Is a 10 year old uncashed paycheck still good?
You probably can't deposit the check directly, but there are mechanisms in place to get your money through other means. In the US, all states and territories have an unclaimed property registry. Before you contact the company that wrote the check, you should check that registry in your state. You will have to provide proof that you are the intended recipient, having the original check in your possession should make that considerably easier.
"When I deposit my paycheck in CapOne I have an email before I am out of the app that they received my check. I have access to some portion of the cash now and the rest the next business day, however they put things in order to NOT overdraft me. For instance, if I am overdrawn $150 but the charge is ""pending"", putting the check in they will deposit the check before posting the charge that would overdraft me.  Plus I can use Apple Pay with it.  My local CUs have app deposit, but it takes DAYS for a deposit to just show up. Plus, no Apple Pay." "If you're not getting pay stubs showing withholding then you're working ""under the table"", which (a) is illegal, (b) is a deal for the employer because they don't have to pay any of the employment taxes including their share of your SocSec and (c) is screwing you because you'll still need to pay taxes on every dime they pay your but won't have anything set aside for it unless you're doing that yourself. Which I'm guessing you're not.  Call the local labor board or whatever." "I disagree with @Sam's answers:  yes you will get that money back when your tax return is processed.  This is not true. You will receive funds that are in excess of your liability (contrary to popular belief, the government does not take more than what you are liable for).   ""is it possible to return the check and modify how it's calculated if I talk to payroll?""  No. When you sign your documents at the beginning of the year, that will dictate the amount of liability they take from each of your paychecks.  ""Will this difference be given back in my next tax return"" Because your company is withdrawing 25% on your paycheck you may/or may not need to pay more depending on the rest of your salary.  The IRS has set the system up as brackets. You pay your taxes based on the amount earned (voluntarily or involuntarily). So if you have income of $9,275 you would pay $923 in taxes at a marginal rate of 10% (and average rate of 10%). If you made $10,000, you would pay $923+$109=$1,032 with your marginal rate as 15% (while your average rate is 10.31%).  All in all, this is dependent on your salary, filing, and other deductions to raise or lower your tax liability.  Note: The $109 came from this: [(10,000-9,275)*.15]" I can't immediately think of a reason to keep your paycheck and spending account separate, unless it be because you want to keep your savings in a money market or savings account and you deposit your paycheck into a checking account. However, I do have one reason from my experience to keep the bulk of your savings away from accounts that you transfer stuff out of.  I used to keep all my cash savings in an account from which I transferred money into my brokerage account (my paycheck was also deposited there).  A couple of years back a state that I haven't lived in since I was a child took $40,000 out of my account.  The broker mistakenly told the state I lived there and the state made some mistakes about how much tax I would owe.  Without either one telling me, the state helped themselves to my checking account to cover the bill.  When I called, both acknowledged that they were wrong, but it still took a long time (many months) and lots of letters and threats (I was close to paying a lawyer) before they returned my money.  It was worse because this was my savings for a down payment on a home and having it taken and not returned affected my ability to buy the house I wanted. If I hadn't had my money in that account, they would have tried to garnish my wages, and would have immediately stopped their attempt once they found out they were in the wrong. Now I keep cash savings in an account that I never pay taxes out of and do not use to transfer money directly to any broker or anyone who might give my account number to an inept government. "Although my kid just turned 5, he's learning the value of money now, which should help him in the future. First thing, teach him that you exchange money for goods and services. Let him see the bills, and explain what they're for (i.e. ""I pay ISP Co to give us Internet; that lets us watch Youtube and Netflix, as well as play games with Grandma on your GameStation""). After a little while, they will see where it goes, and why. Then you have your automatic bills, such as mortgage payments. I make a habit of taking out the cash after I get paid, and my son comes with me to the bank where I deposit it again (I get paid monthly, so it's only one extra withdraw). He can physically see the money, and understand that if the stack is gone, it's gone. Now that he is understanding things cost money, he wants to make money himself. He volunteers to help clean up the kitchen and vacuum rooms in the house, usually without being asked. I give him a dollar or two for the simple chores like that. Things like cleaning his room or his own mess, he does not get paid for. He puts all his money into his piggy bank, and he has some goals in mind: a big fire truck, a police helicopter, a pool, a monster truck, a boat. Remember he's only 5. He has his goals, and we have the money he's been saving up. We calculate how many times he needs to vacuum the living room, or clean up dishes, to get there, and he realizes it takes a long time. He looks for other ways to make money around the house, and we come up with solutions together. I am hoping in a year or two