Adulting is such a useless phase of life. Adulting makes you realize you don’t know a thing about home economics.
Why don’t they teach this in school? Young adults often end up in an economic mess. I was excited when I moved out. I knew I would have all the fun and have parties, and my mother would not bother me with little things.
Boy, was I wrong? Well, everything here felt “endless grocery list and errands and debts”. Let me tell you about my first debt.
“When I was looking for an apartment, I found one just above a bar. It was like my deepest fantasy come true. I immediately put my application down. The lease amount was very high, and so was I, on the enthusiasm of adulting and independence.
I got emergency cash bad credit direct lender, and the apartment was mine. Along with the place, I got my first debt and began the season of financial crises.”
It is a legit crime that our young adults do not know the first thing about home economics.
Well, worry not, folks. This blog is all about helping young adults learn a little about home economics. Read along.
Home Economics Education in School
Because Home economics is not yet part of the government-mandated national curriculum, they are not taught in most American schools. Predatory operators benefit from a lack of finance and relevant knowledge, which has a negative impact on the general public.
In the United States, most children learn about these via their parents and other family members. Furthermore, it is heavily reliant on family members’ financial understanding, and the current situation indicates that the majority of young adults are having financial difficulties.
Indeed, some students opt for economics. Does this information help? It is primarily on the home economics front. The syllabus contains high-end words like “inflation” and kinds of stuff, but how far it is applicable to home economics is worth studying.
Credit cards, savings accounts, and interest rates are unfamiliar to young individuals. Another nightmare is figuring out taxes and PFs. To become a financially independent and responsible citizen, the following items, in my opinion, require the most attention at a young age.
How well do you understand Your Salary Statement/ Slip?
You got your first job and started earning your first pay statement. Did you understand everything it has? Let me walk you through it. It has the following sections.
- General information: it has basic information such as your name and address, your employee ID, your employer’s ID, the business unit, and other general information.
- Tax data: What you’ve claimed on your Form W-4 is shown in the Tax Data
section of your pay statement:
- Your relationship status: married or unmarried
- Number of tax exemptions
- You’ve elected to have additional sums deducted from your paycheck.
- Hours and earnings: This section shows the type of your job and pay. It also has the number of hours you worked and the rate you are being paid. It also has information about how much you are paid for the work.
- Taxes: This section displays the “total amount of taxes” deducted from your salary for the current pay period as well as the entire calendar year (YTD).
- Before-tax and after-tax deductions: Your taxable wages are reduced by “pre-tax deductions” from your compensation. Some pre-tax deductions reduce your “federal and state wages (W-2 form)”, while others also cut your Social Security and Medicare earnings. Your taxable wages are not reduced by “after-tax deductions”. They’re only taken once taxes have been deducted from your taxable earnings.
- Employer-paid benefits: Often, employers provide some benefits to their employees. It varies from company to company and even from position to position at your workplace. These may include Medical UM, Basic Employee Life insurance, Child Life Insurance, etc.
- Totals: if you see near the bottom of your pay statement, the Totals section reveals your total salary and deductions for both the current pay period and the entire year “(YTD)”. It also shows your “net pay” equal to your gross earnings minus all taxes and deductions.
- Leave balances: it shows the number of leave for Vacation, Sick leave, or Personal holiday.
- Net pay distribution: This section displays your net pay and the accounts into which it was placed immediately.
Filing Income Tax Returns: A big part of Home Economics
I will get to the point straight away. Doing taxes may seem challenging, and it is a lengthy process, but you will be an expert if you do it yourself soon. You can take classes as well. Some professionals will teach you how to do your taxes and save your money.
Then there is an easy way, hire a professional to do the taxes for you. Doing axes are a big part of adulting. If you plan to do it yourself, here are the things you need.
Get a W-2 form to file your tax, and gather all your income and interest slips. Now the rest is up to you to do the calculations. You should also know this, if you have donated to a charity or trust, keep the paperwork. It will fetch you some rebate.
Cool right! Our government promotes charity work in this way. Keep an eye on the deadline and file your taxes before the last day.
Interest Rates on Loans
So, you learned a little bit about interest rates in school, but you’re stumped when it comes to figuring your interest rate on loan in home economics. It’s a simple concept, but young adults struggle and make bad decisions due to a lack of understanding.
Will you be able to understand the interest rate on your debt and how long it may take you to pay it off? Do you know how to calculate basic and compound interest rates?
The interest rate is the amount that is added to your principal lump sum on a monthly, bimonthly or most commonly yearly basis. For instance, if you have taken a 100-dollar guaranteed loan approval no credit check direct lender at 14%, you will have to pay 100 + 14; 114 USD next year. Every year 14 will be added.
This is simple interest, but most lenders use compound interest which means next year, the interest rate will be calculated for 114 USD instead of your original 100 USD lumpsum.
Conclusion
So, there it was. Finance education is a significant part of adulting and dealing with home economics. It is crucial and should be incorporated into the curriculum early in school. Most young adults presently do not understand how to calculate tax returns, or about interest rates and mortgages, etc.
Early understanding will aid future people in better planning and managing their finances. It will assist in developing financially responsible individuals and strengthening the country.
Don’t be afraid of doing little maths and calculating taxes or interest rates. Don’t get into debt at an early age, or you will end up struggling with it for a long time.
Get finance awareness, start saving, and be prepared for the future. If you have difficulty, take help from experts. Take classes online or offline and become aware. Happy adulting.
