|
 Sales
tax is a state tax that is added to the purchase price of things
that you buy. It is important to know what purchases your
state taxes. In some states anything you buy has sales
tax, in others food isn't taxed, and in some prescription drugs
aren't. Some states have no sales tax at all.
Other countries have sales taxes that are called other
names. In England, where one of our team members lives,
the tax is called a VAT, or Value Added Tax. It was 17.5%
until 12/2008 when it was dropped to 15% so that people would
buy more and help the bad
economy.
How does this affect you? As a teenager, you will
be spending money that you earn. Knowing what the sales tax is
on a purchase is part of knowing how much something is really
going to cost. For example: If you buy an IPod for
$125.00 in New Jersey, there will be a 7% tax added to its cost.
That means that when you reach the cash register, you need to
have $8.75 more to cover the cost of the sales tax. As you
are making the decision whether to buy the IPod, you need to
know the actual cost of the item. (If there are shipping
costs, these need to be added in, too.) Part of smart
spending is smart choices. Smart choices can only be made
if you know all of the costs of the purchase.
This is how you figure out sales tax:
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Take the tax rate of
the state you are in, and convert it to a decimal.
For example: 7% is 7 cents on each dollar or
.07 cents. |
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Multiply the cost of
$125.00 by .07 and you get $8.75 |
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Add the $8.75 to
$125.00 and your purchase price is $135.75 |
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Once you begin to do
this often, you will find that you can do this in
your head. This is a really good thing to know
how to do so that when you go out to dinner or buy
something you can figure this out before you get to
the cash register. It is embarrassing when you
don't have enough money to pay the bill. |
Another fee that you need to understand is tips. When
you go to a restaurant, there are waiters or waitresses who
take your order and bring your food. A lot of times,
they don't make a lot in
wages and
really count on their tips. A tip is money that you
give your server because they waited on you. This
isn't included in the bill when you get it unless you have a
lot of people at your table. People that have good
manners will leave a tip. Tips for servers are between
15% and 20% of the bill total. Sure, you say, but what
if the server does a really bad job. Your food is late
or wrong and you aren't happy about it. Even though it
is mannerly to leave a tip, you have choices. You can:
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1 |
Not
leave a tip: Keep this option for times when
the service is horrible. We are only talking about
the service, not the food. The server doesn't
cook the food and shouldn't lose a tip because of
it. |
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2 |
Leave a 15% tip.
This is a normal tip amount. |
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3 |
Leave a 20% tip.
This is the upper amount of a normal tip. |
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4 |
Leave more than
20% when the service is TERRIFIC. |
When you figure out tips
often, you will be able to do it in your head. The
first thing you do is multiply the bill total by .10 (10%).
Take that total and divide it in half (5%). Add the
10% total to the 5% total and this will give you the amount
to pay for a 15% tip. If you want to give a 20% tip,
multiply the bill by .10 (10%) and then add that same amount
twice. For example: Your bill is $25.00.
Multiply that by .10 and you will get $2.50. That's
10% of the bill. Divide that in half and get $1.25.
That's 5% of the bill. Add the 2.50 + $1.25 = $3.75.
That is your tip if you want to give 15%. If you want
to give 20%, take the $2.50 (which is 10% of the total) and
add $2.50 (another 10%) to equal a $5.00 tip.
Tips should be given to the server or left on the
table. Try to leave it under the corner of a plate or
under a salt shaker or somewhere that it won't be able to
fall off the table. Don't leave it on the edge of the
table where someone could come by and easily take it.
Piggy
Page
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Back to
Spending
This page gives ideas
and tips for spending your money. |
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