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Living on £15k in Manchester?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
This is only hindsight as there's every chance I won't get the job. But basically, my dream job has cropped up at manchester uni and would require me to move near the uni campus. The wage is around £15700 a year. But after tax, national insurance, student loan repayments (I'm not sure how much these would amount to) - would it actually be possible to afford to rent somewhere near the university (would obviously have to be shared)? Bearing in mind I also have phone bills, food etc to pay for?

Comments

  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    I think you may struggle if I am honest with you, even in the shared house scenario. I'd try having a Google to check out prices but imagine your budget may limit you to less desirable areas.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In a shared house you should be OK, but it would be tight. According to i-resign.com your take home pay would be about £245 a week/£1060 a month and you should be able to live in Manchester in a shared house on that. You'd be best off looking at renting with young professionals rather than students, though. If you're the only non-student in a house then you'll be liable for all the council tax (less a 25% discount for being the sole adult occupier), but if you're sharing with a few non-students the liability is shared.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think you'd probably be okay, but it depends how much you spend on your social life. Shared housing is cheap.

    I'd feel like a millionaire if I didn't always budget to spend 101% of what I have!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    This is only hindsight as there's every chance I won't get the job. But basically, my dream job has cropped up at manchester uni and would require me to move near the uni campus. The wage is around £15700 a year. But after tax, national insurance, student loan repayments (I'm not sure how much these would amount to) - would it actually be possible to afford to rent somewhere near the university (would obviously have to be shared)? Bearing in mind I also have phone bills, food etc to pay for?

    I think the student loan would be something like paying back £7 ish a month on that wage.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Definitely possible as long as you are happy to accept that your lifestyle might not be all that fantastic. All comes down to whether you think the job is worth making certain sacrifices for
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I desperately need experience to get into the field I want however that is near impossible as a graduate with no experience so I figure this is a good starting job as it is relevant to my degree but not exactly the field I want to go into in the long run, it's basically an ideal first post-uni job and these vacancies are far and few between. And yeah I'd want to share with other young professionals. I do enjoy a social life but I don't feel the need to go out every week so I'm not too worried about that. Luckily Manchester is only an hour away from home too so nipping home every now and then won't be too costly but it's still a bit too much to commute. Well I'll get the application sent off on monday and see how we go...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If its your dream job, go for it - you could get by on £15k easily in shared accommodation, plenty of students there will be getting by on far less.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey there,

    Good luck with the job application!

    Obviously there is a lot to consider before moving and it's great that you're thinking ahead. As the others have said you could easily get by on this wage, but it just depends what kind of life-style and spending habits you have. If you create a budget from now and stick to it then this will help.

    As for student loan repayments - you don't pay any repayments until you earn the minimum repayment threshold which is £15,000 gross and you only make payments from wages that are above this amount.
    Read this page (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/RepayingStudentLoansCoursesStartingFrom1998/DG_10034867) for more info as it is complex and I don't think I am explaining it well!

    Good luck and keep us posted!

    :)
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