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Hey guys,

Caligrown wrote:Hey guys,

will be entering 1L this coming Aug with a significant 3-year debt ~190,000

Parents/savings/loans will be used to pay for it all but I was wondering if anyone had advices such as outsider scholarship money, how to better budget (disposables, your plan, food, etc...) and other advices that may help cut it down even by ~10,000 over the course of 3 years. For those in the same boat, how did you guys tackle this throughout law school and post?

Set a budget and follow through

Light beer

Do you have experience w/ applying for outside scholarships, or other ways you were able to receive finance w/o repayment?

Good Guy Gaud wrote:Light beer

I'm just going to practice abstinence for 3 years. That should save me at least $1,000/yr

Caligrown wrote:Do you have experience w/ applying for outside scholarships, or other ways you were able to receive finance w/o repayment?

My school had a fair number of scholarship opportunities for essays and things like that ($500-$1500 prizes). You may be surprised at how few people submit essays for them. Worth giving it a shot.

Did you find out through school financial office?

will be entering 1L this coming Aug with a significant 3-year debt ~190,000

Lolwut. Are you adding onto this debt with law school?

What about retaking the LSAT? Typically that's the easiest way to save money. What's your GPA?

Also your debt will probably be at least 30K more than that (just playing the odds on that one, maybe you did accurately estimate but most don't)

Chad_IRL wrote:

will be entering 1L this coming Aug with a significant 3-year debt ~190,000

Lolwut. Are you adding onto this debt with law school?

OP seems like they might be ESL, I think they're just saying they will be 190K in debt after law school

OP seems like they might be ESL, I think they're just saying they will be 190K in debt after law school

Ahh I see. I'd go with buying used textbooks/textbooks one edition behind where the class is. I saved about $500 last semester by doing this and it worked out fine.

Yup, thanks for the advice on used books. I am not ESL but currently in a meeting and trying to sneak my way here sorry for the brevity.

My COA will be ~190,000 I added in additional $10,000 just to be safe from unexpected costs so it should be fairly accurate. Unfortunately, retaking the LSAT is no longer an option as I have used up all 3 over a consecutive period and will have to wait 2 cycles for a fourth retake. While this MAY be possible, I will also have to take the June LSAT on my 4th try, which means 1) wait 3 cycles or 2) apply with my current scores and notify admissions office of my June retake. But this may defeat the purpose of retaking for more money as scholarship money will be more than likely depleted by then.

Having said, that, any other suggestions to save money? Should I try bartending?

I think there are sugar daddy websites for this sort of thing too

Good Guy Gaud wrote:I think there are sugar daddy websites for this sort of thing too

Okay, except I will need a cougar.

Caligrown wrote:

Good Guy Gaud wrote:Light beer

I'm just going to practice abstinence for 3 years. That should save me at least $1,000/yr

No joke. I abstained for 3 semesters and saved so much cheddah

Yeah but I feel that $1000/yr on booze is necessary for my sanity

I know as a 1L you'll be pressed for time but cooking meals goes a long way toward saving $$$. You can make big batches and eat over several days.

Your school may have residential advisor positions in dorms (usually free housing in that case), or TA/tutor jobs in undergrad classes. Folks at my school who have econ degrees get more than $10k discount off tuition for TAing in undergrad classes.

Caligrown wrote:Hey guys,

will be entering 1L this coming Aug with a significant 3-year debt ~190,000

Parents/savings/loans will be used to pay for it all but I was wondering if anyone had advices such as outsider scholarship money, how to better budget (disposables, your plan, food, etc...) and other advices that may help cut it down even by ~10,000 over the course of 3 years. For those in the same boat, how did you guys tackle this throughout law school and post?

Don't waste money on an extravagant vacation (it's ok to go on a day trip to a city that's 100 miles away, but don't use the money to go to Aspen or Cancun)

Don't blow all of your money on bars, restaurants, etc (an occasional party is ok, but you shouldn't blow $50 at a bar every week)

Chances are, the food on campus is overpriced. Instead of eating there, try cheaper off-campus options such as Subway or even making your own meals

Shop at Target and/or Walmart

See if you can borrow books from someone who already took a course

And as far as the TA thing, I disagree. The money isn't worth losing the time you need to study. It will eventually become overwhelming. Wait until the 2L year to participate in extracurricular activities.

