Starting 1st job after uni... any money management tips??

lolly-i-pop

Hi everybody, sorry if this is the wrong place, or wether this has been talken about before...

I am starting my first real job after being to uni, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions on how to manage my money / debts, and the massive ammount of money I will be getting each month! To be honest it's a little bit overwhelming, and different people have told me different ways of managing money, so wondered what people had to say on here!

Thanks,
L

latecomer

Firstly congrats on getting a real job. I can still remember what my first real pay cheque was like. I saved up and went to visit a friend who was doing an exchange in Texas. Blew about £2500 in 10 days

Tips, dont get carried away with your new found wealth. Personally I'd enjoy the first one, treat yourself and get something nice - dont just fritter it away.

Then once you get more settled into the job you can start to think about what you are going to do with all this money.

Do you still stay at home? If so and you looking to move out then you're going to need a deposit.

As for what to do with your money, it really depends on what your disposable income will be. If its quite a lot then open an ISA and start paying in a set amount a month although you should try and not withdraw as you can only pay in a max of £3600 a year (into a cash ISA, there are other types too). Check out the Savings board for more info.

sarah_elton

10% of your net pay into savings each month for a rainy day.

Something I was always told and have never managed to do in the five years since uni.

Depends really on whether you're staying at home or moving out. Either way, what I do is have a budget of my monthly bills (mortgage plus everything else except food). Then my net salary minus this is my spend/save money each month.

I'm terrible for shopping, so I record all my transactions (cash withdrawals or spending on card) in Excel, which through the month tells me how much of this spend/save amount is left. At the end of the month, anything that's left from it gets moved into savings.

A better way would be to decide to save £x per month and set up a standing order on pay day into a savings account - then you never really have the money to spend in the first place. I've just never mustered the willpower to do this.

One other tip - if you have any credit cards or other debt you're paying interest on from uni, put as much as poss per month towards clearing that. If you have an interest free student overdraft, it stops being interest free after a year or two so pay that off ASAP too.

Walshyboy84

I would agree.

I had an ISA set up straight away and had money put away so come april, I could pay a chunk off my overdraft and credit card.

As you can see from my signature, that didn't quite work 2 years ago!

I would recommend saving as much as you can. That way you can have the opp to buy some bigger things.

Spend as much as you can for those first couple of months! Work clothes are a priority and then a new phone/plasma screen etc... They help!

Another way to do it is to have your wages go into a separate account with no overdraft. Then use the internet banking facility to start chipping things away. Aim to be debt free for April! That's when you'll start paying back your student loan and therefore become an arch conservative from all the deductions coming out of your pay slip!

McKneff

Congratulations on getting your new job.

Enjoy and spend wisely.

olly300

lolly-i-pop wrote: »

Hi everybody, sorry if this is the wrong place, or wether this has been talken about before...

I am starting my first real job after being to uni, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions on how to manage my money / debts, and the massive ammount of money I will be getting each month! To be honest it's a little bit overwhelming, and different people have told me different ways of managing money, so wondered what people had to say on here!

Thanks,
L

Congratulations on getting your first job.

I hope you have accounted for taxes in your earnings, the cost of paying council tax and the actual costs of working.

I was lucky in my first proper job I could wear what I liked to the office and I also still had some of the office smart clothes I had to wear when temping 2 years before. The office was also within walking distance from where I was living.

I would sit down with a sheet of paper and work out your concrete costs would take from your salary first then see how much you have left over for other things before following blanket rules like saving 10% of your earnings. This site will help to see how much you have left after income tax, NI and student loan repayments. http://listentotaxman.com/

In the second job I did I found lots of people could not afford to save 10% of their earnings because they were in so much debt, and the company's offices where located in a place which meant you either spent a lot on rent or travelling to the office. (There was a recession in the industry so people had little choice but to take the job or have no job.)

beckyandjack

never ever ever spend what you can't afford to!
wish someone had beaten that into me with a great big hairy stick!!!!!

brownbabygirl

lolly-i-pop wrote: »

I am starting my first real job after being to uni, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions on how to manage my money / debts, and the massive ammount of money I will be getting each month!
L

I know the money seems a lot to you now, having just graduated from student life. It isn't. Save as much as you can now [from DAY 1] even if you don't know what the money will be for and when you do spend, this resources on this lovely board will help you to spend as little as possible.
I wish someone had told me what I just told you when I graduated:D. Congrats and all the very best.

brownbabygirl

olly300 wrote: »

I would sit down with a sheet of paper and work out your concrete costs would take from your salary first then see how much you have left over for other things before following blanket rules like saving 10% of your earnings. This site will help to see how much you have left after income tax, NI and student loan repayments. http://listentotaxman.com/

I totally agree.

Once you have worked out your expenses and how much you have left at your disposal you ought to set a goal for how much you want to save away each and every month.
Setting a WRITTEN goal is very important because it will keep your focus.