Taxes, confusion, and planning my future.

I just found out that a honking 1/3 of my income will be going to the government to apparently aid them in babysitting all the politicians. Obviously, i'm not too happy about this lol. I'm even more worried though. You see, i'm just going to through a few numbers in here. (skip to the last paragraph to see questions if yah want).

(everything is in US currency)
My father went into construction straight out of high school, later going into painting for TVA (coal burning power plant). For about two 1/2 decades now hes made a stable income, right now around $500 p/week. so about $25k a year. I can run through college, go into graphic design and earn around $40k a year. Heres where things really screw up, my father pays around $1k in taxes each year, me being his only dependent. Me on the other hand, i'll be paying $13k in taxes. Thats insane. I'll be making the same amount of money as my father, even going through college.

Surely there has to be something i'm missing. Something I must have incorrect. If doing something I love pays the same as doing something yawn-inducing easy I obviously would run for the easier option! I understand people are uptight and keep close ties on their financial data and income, but i'm looking for statistics. How much do you make each year, and how much of it goes to the greedy government? PM me if you like, i'm just really worried about where I should be placing my eggs for my future really.

You, until this point, thought that the government could not take your money? Fact is they can, if you do like it, all I can say is "too bad". It is a fact of life that the government gets a good chuck of what you work for. I understand it is upsetting at first, but it doesn't always feel that bad, you just begin accepting that you don't clear everything that you make.

Entry level positions make 40k a year, you should aspire to advance and make more. 40k is about at the threshold where taxes even out with low pay. I would say go to college, bite the bullet at first then advance to actually have some money.

Also, when you work for a company on a W2 contract, they pay part of the taxes. Although the difference in normally taken away by medicare, unemployment and things of the sort.

Just get used to it, this is something you have absolutely no power over and will never change. Getting worked up about this is a waste of your time. Also try to realize that not all of your taxes go down the drain, many things do go to essential services that you take for granted.

Originally Posted by Village Genius You, until this point, thought that the government could not take your money? Fact is they can, if you do like it, all I can say is "too bad". It is a fact of life that the government gets a good chuck of what you work for. I understand it is upsetting at first, but it doesn't always feel that bad, you just begin accepting that you don't clear everything that you make. Entry level positions make 40k a year, you should aspire to advance and make more. 40k is about at the threshold where taxes even out with low pay. I would say go to college, bite the bullet at first then advance to actually have some money. Also, when you work for a company on a W2 contract, they pay part of the taxes. Although the difference in normally taken away by medicare, unemployment and things of the sort. Just get used to it, this is something you have absolutely no power over and will never change. Getting worked up about this is a waste of your time. Also try to realize that not all of your taxes go down the drain, many things do go to essential services that you take for granted.

Yeah, I know the gov. withdrew some money with each paycheck and by taxes, i just had no idea is was going to be enough to buy myself a car with. Oh well though, you're right. I shouldn't get worked up about it since its unavoidable. I'm wanting to go to college actually, but i'm planning on waiting a year or two after high school. Reason being my parents make enough that my tuition would need to be around $35k before i start getting financial aid, and I just can't afford that. 1/2 of their income goes onto my medical bills and another chunk on debt payments. So i'm waiting until they have a particularly bad year at the power plant where they work and trying for financial aid, this should also give me enough time to save up some money for college in the first place.

Any advice on college or saving for it? I'll be the first in my family to go. In fact, i'll be the first in my family not to take on $30k of debt the day i turn 18 xP. Major life lesson - credit cards are baaaddd lol.

Credit cards are indeed bad, massive debt is one of the reasons for the economy's state.

I know a family who grossed almost 70k in 2008 and still got financial aid. You should be eligible for a heck of a lot more than them. Have you filled out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)? That will be of immense help. There are also books on how to get the most out of student aid, see if your local library has one. Scholarships can also be of assistance, my sister got 8k off a year because her GPA was 3.8. There are also assistance offered for being in minority groups, but I know very little of that because I qualify for none of them.

Try going to a community college for your first two years, the tuition there can be as low as $100 per credit hour. This is a cheap way to get your general eds out of the way. Just make sure the college you want to go to will accept their credits.

Past that, find a school with an acceptable price and do it. Make as many comparisons of price as you can and apply everywhere you can. What specific degree are you looking to go for?

Originally Posted by Village Genius Credit cards are indeed bad, massive debt is one of the reasons for the economy's state. I know a family who grossed almost 70k in 2008 and still got financial aid. You should be eligible for a heck of a lot more than them. Have you filled out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)? That will be of immense help. There are also books on how to get the most out of student aid, see if your local library has one. Scholarships can also be of assistance, my sister got 8k off a year because her GPA was 3.8. There are also assistance offered for being in minority groups, but I know very little of that because I qualify for none of them. Try going to a community college for your first two years, the tuition there can be as low as $100 per credit hour. This is a cheap way to get your general eds out of the way. Just make sure the college you want to go to will accept their credits. Past that, find a school with an acceptable price and do it. Make as many comparisons of price as you can and apply everywhere you can. What specific degree are you looking to go for?

Really? And nope, I'm just now going into my senior year. As soon as i'm able to fill out that form i'm going to though. Most scholarships i've found require a 3.5 GPA or higher for my particular area of study. I'm making a list of them still though, and am going to ask my HS councilor if I can somehow raise my GPA. Currently, i'm graduating with a 3.0 if things go well this year. I'm actually taking 3 college classes as duel credit this year, so i've already got a few classes out of the way. I plan on going to get my basics at my local cheap college then transferring mid way through to actually learn what i'm going to college for.

I've looked around for colleges around here teaching graphic design or web dev. classes but the ones that actually offer them, only offer a single class of it. I'm going to be flying cross country practically to get a decent education in either field. I'm still going to do another go-over though. What accreditation should I be looking for? Regional, national, does it matter? My previous HS councilor went on telling me I had to pick a college in this region, but then again shes the same nice lady who didn't believe me that web design was an actual career... I really feel like an asian kid in mexico D:. I really appreciate all the help/advice you've given me, it means a lot!

Very few colleges offer degrees in web design or web development; they haven't been respected as their own field yet. Most web programmers with a degree have something in computer science or computer engineering. I don't know much about web design. Graphics design is a known degree however.

From a little bit of looking:
University of Illinois (cheap, respected, hard to get into) offers a graphics design degree.
DeVry (moderately priced, fairly respected, easy to get into) offers a web design and development degree

Just use google and see what you can find.

Originally Posted by Village Genius Very few colleges offer degrees in web design or web development; they haven't been respected as their own field yet. Most web programmers with a degree have something in computer science or computer engineering. I don't know much about web design. Graphics design is a known degree however. From a little bit of looking: University of Illinois (cheap, respected, hard to get into) offers a graphics design degree. DeVry (moderately priced, fairly respected, easy to get into) offers a web design and development degree Just use google and see what you can find.

Yeah, both of those are on my list actually lol. One last question then i'll stop pestering the heck out of you . What about online colleges? Avoid them or consider them?

Don't feel bad, you're not bugging me at all. Avoid online only colleges, but if a respected college offers online classes, take them if you feel its best. I personally don't like online classes so I never take them.

Ahh I see. I've been told to avoid them at all costs by people at my school, but i'm pretty sure the people telling me web design isn't a career probably don't know too much about the world today lol. You've been an immense help to me, I really appreciate it .