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Companies may also have the right to test employees for drug and alcohol use during their employment, depending on state law. Typically, companies notify prospective employees that they check for drug use as part of the application process. It is usually mentioned in the job posting or on the initial application. When Are Drug Tests Required? Many private employers are not required by law to test for drugs. However, companies in some industries like transportation, safety, defense, transit, and aviation are required to test applicants and employees in certain roles for drug and alcohol use....

Depending on the circumstances and the state you worked in, you may be able to collect unemployment if you are fired from your job. Whether you can collect unemployment depends on the circumstances of why your employment was terminated. Review information on eligibility for unemployment when you’ve been fired from a job, how to apply, and how to appeal if your claim is denied. Termination at Will Most employees are employed at will, meaning that the employment agreement can be terminated at any time by either party....

Banks operate on a system of holds while money is transferred from your account to other places. When you use your debit card to purchase something at a store or pay for a dinner out, that money doesn’t change hands immediately, but it’s still going to come out of your account. Additionally, your deposits may not be immediately available to you, since your bank has to wait for the funds to actually leave the other party’s financial institution and clear your account....

But when that first new paycheck rolls around, you might be disappointed. The large amount you were expecting is nowhere to be seen; rather, the increase in take-home pay is much smaller than you thought it would be. Below, we explain how to understand your paycheck, work out where your earnings are going, and how you can improve your take-home pay. Where Did Your Raise Go? To understand how a raise in your gross salary or hourly rate will affect the money you actually take home, you need to understand how taxes and other deductions are calculated....

How Credit Scores Are Calculated Understanding how credit scores are calculated can help you better understand why you don’t have a score. Credit scores are a numerical summary of information in your credit report. The scores are used to gauge your creditworthiness and predict the likelihood that you’ll pay your debts on time. Higher credit scores indicate that you’re more likely to repay credit obligations based on how you’ve handled credit in the past....

In addition to investing some of your available cash in a savings account, consider the reasons why stocks continue to be a viable investment and why you should invest in the stock market. Investing Is More Affordable Than You Think Investing in the stock market is a well-worn path to making your money work for you, but you don’t have to fork over thousands of dollars to start. You can begin by setting aside the few dollars you would normally spend on a daily latte and invest the amount you saved in stocks or an index fund....

In this article, we discuss how the 529 plans work, how financial aid works, and how the two work together. Learning more about how financial aid works provides a better long-term view of the issue and reveals what a 529 plan can and can’t do for you. How 529 Plans Work When you open a 529 plan, you set aside money specifically for your child’s education; this specific type of account has some clear tax advantages over other savings....

If your high-schooler would prefer getting a job after high school instead of going to college, make sure you both weigh the pros and cons first. Disadvantages of College College is expensive. When you include tuition, fees, books, and room and board, it costs students and families in the U.S. an average of $35,720 per student, per year, according to data compiled by EducationData.org. With student loans and the loss of income, the site estimates the cost of a bachelor’s degree can cost students more than $400,000 in the end....

Most of the more than 68 million federal student loan borrowers will see their loan servicer altered as the department consolidates the repayment process and contracts with new companies, in part to improve customer service. Note that this change won’t affect student loan terms or interest rates. The Federal Student Aid (FSA) initiative, known as Next Gen, short for Next Generation Financial Services Environment, was first announced in 2017. It involves a switch to a new, centralized loan servicing platform, so you’re also likely to get a different online or mobile service to manage your loans....

What Is Gap Insurance? Guaranteed asset protection, or “gap insurance” for short, is an auto insurance coverage that pays the balance on your car loan when it’s totaled or stolen. It shields you from needing to make loan payments on a car you no longer have. You may also hear it called a “gap waiver,” “loan assistance coverage,” “lease assistance coverage,” or other names. You may wonder why gap insurance is necessary if you have comprehensive and collision insurance, because these help pay to replace your car....

It is not difficult to establish yourself—or someone with whom you contract—as an independent contractor with the IRS, but there are several things you should be aware of to understand the basic process and the differences between contractor and employee statuses. If you have any questions, you can learn more from the IRS or a qualified tax advisor. 1. Independent Contractor Status Is the Exception, Not the Rule The IRS assumes that a taxpayer is an employee unless it is proved otherwise....

Not sure whether you should look for a new credit card? Here are ten signs you should at least check to see what else is out there. 1. Your Credit Has Improved When you have bad credit, your credit card options are limited. You may have to open a secured credit card or accept a less attractive credit card so you can rebuild your credit and qualify for something better....

The economy produced $15.6 trillion in goods and services, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012. That was 0.1% higher than the prior year. The annual GDP numbers hid the damage told by the quarterly numbers. The economy contracted 8.5% in the fourth quarter. In addition, the true destruction wasn’t known in 2008. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revised the level of contraction throughout 2008. Initially, it seemed the economy only contracted 3....

It could be that your qualifications just don’t match up with what the company is looking for, or perhaps you missed the mark on your application. The company might even have changed direction since you applied. You may be able to alter your application process to land the interview the next time around. Your Qualifications Don’t Match Up There may be limitations to your qualifications or flaws in how you’ve presented your candidacy....

Explore Your Options Before you can begin working on your career development, it helps to know your options. This includes what industries might be the best fit for you, as well as the jobs and companies available within those industries. It’s also a good idea to reflect on your own particular strengths and weaknesses so you can identify what to work on as you prepare your personal career path. You can begin this exploration by job shadowing other employees in your company to learn about different jobs....

No matter what your ideal vision of retirement may be, you must answer some important questions to make your dream become a reality. Here are five basic questions to ask as you begin approaching retirement. 1. What Do You Want to Do in Retirement? During your 20s, 30s, and 40s, fully envisioning how you will spend your financial freedom years can be difficult. Once you reach the 10- to 15-year window prior to retirement, the sense of urgency likely will increase....

Without an accurate picture of what’s coming into and going out of your bank account, you can easily overspend or find yourself relying on credit cards and loans to pay your bills. If you already have a budget, now’s a good time to update it. Download and Print a Budget Worksheet Use a worksheet to help get started in order to complete all the steps below. You can also create your budget worksheet using free spreadsheet programs, including the ones offered by Vertex42 and It’s Your Money, or even paper and pen....

Read, Study, and Learn Don’t rely on someone else’s advice until you’ve learned the basics. If you don’t know much about money right now, one thing you can do is invest in books, quality financial magazines, and investment classes to start learning more. For example, do you know the difference between a stock and a bond? If you don’t, you may not be ready to invest. Set Financial Expectations Before deciding what to do with your money, check out historical rates of returns for savings accounts, stocks, and bonds....

The most common option for getting funding is through a loan given by banks or other financial institutions. Nowadays, getting a loan is not as easy as it was before. The 2008 financial crisis has made banks restrict lending to small businesses. In 2021, only 11% of companies received all the financing they applied for. It is therefore very important for you to know the necessary steps for getting a business loan from a bank so you can improve your chance of getting approval....

Even a healthy economy is subject to the bubbles and busts of the business cycle. When the economy contracts into a recession, the government must create solutions to unemployment. It may use expansive monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate job growth. Here are the eight job creation strategies that give the most bang for the buck. The Fed can also increase the money supply through quantitative easing, which is when it creates credit out of thin air to buy U....