Caligrown wrote:Yup, thanks for the advice on used books. I am not ESL but currently in a meeting and trying to sneak my way here sorry for the brevity.

My COA will be ~190,000 I added in additional $10,000 just to be safe from unexpected costs so it should be fairly accurate. Unfortunately, retaking the LSAT is no longer an option as I have used up all 3 over a consecutive period and will have to wait 2 cycles for a fourth retake. While this MAY be possible, I will also have to take the June LSAT on my 4th try, which means 1) wait 3 cycles or 2) apply with my current scores and notify admissions office of my June retake. But this may defeat the purpose of retaking for more money as scholarship money will be more than likely depleted by then.

Having said, that, any other suggestions to save money? Should I try bartending?

The best personal finance advice I have for you is to stop focusing on saving money and focus on killing it your 1L year. Not sure what school you'll be going to, but unless it's one of the tippy-top schools where you can land a high paying job without any effort, you should be focusing on landing a 2L summer job which means you will need good grades first year.

You don't want to be worrying about relatively small expenses here and there, and lose sight of the big picture. If you land a $180k job you can make up for a lot of excessive living expenses. Worry about budgeting, scholarships, etc. after 1L year is over.

Lexaholik wrote:

Caligrown wrote:Yup, thanks for the advice on used books. I am not ESL but currently in a meeting and trying to sneak my way here sorry for the brevity.

My COA will be ~190,000 I added in additional $10,000 just to be safe from unexpected costs so it should be fairly accurate. Unfortunately, retaking the LSAT is no longer an option as I have used up all 3 over a consecutive period and will have to wait 2 cycles for a fourth retake. While this MAY be possible, I will also have to take the June LSAT on my 4th try, which means 1) wait 3 cycles or 2) apply with my current scores and notify admissions office of my June retake. But this may defeat the purpose of retaking for more money as scholarship money will be more than likely depleted by then.

Having said, that, any other suggestions to save money? Should I try bartending?

The best personal finance advice I have for you is to stop focusing on saving money and focus on killing it your 1L year. Not sure what school you'll be going to, but unless it's one of the tippy-top schools where you can land a high paying job without any effort, you should be focusing on landing a 2L summer job which means you will need good grades first year.

You don't want to be worrying about relatively small expenses here and there, and lose sight of the big picture. If you land a $180k job you can make up for a lot of excessive living expenses. Worry about budgeting, scholarships, etc. after 1L year is over.

"My best advice on personal finance is to not pay attention to your finances"

okay buddy that is rly gud advice, wot else do u have for us?

"Broken leg? Just piss on it! It'll heal right up, buddy."

Nebby wrote:

Lexaholik wrote:

Caligrown wrote:Yup, thanks for the advice on used books. I am not ESL but currently in a meeting and trying to sneak my way here sorry for the brevity.

My COA will be ~190,000 I added in additional $10,000 just to be safe from unexpected costs so it should be fairly accurate. Unfortunately, retaking the LSAT is no longer an option as I have used up all 3 over a consecutive period and will have to wait 2 cycles for a fourth retake. While this MAY be possible, I will also have to take the June LSAT on my 4th try, which means 1) wait 3 cycles or 2) apply with my current scores and notify admissions office of my June retake. But this may defeat the purpose of retaking for more money as scholarship money will be more than likely depleted by then.

Having said, that, any other suggestions to save money? Should I try bartending?

The best personal finance advice I have for you is to stop focusing on saving money and focus on killing it your 1L year. Not sure what school you'll be going to, but unless it's one of the tippy-top schools where you can land a high paying job without any effort, you should be focusing on landing a 2L summer job which means you will need good grades first year.

You don't want to be worrying about relatively small expenses here and there, and lose sight of the big picture. If you land a $180k job you can make up for a lot of excessive living expenses. Worry about budgeting, scholarships, etc. after 1L year is over.

"My best advice on personal finance is to not pay attention to your finances"

okay buddy that is rly gud advice, wot else do u have for us?

"Broken leg? Just piss on it! It'll heal right up, buddy."

Haha you know what I mean. Don't be penny wise pound foolish etc. etc.

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