Finance · Money admin
Money management basics for your first job
Money management basics for your first job, in six short lessons: tax numbers and starter forms, reading your payslip, tax and retirement savings from your pay, bank accounts and overdrafts, your first budget, and warning signs at work. Country panels for Australia, the UK and the US.
About this course
payslips, tax and your first budget.
Starter · About 1 hour of learning · 6 lessons · 14 quick checks · 1 download
Who it's for
People starting their first job, or their first job in a new country, in Australia, the UK, the US and elsewhere.
How it works
6 guided lessons in your browser, with worked examples, exercises and a quick check after each lesson. Progress is saved in this browser only, and you can restart at any time. Lesson 1 is open to everyone, and you can take one whole course without an account. After that, a free account lets you continue past lesson 1.
Sources we rely on
25 published sources, mostly regulators and official bodies, listed below so you can check the original guidance yourself.
By the end you can
- List the tax number and forms a new employer needs, and spot a job scam
- Read a payslip and check gross pay, deductions and net pay
- Explain how tax and retirement saving start with a first job in your country
- Compare everyday bank accounts and avoid overdraft fees
- Build a first budget from net pay with automatic savings
Downloads
- First-job money checklist, payslip check and first budget .xlsxA payslip check that compares hours × rate with gross pay, a first budget from net pay with a left-to-assign total, and a first-month setup checklist.
Rules by country
Learning time
About 1 hour of learning. May count towards your CPD or professional development; check your professional body's rules. Estimated from reading time, exercises, quick checks and downloads.
Sources
Check the originals.
Drafted with AI assistance and run through automated quality and source checks. How these courses are made. Spotted an error or out-of-date rule? Send a correction.
General information only, not financial advice. We don't recommend financial products.
- Starting a job · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Transaction accounts and debit cards · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Tax file number declaration · Australian Taxation Office
- Choosing a super fund · Australian Taxation Office
- Pay slips · Fair Work Ombudsman (Australia)
- Jobs and employment scams · Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC, Australia)
- Your National Insurance number · GOV.UK (HMRC)
- Repaying your student loan (with the "Start a new job" step by step) · GOV.UK
- Payslips: employee rights · GOV.UK
- Tax codes · GOV.UK (HMRC)
- Workplace pensions: joining a workplace pension · GOV.UK
- About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate · Internal Revenue Service (US)
- 401(k) plans · Internal Revenue Service (US)
- Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act · Wage and Hour Division, US Department of Labor
- Job scams · Federal Trade Commission (US)
- Bank accounts and services · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (US)
- Financial advisers register · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- TPB Register: check if your tax or BAS agent is registered · Tax Practitioners Board (Australia)
- National Debt Helpline · National Debt Helpline (Australia)
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority · AFCA (Australia)
- How to check a firm or individual is authorised · Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
- Get free debt advice · GOV.UK
- Working with an investment professional · Investor.gov (US Securities and Exchange Commission)
- Choosing a tax professional · Internal Revenue Service (US)
- What is credit counseling? · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (US)
Publisher
Who publishes this course.
Published by trainyourself.org, a trading name of Combine TRS Pty Ltd (ABN 42 112 983 678), Brisbane, Australia.
How it's made: drafted with AI assistance from published regulator, government and official money guidance, then run through automated quality checks against our course depth standard and automated source checks that match each rule to its official source, listed above. Read how these courses are made.
Last updated:
General information only, not financial, credit, tax or legal advice. Spotted an error or an out-of-date rule? Send us a correction.
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