Read every line of your pay stub before 2026 ends

Seven weeks are left in 2026. Your pay stub is the best way to check your year before it ends. Each line shows where your money went.

Start at the top. Gross pay is what you earned before anything comes out. Net pay is what lands in your account.

Next, find federal income tax. Your stub should show the amount for this pay period and for the year so far. The amount depends on what you earn and the Form W-4 you gave your employer.

Then find Social Security and Medicare. Social Security takes 6.2% of your pay, up to $184,500 in wages for 2026. Medicare takes 1.45%.

Last, read the other lines, like health plan costs, retirement savings, and state tax if your state has one. If a line looks wrong, ask your payroll team. You can also ask for a copy of the W-4 you turned in.

To check your total, use the free IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Have your latest pay stub with you when you start.

Holiday packages are on the way, and scammers know it. FTC fraud reports show more people were first reached by a scammer through a text than any other way.

Many scam texts pretend to be from a business or the government. You may see fake notes about a package, a loan, or an unpaid toll.

The FTC says real companies will not ask for your account details by text. Do not reply, and do not click the link. If the text might be real, contact the company with a phone number or website you know is real.

You can report a scam text three ways. Forward it to 7726, which spells SPAM, use the report junk option in your messages app, or report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Then delete it.

Many holiday buys go on a credit card. Whether you pay interest on them depends on one rule: the grace period.

A grace period is the time between the end of a billing cycle and your payment due date. If you pay your full balance by the due date, you may not be charged interest. Card companies do not have to offer one, but most cards do on purchases.

A grace period can depend on last month. Under federal rules, if last month's balance was not paid in full, new purchases may not get a grace period. Then interest can start on them right away.

Some cards figure interest each day. That day's interest is added to your balance. The next day, you pay interest on it too.

Your card agreement says if you have a grace period and how it works. Your monthly statement shows your due date.

Today is Sigma Gamma Rho Founders' Day. To every Soror of Sigma Gamma Rho reading this: happy Founders' Day. The name you wear has lasted 104 years.

Sigma Gamma Rho was founded on November 12, 1922. Seven founders started it at Butler University.

Its work has been honored in Congress. In 2019, a member of Congress spoke on the House floor to mark its Founders' Day. She praised its work to help women give greater service to their communities.

Its members include Hattie McDaniel. She was the first African American to win an Academy Award.

That is what influence looks like. A name is built by people who show up for each other, year after year. Your name grows the same way.