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Q: I am about to embark on a medical degree. How much money will I need to live off for the year including course costs?
A: If you go onto the interactive ‘budget planner’ you will see estimated costs for each area of expenses. Cost of rent, and to some extent socialising, will vary depending on the area you are living in, especially if you are living in London. Many areas of expenditure such as food, going out and course costs can be reduced if you try. See ‘Top Ten ways of spending less money’ for more tips.
Q: I have never had to manage my own money before. How should I go about making a budget?
A: You will receive your student funding in termly instalments for the first four years (unless you live and study in Scotland when you will be paid monthly). Go to: www.money4medstudents.org/content.asp?id=492 This means you will be receiving large chunks of money, which you will be responsible for making last a substantial amount of time. It is a good idea to split this money into monthly or weekly amounts so you always know how much you should be spending.
Separate essential and non-essential expenditure and take out the money for essential expenditure (rent, bills etc.) first so the important things always get paid. Then you can see how much you have left for other expenses such as socialising.
Go to ‘Managing your Money and Avoiding Nasty Surprises’ for tips on budgeting and then try using out interactive ‘budget planner’ to plan your own budget.
Q:How much can I expect to earn as a junior doctor and beyond?
A: The following figures are taken from the NHS Careers website:
Junior doctors
Foundation year 1 - basic salary £21,862
Foundation year 2 – basic salary £27,116
A doctor in specialist training could earn from £28,976 to £44,562 .
In addition, a doctor in training would be paid a banding supplement determined by hours worked over 40 per week; intensity of workload; and unsociable hours. Banding supplements pay 20% to 80% of the basic salary, the most common being 50%. As an example a Foundation Year 1 on 50% banding would receive £21,862 basic salary + 50% banding ie £32,793
Salaried GPs
Salaried GPs employed directly by PCTs earn £52,462 to £79,167
GP Principals
These are the partners in a GP Practice.
Most would expect to earn between £80,000 and £120,000, varying a lot according to the services they provide.
Specialty doctors and associate specialist (SAS doctors)
Doctors in the new specialty grade earn between £35,584 and £64,632.
Consultants
Consultants can earn between £73,403 and £173,638 depending on length of service and payment of additional performance related awards
Q: How long will it take me to pay off my debts once I am earning?
A: We have a ‘Debt Calculator’ into which you can input all amounts you have borrowed, the interest rate, and agreed monthly payments. It will then calculate the number of years it will take you to pay it back, the total you will pay back on each loan, the total paid back in full and the total you shall be paying back each month. You can also input the number of years you would like to pay a loan off in and see how much you would have to pay per month to do this.
You have to start paying back your student loan as soon as you start earning more than £15,000 a year. The amount you pay back is directly dependent on the amount you earn and not affected by the amount you owe. The money will be taken directly out of your account by the Inland Revenue and given to the Student Loan Company so you do not have to worry about working out repayment arrangements.
If you want to pay off your loan in one lump sum or pay off a chunk of it you can arrange this directly with the Student Loan Company.
Debt to the Student Loan Company is not like debt to a bank or consumer company. It does not affect your credit rating, meaning it will not affect your chances of obtaining future credit including a mortgage. However, your ability to stick to repayment arrangements of other debts, such as to the bank, may have an impact on obtaining further credit.
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