What To Do When You Receive Your First Paycheck

American Investment Planners LLC

500 North Broadway, Suite 260, Jericho, NY 11753

(516) 932-5130 / (866) 932-5130

Receiving your first paycheck from your first full-time job is probably one of the best feelings you'll experience once you enter the working world. However, all too often new employees are a bit too quick to go out and make rather large purchases because it appears that they can now afford them. Aside from encouraging you to not make this same mistake, though, there are two other things we'd like to make sure you do do once this day arrives - they are:

1. Review your pay rate. Your company's HR and Payroll team are only human, which means there is the potential for a mistake to be made when they enter your pay rate into the system. So, whether you cash your check yourself or have direct deposit set up, review the pay stub to ensure that the salary you were offered is an exact match to what you were paid.
2. Look over your deductions. From tax deductions to retirement deductions and any other deductions you may be subject to during a specific pay period, don't just assume that the money has been taken out correctly. Although everything is probably right, it doesn't hurt to look things over to double check - for example, if you contribute 5% to an employer sponsored retirement plan, make sure that it was 5% that was deducted for this purpose.

After you've gone over the specifics of your paycheck, it's time to figure out what you'll do with your new income. Like we said earlier, try not to do too much splurging unless it's really feasible for you - instead, try this:

1. Put money into savings. The age where you first take on a full-time job is likely the age where you're also going to start really figuring out your long-term goals, such as when and where you plan to buy a house one day. In order to achieve those goals, though, you'll need to have savings, so make sure you're setting at least some of each paycheck aside to help grow your bank account for things like a down payment.
2. Pay down debts. Especially if you're a recent college graduate, you're no stranger to debts such as student loans. Where it may have been difficult to pay them back before, use your new source of income to help yourself get ahead - if you can send just a little bit more than the minimum payment to your lenders, you can start to cut down the amount of time it will take for your debts to be fully paid off.

Finally, once you have a salary to start managing, it's always recommended that you set up an appointment with a financial planner as they can help you determine exactly how much of your paycheck you should be saving and how much you should be using for other purposes. Not sure who to call? Contact American Investment Planners LLC! Our team has faced many of the challenges you face and has gotten through them successfully, which makes us the perfect candidates to help you do the same.

To connect with our advisors, please call (516) 932-5130 or email info@americaninvestmentplanners.com today.