DAY TWO ACCOUNT 4 YOUR MONEY

BANKING CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING when you try to open an account. You waited two weeks for your first paycheck (policy with new jobs) and now the bank wants to put a 7-10 "working" day hold on these funds. Cheez! Well, be patient. No one said it was going to be easy, but hang in there. You also get an ATM card which is really very scarey. It is a good way to keep you from getting UNAVAILABLE FUNDS. HINT -DON'T SPEND WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE. Yep, those 7-10 day holds from the checks (your pay) that get deposited. Direct Deposit actually makes this work easier, so ask your boss about this event. Oh, and if you're fortunate, your account will actually pay interest depending on the required regulations for the type of account you open. When balancing your checking account you will need to remember to add these few cents to your balance. This will also appear on the monthly statements.
FOR ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T A CLUE why any of this is important now, I recommend you begin saving for your old age. Jobs today won't have retirement plans and you really may get use to the way you're living now when you get to the ripe old age of retirement. When I was a yougster(I'm old as dirt by the way) we were told if you started to deposit $2,000.00 a year into an IRA you would be a millionair by retirement. Well, I never did meet anyone that did that nor did I. It's not easy to get that kind of money, even in a year together, to start this account. IRS will give you until April 15 of the filing year to deposit it into an IRA for the previous year and it's tax free until you start drawing on the account after 59 1/2 years of age. More power to you if you actually accomplish the IRA account. If nothing else, ask grandparents to deposit $2,000.00 for you and forget all the other gifts and holiday spending.
KNOWING WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH YOUR MONEY is your right, but you can't put off till tomorrow what you need to do today. My granddaughter wants to be a rich and famous singer and she has potential at age 11. However, her math has a lot to be desired. She told me it wasn't important for a girl to know all this and that she would get a manager to handle her money. You can see where I'm going with this already, right? You need to know everything available to control what's going on with your money and that it's safe and doing the things you want and need with only your hands. Yes, investments are fine, but again watch for loop holes and signing things that cause you to loose that control.
NOW FOR SOME LECTURING CONCERNING THE best ways to accomplish the bottom line. If you're in high school take an elective bookkeeping or accounting course. These show you basics and are made simple to follow. If an adult take a six to nine week course at the local night school class or at your community college. I guarantee it will be time well invested and give you the basic needs of handling your money. It's great to become independent while supporting yourself, but later on you may even want to make more money and have fun doing this with different routes to follow as you learn and grow.