Managing your money and income

Once you have your job, you will be receiving a wage! Now, getting all that money will be fun but it is important that you know how to manage it appropriately.

So, you should be aware of what your income actually is. You need to know about the following:

• How much are you getting each month?
• Know how much of it is being taxed
• Should you be taxed? This is dependent on how much you are getting paid as well as whether you are still in full time education. This handy link will give you all the information you will need to answer these questions..http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/startleave/firstjob.htm

You should also keep on top of your outgoings. Know how much money is going out of your account each month such as phone bill, car insurance, rent etc.
Make sure that you are getting the best deal possible too, websites like Money Supermarket (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/) offer advice on which companies give the best policies for different bills.

Have you considered savings? Why not think about the following:

• Are you saving up for anything?
• How much do you want to put away each month?
• Consider going to the bank to set up a separate savings account- some accounts are set up to stop you taking money out-this avoids temptation
• Think about setting up a direct debit from your current account to your savings account so that a specific amount comes out each month

Once you start getting an income, it might be a good idea to start budgeting. In order to efficiently budget you should think about the following points:

• How much do you want left over each month?
• What do you want to spend your money on?
• How much on clothes, nights out, video games etc are you spending each month?
• Having occasional quiet/dull weeks allows you to save up for fun weeks!
• You should aim to keep on top of your finances by checking how much money you have left regularly. 

GOOD LUCK!
Paige & Sophie