I want to talk to my legions of readers about frugal living during law school. This is an important topic for many reasons. Law school is expensive. In fact, law school is incredibly expensive. After graduation you are going to find that you have less money than ever to spend and more debt than ever to juggle. However, that should not make you feel bad. If anything, you should see that as a challenge. With IBR (income based repayment), and Public Service Loan forgiveness, it is easy to get rid of a huge loan debt. That, however, does not mean that you should not be frugal. There is something to be said about the student who does not live the Gucci lifestyle while in school. I'm going to be frank, if you are wearing Gucci shoes during law school, you are doing it wrong. If you are sporting a Louis Vuitton purse or laptop cover, you should take cover. If you are wrangling a new iPhone every time Apple burps one up, you should consider rethinking your strategy. You are about to be a lawyer. You are probably smarter than the ever consuming masses of people who are obsessed with material goods.
If you are still with me, then great! There's still some work to be done. First, you should consider learning how to budget your money. Some people (like myself) are gifted at money management. They have the skills that are needed to get by in life. Others may not be so blessed. They walk outside and immediately see something they feel they have to have. There are temptations everywhere in the world. Do you really need that new pair of sneekers? Is your life going to be a void without that new Playstation 4? Is a smartphone with a $60 a month plan really necessary? I don't think so. If you are paying $60 for a cell phone you may want to seriously take a long look in the mirror and even smack yourself along side the face.
In order to budget, you must look at your expenses and the money you have coming in. If your only income is student loans (like many law students -- many of us are not paid to work), you will want to write this number down and keep track of it. How much does your student loans give you per month to live off of? Do you have any other way in which you can make money?
Once you have your income written down, write what you spend on expenses. Rent, utilities, recurring payments/subscriptions, books, food, other necessities. Do you travel? Do you like to get sloshed on the weekend and spend your Monday morning puking it up? Do you eat red meat (consider going vegan - it's cheaper and far better for your health). In other words, write everything down and see what you have left. Are you saving up for after graduation? I know I am.
There are some places you will see that you can cut back. Some things are not needed. Maybe you have a subscription to some website or magazine that you don't really use. Get rid of it. Maybe you are paying too much for your phone. Maybe you are purchasing more food than you can eat. Are you shopping at Whole Foods? If so consider going to a farmer's market instead. Are you buying bottles of wine? You're a law student, not a lawyer! Give that stuff up! In other words, think smart. Are you drinking Starbucks every morning? You may want to make your own and save that money. I used to know law students who went to Dunkin Donuts every morning before class as if it was a religion. Don't!
I will continue this in the next few days, giving suggestions for ways in which you can cut back on your expenses and really save some money during law school.
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