right, 1886. Maria is 21.
.


It wasn't until 1891 that Maria left Poland for France (at age 26)
to finish her college degree at The Sorbonne in Paris. She barely had enough to get by and almost starved in the process, but she persevered, being interested in the qualities of magnetism. She met Pierre Curie, a French man who taught physics there. They were married in 1895. She wanted to return to Poland to teach, and Pierre declared he loved her so much, he would stop what he was working on and move to Poland with her; but when she realized she wouldn't be allowed to teach, she decided to remain in Paris, and she became a French citizen, then going by 'Marie.' She and Pierre had two daughters, Eve and Irene.


In 1903, Marie became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her study of radiation. That prize was shared with her husband Pierre and Henri Bequerel. Pierre died in 1906. He was run over by a horse and carriage. In 1911, Marie once again won a Nobel Prize for her work in chemistry. This made her the first person, and the only woman, to win twice. In her acceptance speech, she noted that she felt she shared the award with Pierre. As an adult, their daughter Irene would also study radioactivity and would also be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

From NobelPeacePrize.org, a description of what Marie studied:
Marie Curie studied the radiation of all compounds containing the known radioactive elements, including uranium and thorium, which she later discovered was also radioactive. She also found out that:
- you can exactly measure the strength of the radiation from uranium;
- the intensity of the radiation is proportional to the amount of uranium or thorium in the compound - no matter what compound it is;
- the ability to emit radiation does not depend on the arrangement of the atoms in a molecule; it must be linked to the interior of the atom itself - a revolutionary discovery!
When she realized that some uranium and/or thorium compounds had stronger radiation than uranium, she made the following hypothesis: there must be an unknown element in the compound which had a stronger radiation than uranium or thorium. Her work aroused the interest of her husband, Pierre Curie, who stopped his own research on crystals and joined the "detective work" with his wife. And Marie was proven right: in 1898 the Curies discovered two new radioactive elements: radium (named after the Latin word for ray) and polonium (named after Marie's home country, Poland).  

                                 This watch with 'glow in the dark' hands was quite a novelty in its time. Did you ever have a toy that glowed in the dark?



The 'laboratory' Marie and Pierre used to study was nothing but a shed with bad ventilation. A proper lab wasn't built for them until 1906.


They were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Physics in 1903, but declined to travel to Stockholm to accecpt it. The money from the prize helped fund their research going forward.


While another scientist, Roentgen, discovered X-rays, the Curies studied radium and discovered it could be used to create Xrays as well. It has some relation to phosphorescence, like in these fish:

During World War I, Marie Curie helped create and manage traveling X-ray trucks to help with the wounded. Initially, it was thought X-rays were completely harmless. While that is not true, and X-rays these days use a fraction of the substance that they used to, X-rays led to the development of radiation therapy to shrink tumors. Digital photography is also used now, for such applications as dental imaging. Without first knowing about X-rays, we would not have CT scans or MRIs to 'see' into the body to diagnose injuries and illnesses. The Curies' work also led to the concept of using sound waves to create images. One important use of Ultrasound is to diagnose and pinpoint heart disease.

Not dancing creatures, but a heart pumping.

While her work was recognized as very important, she still did not have the respect of her countrymen in France or in Poland. She was harshly criticized for an affair she had, and was 'accused' of being a Jewish terrorist, spy, and all manner of fabricated things, mostly because she was a woman. Marie died at age 66 of anemia due to such massive exposure to radiation: her books and personal items are placed in lead boxes and can only be handled if proper safety precautions  are followed. However, her contributions to science and medicine will improve lives forever.