[Hood_Man]

Hello!

I need some help, I've been offered an interview for a "New Media" position in Maidenhead (no more details given unfortunately), but the gentleman who emailed me asked what my salary expectations were.

I have no idea I don't want to go too low and not be able to live, but I don't want to go too high and price myself out of his range or appear greedy.

I have a car but I might not take it if transport links are good enough (I live in West Wales, my idea of a good transport link is a train every hour).

I don't socialise much, I like to see my friends maybe a few times a month but I don't mind being by myself either (some of my oldest friends live in or near London at the moment).

I don't mind living on my own or in a flastshare/houseshare either.

Basically, I'm not too worried about living comfortably, I just want a roof over my head and I want to live away from home.

Sorry I can't give any more details, I have to rush out, but if you have questions I can answer them when I get back.

Many thanks everyone!

[Hood_Man]

I'm completely naive about life outside West Wales by the way, so don't worry about being patronising or over thinking things either

(typing this on my phone in case anyone's wondering why I haven't gone out yet, I have, but this might be the last time I can reply before later on).

[Zerforax]

Should be dependent on the role and not on the location per say.

Is it a graduate role?
Is if full time?
Will you continue to be employed for a long term?
What are future prospects?
How many hours would you be doing?
Is it a technical/skills based job or with few requirements?
Have you had any previous relevant jobs/do you have any experience in the field?

A lot of graduate starting jobs are probably 15,000-25,000 depending on the above and location.

Don't give him an exact figure, give him a range.

[Hood_Man]

Thanks for the advice! I've sent him an email basically saying I'd love to work there but I'm not sure of a wage range.

That last bit might have been a mistake I admit, but I wanted to reply to him with something before I got home.

Job details, I have none. I was applying for another role altogether, to which he replied that I wasn't suitable, but there might be a New Media position available if I was interested (New Media is literally all he said). Sorry, I was in a rush earlier when I posted this, so I forgot to mention that. I don't even know if its a graduate position necessarily (I said in my CV I was a graduate though).

I guess what I'm really after is a range that somebody could live off, never mind what the job actually is. Again sorry for not making that clearer ("I was in a rush" etc). It's living advice rater than job advice I'm after I guess.

Thanks for your reply, I'll keep the £15k-£20k range in mind

[Zerforax]

(Original post by Hood_Man)
Thanks for the advice! I've sent him an email basically saying I'd love to work there but I'm not sure of a wage range.

That last bit might have been a mistake I admit, but I wanted to reply to him with something before I got home.

Job details, I have none. I was applying for another role altogether, to which he replied that I wasn't suitable, but there might be a New Media position available if I was interested (New Media is literally all he said). Sorry, I was in a rush earlier when I posted this, so I forgot to mention that. I don't even know if its a graduate position necessarily (I said in my CV I was a graduate though).

I guess what I'm really after is a range that somebody could live off, never mind what the job actually is. Again sorry for not making that clearer ("I was in a rush" etc). It's living advice rater than job advice I'm after I guess.

Thanks for your reply, I'll keep the £15k-£20k range in mind

To be honest, I think you've done the right thing. As soon as you commit to a figure or range, you'll either price yourself out or be way too long. You should be trying to get him to make the offer.

Ask for more information about the role (maybe ask for an email description) and then try and either phone asking more perceptive questions or alternatively try to get a face to face interview (all of this is good practice).

But to answer your question more directly:

The tax allowance this year is £7475 (rising to 8105 next year) so that amount will be tax free. After that you pay 20% income tax. You will also pay 12% national insurance.

So essentially you will pay 32% tax, add on 9% of income above 15,000 for student loan repayments.

If you are earning £20,000 - you would pay circa 2,500 income tax, 1,500 national insurance and 500 student loan (http://listentotaxman.com/index.php)

So you would receive around £15,500 into your bank account. That would need to pay rent, bills, social life, food and everything else.

Rent is the biggest expense for most. You should check what rent would be roughly in Maidenhead for flat shares.

I probably spend £1000 on rent a month (live in London) and then another £1000 on bills and social etc. I'd expect Maidenhead to be cheaper and tbh I piss a lot of money away on stuff I don't need. You should be able to budget to half of that easily imo. (assuming rent would be around 125 per week/6000 a year, might be even cheaper! I have friends paying £50 a week for rent in the North)

So roughly assume around £1000 for rent + all expenses per month = around 12,000 a year.

I think you could survive on 15,000 but would be more comfortable on around 20,000. Heck could survive on less than 12,000 if your rent is very cheap and you're living on noodles.

[Hood_Man]

You're wonderful Thank you, and even more so for that link as well.

This has given me some hope that it's possible.

I'll see if he replies Monday morning (I'm assuming his office will be shut weekends), and I'll let you know how I get on.

Many thanks!

[Yung Mon£y]

(Original post by Hood_Man)
Hello!

I need some help, I've been offered an interview for a "New Media" position in Maidenhead (no more details given unfortunately), but the gentleman who emailed me asked what my salary expectations were.

I have no idea I don't want to go too low and not be able to live, but I don't want to go too high and price myself out of his range or appear greedy.

I have a car but I might not take it if transport links are good enough (I live in West Wales, my idea of a good transport link is a train every hour).

I don't socialise much, I like to see my friends maybe a few times a month but I don't mind being by myself either (some of my oldest friends live in or near London at the moment).

I don't mind living on my own or in a flastshare/houseshare either.

Basically, I'm not too worried about living comfortably, I just want a roof over my head and I want to live away from home.

Sorry I can't give any more details, I have to rush out, but if you have questions I can answer them when I get back.

Many thanks everyone!

22K.
If you want to live on your own that will get you by, just about, with enough left over for some semblance of a social life.
If your wage is any lower then you will have to house/flat share. 18k is probably the bare minimum you could go and that would be a rather rough living.

