Just to add my little bit to the takehome pay debate. LGW FO. Loan repayments £1142 p/m. Bills for those who are not use to paying them are around £600, broken down as follows (sharing with gf - numbers are my half):
Rent: 400
Council Tax: 45
Gas/Electric: 21
Internet/Phone: 10
TV Licence: 6
Contents Ins: 4.50
Water bill: 4
The rest are my sole costs:
Car Insurance: 45
Loss of licence ins: 22
Mobile: 11
BALPA: 10
Life ins: 5
Credit card repayment and other loan: 22
Other costs you have each year -
Road tax: 240
Medical: 100-150
Breadown: 35
The following is NET takehome pay (net is after tax/NI/student loan deductions) followed by the amount left each month after taking away loan repayment and £600 for bills (-£1800). This excludes food and petrol.
£2,710.00 £910.00
£2,626.00 £826.00
£2,116.06 £316.06
£2,864.50 £1,064.50
£2,947.27 £1,147.27
£2,422.66 £622.66
£3,071.71 £1,271.71
£2,063.57 £263.57
£2,471.77 £671.77
As you can see, not one month did I take home £4000 as someone claimed earlier - even in peak summer working 100 hours over the month. The £3071.71 was a month where I had a crap load of holiday to take too.
I'm expecting the next two months to be around the £2000 mark as near the last 2 months shown. £263 after all bills still has to pay for food and petrol, and that was also Christmas so quite difficult to buy presents.
You may think £1000 expendable income is a lot - it's not. My car needs repairs, 3 times last year -£600, £400 and £600 again inc MOT. Can't afford a new one so those repairs will run into next year. I find the months I get £600 expendable just enough to live and save a little bit in case of emergency - such as the car repairs. The months I get £300 or £200 I have to use that spare I've saved to live off.
Do not think this is easy - it may look a lot on paper but it soon disappears. I spend 2 or 3 hours a week looking through my excel spreadsheet of direct debits to see how I can reduce them - there's not movement on anything now so I'm stuck - and I've mananged to get my expenditures as low as possible.
My loan was £65k plus £5k for living expenses. With interest rates rising again in a couple of years and a loan of £85+ (probably nearer £100k) how are you going to pay off your loan? You need to really think about the first 3 or 4 years of your career when you get online - not the present and not if you get a command. What happens if you get laid off again after the 8 months?
I signed up when cadets were going straight into the RHS with a perm contract - there is absolutely NO WAY I would sign up for any FTO given the current climate.
I know I'll be ignored but don't say you weren't warned.
edited to add: don't forget you also have to pay for your own uniform, there is NO pension, and no pay if you're sick. You do get holiday pay (ctc fleixcrew anyway)