University of Manchester Careers Blog

Student life…those were the days! The Student Loans Company literally paying for your nights out, Council tax exemption and very little tax if any to be paid on part time work. (Let’s just forget about all those essays, exams and of course the value brand baked beans)

Unfortunately the big bad world of work is slightly different.  Yes the will be no more essays, you’ll have a regular income and Heinz beans may once again grace your cupboards with their presence  but,  with branded beans comes greater responsibility in the form of  tax and bills!

Job adverts tend to include information about the starting salary and it’s often very exciting to think of being paid that much. However in reality you don’t actually receive this amount of money, certain deductions are taken first including income tax, national insurance, pension payments and student loan repayments.   All of this can make it pretty confusing to know how much money a month you’ll be taking home but don’t panic there is a new online tool which can help.

NatWest has created a salary calculator which enables you to calculate after all the typical deductions are made what your take home salary will be.  The calculator gives you are break down of the deductions to be  made as well as the ability to view your pay over a given period. You can use it to work out your take home pay for fixed, part-time and temporary/contracted roles.

Remember that once you’ve got your take home salary you also need to factor in a range of things such as rent, gas and electricity, food and travel costs. Budgeting for these things will help you get a grip of your finances and understand how much disposable income you have.