that I can show him my investments and get him to understand why they make or lose money. I want to get him in to the habit of investing a little bit every few months, then every month, to help his income grow, even if he can't touch the money quite yet." For a more philosophical way to approach this, consider money saved as the opposite of money owed: This philosophy works for things which you may be able to borrow for (computer, car, house), but also for things you can't borrow for (retirement, giving to your kids, etc.). As others have mentioned, the 10% suggestion is for retirement, but the actual number depends on your lifestyle. As you can see in this chart, saving 10% of your income means you'll need to work for 51.4 years. If you have the ability to pay online with a guaranteed date for the transaction, go for it. My bank will let me pay a bill on the exact date i choose. When using the mail, of course, this introduces a level of risk.  I asked about rates as the US currently has a near zero short term rate. At 3.6%, $10,000, this is $30/month or $1/day you save by delaying. Not huge, but better in your pocket than the bank's. "I would start by taking it to your bank and asking them what they think. They can probably call the bank on the check and find out if it is still good. If they let you deposit the check, I would wait a couple of weeks before spending the money, in case the issuing bank decides that the check is no good, and your bank wants its money back.  If you are told that the check is not good anymore, the next thing I would do is to check with your state's treasurer's office and see if they have any ""unclaimed money"" for your mother." With interest rates as low as they are, you could lock in to a very low rate for 30 years. If rates are higher in, say, 10 years, you could conceivably be earning a much higher rate on the money you're not putting towards monthly payments. All else equal, the payments will be lower on a 30y than they will be on a 10y, so you'll have more cash for other things. But I'm just looking for downsides -- being paid off in 10 years versus 30 sounds nice to me. "Just speaking from my experience here. When I was younger (lol only 23 now), I didn't really get pocket money. If I wanted something I had to work for this, luckily at 13 I scored a paper round gaining £10 per week. I would personally say to encourage children to do some ""work"", whether its a paper round, or even just house chores. I learned early on, that to get money you have to work for it. I've always had a job since 13, most of my college years I held 2 jobs at a time, even 3 at 1 point. Many of my friends didn't work for their pocket money, they relied on handouts, quite a few of these friends have later on in life taken the easy route, not working and rely on state (pocket money), or still have mummy and daddy pay for everything So my moral is; don't just give out willy-nilly, teach some value to money and it will go a long way ;) /2 cents" If 10K is all of your savings, I would reserve a portion for an emergency fund for your car and other life situations before spending it all on a car. Maybe this means you set 3k aside and buy a 7k car. If you set a savings amount now and leave it totally fixed you're likely to massively undershoot or overshoot.  What is more likely is that you will adjust either your savings or your retirement expectations as things go along.  If it turns out you have $10M (2010 dollars) at age 50 perhaps you'll retire early, and if you have $10k perhaps you'll buckle down and work much longer or save much more. So I think what you are looking for is an assurance that if you budget to save x% of your salary over n years, and you get an after-inflation after-tax return of y% pa, you will eventually be able to retire on an income equivalent to z% of your working income.  It's pretty easy to calculate that through a future-value formula.   For instance, one set of values that works is saving 20% of income, 5% real return, 30 years = final income of 66% of working income.  Or save half your income and within 14 years you can retire and keep spending the amount you were previously spending.  Resist the temptation to crank up the assumed return until you get the value you want. I think it would be great hubris to try to make this very precise.  Yes, probably you will get raises, of course there are taxes to take into account (probably higher while you're saving), inflation and returns will vary from year to year, et.  You can guess at them.  But they'll change, and there are bigger things that are unpredictable: your personal life, your health, the economic future of your career or industry.  I reckon this simple formula is about as good as you will get. "Also, in (5), is it considered unpaid wages? Because that's pretty high on the bankruptcy hierarchy.  No. It is near the bottom, in with unsecured debt. If you have access to the plan documents, see if the plan has the phrase ""rabbi trust"" anywhere in it. This means that the money is not kept comingled with the corporation's regular accounts, but is rather deposited with a financial institution (such as Fidelity)." One's paycheck typically has a YTD (year to date) number that will end on the latest check of the year. I am paid bi-weekly, and my first 2012 check was for work 12/25 - 1/7. So, for my own balance sheet, brokerage statements and stock valuations end 12/31, but my pay ended 12/24. And then a new sheet starts. What? My last room mate was a teller, and I can tell you this isn't the case. If you're given a bad payroll cheque or a bounced cheque the bank will know before its transferred. If payroll bounces find a new job because you're fucked.   If you're working for a company that makes over 1 million a year, they can issue paper cheques but choose not too for whatever reason.