keypress, keydown, keyup value of input box AFTER event

$("#last_4_cc").keyup(function()
{
    $.post('<?php echo site_url("sales/set_last_4_cc");?>', {last_4_cc: $('#last_4_cc').val()});    
});

When doing keypress() or keydown() I get the value before the key is inputed, when I do key up, I get the val() for the after the key is inputed.

Example:

Cur Value: 333

keyPress "3" Cur Val 333

Cur Value: 333

keyUp "3" Cur Val 3333

Why is this?

This is the expected behavior? KeyPress and KeyDown events are supposed to be triggered before the default action is performed, KeyUp fires afterwards.

See here: http://www.quirksmode.org/dom/events/keys.html