[Yung Mon£y]

(Original post by Zerforax)
To be honest, I think you've done the right thing. As soon as you commit to a figure or range, you'll either price yourself out or be way too long. You should be trying to get him to make the offer.

Ask for more information about the role (maybe ask for an email description) and then try and either phone asking more perceptive questions or alternatively try to get a face to face interview (all of this is good practice).

But to answer your question more directly:

The tax allowance this year is £7475 (rising to 8105 next year) so that amount will be tax free. After that you pay 20% income tax. You will also pay 12% national insurance.

So essentially you will pay 32% tax, add on 9% of income above 15,000 for student loan repayments.

If you are earning £20,000 - you would pay circa 2,500 income tax, 1,500 national insurance and 500 student loan (http://listentotaxman.com/index.php)

So you would receive around £15,500 into your bank account. That would need to pay rent, bills, social life, food and everything else.

Rent is the biggest expense for most. You should check what rent would be roughly in Maidenhead for flat shares.

I probably spend £1000 on rent a month (live in London) and then another £1000 on bills and social etc. I'd expect Maidenhead to be cheaper and tbh I piss a lot of money away on stuff I don't need. You should be able to budget to half of that easily imo. (assuming rent would be around 125 per week/6000 a year, might be even cheaper! I have friends paying £50 a week for rent in the North)

So roughly assume around £1000 for rent + all expenses per month = around 12,000 a year.

I think you could survive on 15,000 but would be more comfortable on around 20,000. Heck could survive on less than 12,000 if your rent is very cheap and you're living on noodles.

No way could you live on 15k a year. The prices are pretty much the same as where I am living so this is a rough break down per month for one person in a one bedroom apartment:
Food = £200
Council Tax = £80 (single person discount, higher if house sharing)
Elec = ~£35
Water = ~£24
Internet + phone = ~£30
Rent = ~£700

Total = £~1100 a month

Yearly Grand total = £13200.

It'd be nice if tax didn't exist, but it does and you lose 1/3rd of your salary to tax, and then a bit more if you have a student loan.

[Zerforax]

(Original post by Yung Mon£y)
No way could you live on 15k a year. The prices are pretty much the same as where I am living so this is a rough break down per month for one person in a one bedroom apartment:
Food = £200
Council Tax = £80 (single person discount, higher if house sharing)
Elec = ~£35
Water = ~£24
Internet + phone = ~£30
Rent = ~£700

Total = £~1100 a month

Yearly Grand total = £13200.

It'd be nice if tax didn't exist, but it does and you lose 1/3rd of your salary to tax, and then a bit more if you have a student loan.

I have no idea about rent in Maidenhead. I had assumed lower rent if trying to live on 12k. Was just trying to point out it might be possible if you live stingily.

The breakdown is good (maybe missing gas cost, mobile phone bill)

[Yung Mon£y]

(Original post by Zerforax)
I have no idea about rent in Maidenhead. I had assumed lower rent if trying to live on 12k. Was just trying to point out it might be possible if you live stingily.

The breakdown is good (maybe missing gas cost, mobile phone bill)

Where I am there is no gas which seems to be a new standard for apartments (health and safety I imagine). And a mobile phone is not necessary but an extra.
15K is just about possible up north, but when you factor in southern rent it's impossible to live on down here.

[Hood_Man]

(Original post by Yung Mon£y)
No way could you live on 15k a year. The prices are pretty much the same as where I am living so this is a rough break down per month for one person in a one bedroom apartment:
Food = £200
Council Tax = £80 (single person discount, higher if house sharing)
Elec = ~£35
Water = ~£24
Internet + phone = ~£30
Rent = ~£700

Total = £~1100 a month

Yearly Grand total = £13200.

It'd be nice if tax didn't exist, but it does and you lose 1/3rd of your salary to tax, and then a bit more if you have a student loan.

Thanks Yung for your input! I have a few questions if you don't mind humouring me some more (I really am a London noob!)?

Is £700 a month paying for a fairly comfortableish flat/house share? I'm looking at sites like Rightmove and I'm finding places for about £400-£500 a month, places like Slough and closer into London (so heading further East from Maidenhead), that would shave off a chunk each year if I could get that I suppose. They're probably not nice places and I wouldn't sign up to anything without seeing it first, just as long as it has running water, a roof, and isn't too dirty really. My thinking is that I can work on stuff like that once I'm there.

Is £200 a month on food just on grocery shopping or does that include eating out and occasional treats?

If it turns out to be completely impossible on anything less than £18k I'll have to nip it in the bud I guess, I'm just trying to get as many different views on this as possible.

Thanks again guys for your help

[Yung Mon£y]

(Original post by Hood_Man)
Thanks Yung for your input! I have a few questions if you don't mind humouring me some more (I really am a London noob!)?

Is £700 a month paying for a fairly comfortableish flat/house share? I'm looking at sites like Rightmove and I'm finding places for about £400-£500 a month, places like Slough and closer into London (so heading further East from Maidenhead), that would shave off a chunk each year if I could get that I suppose. They're probably not nice places and I wouldn't sign up to anything without seeing it first, just as long as it has running water, a roof, and isn't too dirty really. My thinking is that I can work on stuff like that once I'm there.

Is £200 a month on food just on grocery shopping or does that include eating out and occasional treats?

If it turns out to be completely impossible on anything less than £18k I'll have to nip it in the bud I guess, I'm just trying to get as many different views on this as possible.

Thanks again guys for your help

Well I'm paying a little over 700 a month and yes, it's for a nice place on my own. It's one where you probably want to see places before you make a decision.

£200 is just on food although I tend to eat fresh food where I can, but I don't eat out or really have treats.

Hope that helps.