This short piece of literature would have been useful a few years ago when I began working at Champlain.
I remember my first meeting with our Enrollment Officer. Within 15 minutes, I was faced with a stack of papers that, after signed, would change my take-home amount significantly. Although I wanted my paycheck to be as high as possible each month, I also knew that I needed to protect myself financially and physically.
The article details the top three priorities you must account for when beginning work:
- The first is health insurance. You'll want to make sure you understand how much money will be taken out of your paycheck each month (this is called premiums) and what your insurance covers. Many companies use preferred providers, so it's important to make sure your primary care physician is part of your network. This will save you in the long run.
- The second is taxes. It's tough to remember whether to fill in '0' or '1' on your W-4, right? I would highly suggest using Paycheckcity's W-4 Assistant (http://paycheckcity.com/). All you have to do is plug in the information and their site will complete the W-4 for you! You can bring in the results and compare with your Benefits Coordinator to make sure everything looks good.
- The third is retirement. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to pay yourself first (http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/06/16/personal-finance-made-easy-pay-yourself-first/). If your company has a 403b or 401k program set up and they match the funds you put in, make sure max this option out. By automatically withdrawing and depositing pre-tax money from your pay, you'll get used to using your monthly check as a budget. If your company does not have a retirement fund option, open a Roth IRA on-line!
If these three areas are covered when you begin working, you're doing great!!
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