paychecks can be pretty confusing at a
glance what do all of those figures and
statements mean exactly no need to panic
let's take a look at a typical paycheck
and breakdown it's different parts your
paycheck is divided into two components
the check itself and the pay stub the
pay stub contains the bulk of your
payment information so we'll be focusing
on that
here you'll find both the pay date and
the pay period the pay date is the day
you're actually being paid while the pay
period is the date range the Paycheck is
covering typically the pay period will
be anywhere from one to two weeks before
the pay date itself two notable figures
are your earnings or gross pay and your
net pay for that pay period your gross
pay is the total amount of money you
made however after deductions you're
left with your net pay this is the
amount of money that's actually
available to you on your paycheck the
difference between these two figures may
initially be surprising it's important
to plan for it especially when budgeting
or doing any kind of financial planning
you'll also find tax deductions
including federal income tax possibly
state income tax depending on where you
live as well as taxes for Medicare and
Social Security if your employer offers
certain benefits like health insurance
disability or retirement there will be
deductions for these as well if you see
something different or confusing on your
pay stub we recommend asking your
employer for clarification Goodwill
Community Foundation creating
opportunities for a better life