will i have enough money?

Question

i am 13..... but when i turn 16, i plan on getting a ford mustang.
i could afford this if i got a job at lasertron. they pay 9.25$ an hour. if i work 5 days a week and 4 hours a day, i think i could do it.hopefully minimum wage will be higher in 3 years.
the car is $28,000 with everything.
4 hours x 9.25 an hour x 5 days a week x 52 weeks = $9,620.00 what i need to know is how much money does social security take and how much do taxes take?

they say 375$ a month for the car... 375 x 12 months = 4500

9620-4500= 5120.

including gas, 100$ a month and insurance, 250$ a month (jr. driver....)

100+250=350 350 X 12= 4200$

5120-4200$ = 920$

how much do social security take from making 9620$ a year?
tax too.

Answer 1

soc. security is 7.5%. You will also have federal taxes and medicare taken out. You might have state and city taxes taken out, depending on where you live. Maybe one of your parents could show you their paystub and you could see all the deductions taken.

How long are you making payments? $28,000 is a lot of money. Say you buy the car at 16...your taste in cars might change by the time you are 21, and you will probably still be paying on that car. Even if you start working full time, half your salary is going toward the car. What if you want to move out of your parents house or go to college? You won't be able to afford it because you are still going to be paying on the car.

I am not trying to dump on your dream, just let you know that there is more to consider than just that cost of the car. You might want to travel or do other things and you won't be able to because of that financial obligation to a car that will at that point be 5 years old.

Answer 2

Social Security and Medicare take a combined 7.65% of your gross pay, regardless how much you make. Federal and possibly state taxes will take a small amount more.

While you are hoping that minimum wage is higher in the next three years, remember that inflation will also push the cost of the car higher in three years also.

If the scenario that you hope happens, you will be making around $800 a month gross, around $735 after Social Security and Medicare taxes. Your payment, gas, and insurance comes to $725 a month. You are cutting it very close. If gas goes up or you use more than you think you will ($100 a month for gas is extremely low) or your hours get cut, you are in trouble.

Answer 3

You're pretty damn smart for 13.

You're missing a few elements in your calculations, though. (Don't let it bother you. Alot of adults couldn't have gotten as far as you did!)

1) Will they hire you? It's hard for a 16-year-old to just walk in and get the job of their choice. But it doesn't hurt to try, right?

2) Will your parents let you work? You can probably buy their permission with good grades. B average or better.

3) LABOR LAW! You're restricted in the number of hours you're allowed to work while you're in school. You can't work more than 20 hours per week until you're 17. It might actually be less than 20, and you're also not allowed to work beyond a certain time at night during the week. You'll have to make up your hours on the weekend.

4) You can work 40 hours per week (or more) when you're not in school. If they give you the hours, you can save more money.

5) Here are the tax rates, you'll have to pay all of these:

Federal income tax: 10% of taxable amounts
FICA: 6.2% of everything you make
Medicare: 1.45% of everything you make
Employee's insurance: usually very small amount unless you're in a dangerous job

(The federal income tax is going to be 10% of everything you make, but you're allowed to deduct parts of it for personal exemption and standard deduction.)

6) That mustang you're looking at will go UP in price in the next three years.

7) If you're working, you'll be tempted to spend some of it on other stuff, like games, clothes, food, etc. You'd be surprised how hard it is to actually save your $$.

Good luck. You're smart enough, you deserve to give it a shot.

Answer 4

when I was your age I was going after a car that cost 19,000 and I got paid 7 dollars an hour. My dad took me on side jobs all the time that paid around 500 dollars an hour and I had everything planned out as to how I was going to pay for the car gas and everything. I figured 500 dollars a month and that was with the car being paid for BUT after I finally saved up enough money and went to buy the car I decided I would rather settle with a less expensive car and save the money for anything I need for the car. (I also pimped the car out). it might feel kinda sucky going for a cheaper car but you can customize it to whatever you want to do to it. and at the age of 16 you wont be able to get a loan unless somebody co-signes for you but if you save up 10,000 or more as a down payment you might be able to get a loan for the remaining part of the car. save all the money you can for the next 3 years and keep 2,000 of it as back-up money and keep working. put the rest of it as downpayment (if you cant get a loan yourself then try to get at least 2 people to co-sign for you that have good credit)

Answer 5

Awwh, sweetie... I remember my first Mustang, so I thought I'd help you out. :)

My FIRST suggestion would be not to buy a "new" one... do what I did (and ALWAYS do), buy a "new" car that's just been turned in on a lease - this way, someone ELSE has to "eat" the depreciation (initial loss once the tires hit the road). My most recent Mustang was purchased in this manner back in 2002. It was a 2001 GT coupe ragtop, customized all the way around (full body package) and top of the line stereo/MP3 player. Here's a pic... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/sjscheidle/MVC-011S.jpg

Now, for the good news! I hope you're sitting down... LOL... that car cost its' previous owner over $28,000. He drove it for a year and then had to surrender it... and I then purchased it from the dealer for $15,500 *WITH* an extended warranty!

Soo, that's how you do THAT. NEVER listen to a car salesman. YOU are the customer. YOU walk in and state what YOU want - and if they can't comply, you get up and leave. YOU are in control.

Another tip about car shopping... try to get your own financing (bank, credit union, etc.) If you walk in there pre-financed, it's the same as having a bag of money in your hand - and they will bend over backwards to make you happy!

As for all your calculations, my advice to you is to STOP STRESSING YOURSELF OUT. Who knows what kind of wonderful opportunities are going to come your way? Work out the budget AFTER you get your driver's license - don't make yourself crazy. ;)

And lastly... GUARD YOUR CREDIT RATING. That's a "score" they use to grade you for car loans and stuff, and if you have a good one, you'll save thousands on financing. Don't get "tempted" by credit card offers, don't get overextended with your bills (buy cash or DON'T buy at all), and ALWAYS PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME!! (Trust me on this one - I had to go bankrupt many years ago, and my life was a NIGHTMARE for over ten years as a result - I couldn't even get a cell phone on my own!) :(

So, for NOW... do your homework, get good grades, and do your research NOW. This is YOUR dream, and YOU can make it happen - if you're smart. ;)

Good luck - and ENJOY! It's worth the wait!
Harleygirl
(on my fifth Mustang!) ;)

Answer 6

New mustang paid for by minimum wage job = unhappy camper. Think long term. Have patience, prepare yourself to get a great job, and you can own that Mustang instead of being a slave to it.

Answer 7

Its good that you want to work, but I would wait until you are older to get a job...Just enjoy these years, you have the rest of your life to work!