A 3-minute game. 10 points. Every answer shows you the honest math —
right or wrong.
Bet you can't beat 7.
Meet Sam.
22 · first job · $65,000 · Kansas. Here's a month of his money — real 2026
tax law, computed, not vibes. Take ten seconds; the questions are about him.
ACME WIDGETS — SAM'S MONTHLY MONEY
Salary (gross)$5,417
401(k) — 4% (+ employer matches it)−$217
Health premium−$120
Federal income tax−$428
Social Security + Medicare−$405
Kansas state tax−$217
Hits the bank$4,030
Round 1 · Read the paycheck · Q1
Sam's offer letter said $65,000. About how much actually lands in his bank per month?
$4,030. "I make $65k" and "I take home $4,030 a month" are both true.
The gap is five knowable lines — and one of them (the 401k) is Sam paying himself.
Round 1 · Q2
Sam's employer matches 100% of his 401(k) contributions up to 4% of salary. He contributes 4%. How much FREE money is that per year?
$2,600/year — free. It's part of his pay that he only gets by claiming it.
Skipping the match = telling HR "round my salary down, I'm good."
A study of 4.4 million workers found 1 in 4 miss part of their match — HR can confirm yours in one email.
Round 1 · Q3
True or false: a raise can bump you into a higher tax bracket and actually SHRINK your take-home pay.
False. Brackets are a staircase, not a cliff — only the dollars above the line
get the new rate. Sam's $5,000 raise: $950 more tax, $4,050 kept. A raise cannot make you poorer.
Round 1 · Q4
Sam gets a $2,000 tax refund in April. What IS that money, really?
His own money, returned a year later, with zero interest.
$2,000 refund = ~$167/month over-withheld all year. The W-4 form is the dial that fixes it.
Round 2 · The next dollar · worth 4 points
Sam has $500/month left over. Tap these in the order they should get his money (1st → 5th):
Round 3 · Roth or Traditional · Q1
You're 22, in the lowest tax bracket you'll probably ever be in. For your IRA, that usually favors…
Roth, usually. The government taxes retirement money exactly once — and you pick when.
At 22 in the 12% bracket, "now" is the cheap time.
Round 3 · Q2
Same tax rate at 22 and in retirement. After 40 years, which account leaves you with MORE money?
An exact tie: $79,065 either way. The math is symmetric — so the WHOLE decision
is one question: "is my tax rate lower now, or later?" Everything else is commentary.
Your score
0/10
For honest context: U.S. adults answer only 49% of basic financial questions
correctly, and Gen Z averages 38% — the lowest of any generation
(TIAA Institute–GFLEC Personal Finance Index, 2025). This stuff isn't taught anywhere.
That's the problem we're working on.
Real talk — was this actually useful?
Last thing — in your own words, what's the difference between a Roth and a Traditional account?
100% private. Wrong answers are the MOST useful ones — they decide what gets built next.
StormArc demo · fictional persona ("Sam") · every number computed from verified 2026
federal + Kansas tax law by a deterministic engine — nothing hand-waved. Sources: TIAA Institute–GFLEC
P-Fin Index 2025; Financial Engines match study (4.4M participants). Educational only: not
investment, tax, or legal advice; your situation is yours — a fiduciary advisor can apply this to it.