Can we afford to rent??!!

peter999

morg_monster wrote: »

saying "a 1st in maths..." is not so helpful - it really needs to be from a pretty top uni to start with, and even then, there can't be many jobs that start at 50k!!! ....I have buddies with 1sts and 2:1s in Maths who are actuaries and now they've qualified (4-5 years later) are earning 60k. I know one person who may have started at around 40-50k,in investment banking, but when you work out the hourly rate, they got less than me!!!
There's definitely a lot more to it than just the degree, you need the work ethic, personality, ambition, blah blah blah, and if you've got those things with or without a degree you'll be a success.

Yes, I agree £50k starting salary in the City in certain jobs or after probationary period/qualifying in finance areas.

The poster said £50k starting salary was "easily" obtained which is plain nonsense.

peter999

Daisies

Some professions are just extremely badly paid. I'm a librarian (for which I needed a first degree, experience, then a postgrad. degree to qualify) and the salaries advertised by my professional body should start at £18000, but in reality are often around the £15000-16000 mark. I can live with that, as it's a career I've always wanted to do and extremely rewarding/satisfying in other ways, but nobody is going to be drawn into it for the money! Also, wages in the south west (I used to live down there) tend to be a lot lower than the average in other parts of the country.

Compare that with nursing (my brother has just qualified after finishing his nursing degree and got his first job) where a newly qualified nurse is now guaranteed to get about £19500.

jyonda

I'd say the big ommission from your list of outgoings is the running costs for your car. There are costs you can budget for (petrol, car tax, car insurance, recovery insurance) but depending on the car you are driving the likelihood is that wear and tear items such as tyres, windscreen wipers, lightbulbs will need to be replaced at least once a year at the MOT inspection. On top of that cars have a bad habit of not working for no reason and can cost loads to repair very suddenly and generally when you don't have any money.
Sorry if I'm pointing out the obvious.....

I think you'd be better off eliminating that cost and therefor the need to rent a flat with a parking space. If you tot up all the costs you might find that it is just cheaper to catch a taxi when you really need it. I've no idea what your public transport is like but if you live within walking distance of your work and a few shops you might be able to do without it.

Your mates can ferry you around in their cars instead leaving you free to booze it up!:beer:

Guy_Montag

Sounds like you'll manage just fine & if not, well you'll manage for 6 months & you can re-think it.

My other piece of advice is haggle over the rent, you might be able to get an extra £25 or £50 to play with each month.

good luck & enjoy living together.

mrkenneth

Right well we have found another flat, slightly smaller and a bit further away from work but its £495 a month, shall hopefully go look on Wednesday. It also has a parking space.

Bagpuss1973

Hi mrkenneth

You should do fine, we rent in Cornwall and your budget looks ok. Go for it and enjoy!!

I did enjoy the comments such as buy for £80,0000 (what are they buying a little garage or a piece of land:rotfl: ) even a mobile home is around £99,0000!

Your average small two bedroom home in Cornwall (needing work) is approx £130,000 at the mo - we know as have been looking.

Melissa177

peter999 wrote: »

You're having a laugh.

They hand out £50k+ jobs like smarties, do they !!??

peter999

Agree.

Even in the City, you rarely get starting salaries for grads at 50K. 38K is about the top end.

Melissa177

Bagpuss1973 wrote: »

Hi mrkenneth

You should do fine, we rent in Cornwall and your budget looks ok. Go for it and enjoy!!

I did enjoy the comments such as buy for £80,0000 (what are they buying a little garage or a piece of land:rotfl: ) even a mobile home is around £99,0000!

Your average small two bedroom home in Cornwall (needing work) is approx £130,000 at the mo - we know as have been looking.

130K for an average 2 bed place sounds pretty cheap to me! But then I live in zone 2.

I posted the comment about property being cheap in Cornwall - I was just going on what I saw on Findaproperty.com

Daisies

Are there any of those developments that are reserved for local people anywhere near you? I know they're few and far between though, so probably not. They're usually geared towards local salaries though, rather than people buying second homes...

litaus

Hi all, DH posted under my name by accident - so please stop shouting me down!!!

BTW investment banking is what he's talking about, and a 1st in Maths from a good unversity (fair cop whoever said that bit, he won't even have considered anything other than an established uni) woudl get you offers. As was mentioned elsewhere, it'll get you the first job but you need to use your own initiative and hard work to keep it and get the promotion/2nd job etc.

Blimey - it's hard work defending something you don't necessarily agree with.


And... as someone who came from abroad without a degree, I found that not having one - relatively normal in my home country unless you are planning to train up to a specific profession - had been a huge disadvatage as people assume I'm extremely thick and unmotivated. The biggest problem with every Tom !!!!!! and Harry hving a degree is that people assume that not having one says something about you. (IMVHO)