Saving money during law school - Extremes Forum

[BriaTharen]

People who live on $80 or less of food each month are either

Petite asian women
Cancer Patients
Foolish

If you want to a moderately attractive body, you cannot eat ramen all day. I budgeted like a mofo in undergrad and I still was spending like 5 dollars a day on food.

Chicken leg quarters, eggs, whole milk, peanut butter, rice, bananas, parsley. Parsley has a shit ton of vitamins found in vegetables, bananas have fructose and vitamin c and all that jazz, rice is for carbohydrates, milk is for fats, peanut butter for polyunsaturated fats, chicken leg quarters and eggs for protein. Include vitamins and your set.

If anyone has a better maximal food budgeting ideas share please.

pasta, salmon burgers from costco (frozen patties; 12 for $13 i think, cheap as hell, go well w/pasta), bananas, beans (buy in bulk, soak, cook yourself--never buy canned), brown rice (bulk), sweet potatoes (tons of nutrients/extremely cheap), and occasional tofu. you can also buy bulk yogurt for relatively cheap. PB (and bulk nuts in general, which are calorie/nutrient dense) is good, but don't buy bread--shit is empty calories and entirely unsatisfying. and take your vitamins! water alone to drink (either from tap or from a filter--don't waste $/environmental damage on bottled water).

brown rice and homecooked beans is probably the cheapest, relatively nutritious meal you can have.

I disagree on bread- if you buy whole grain/wheat bread, not Bunny bread, then you can make a pretty satisfying sandwich as well as get a good dose of fiber (which will keep you full for longer).

One of the things that saved money for me when I was in undergrad was making huge meals on Sundays, then freezing them. Veggie soup and chicken and sausage gumbo are relatively easy and cheap to make, as well as make a large amount that you can freeze. Better than buying a bunch of soup cans.

Can you guys point me in the direct for these mass-scale recipes that remain healthy? I would have no problem spending a few hours on Sunday prepping and then freezing a week-long meal. I can eat the same thing everyday for lunch no problem.

For gumbo- box of Zatarain's gumbo mix (the one with rice) + however much chicken and sausage the box tells you + can of tomatoes and okra
It might need a little extra seasoning (I recommend Tony's), but that's up to you to decide.

[dudders]

Notor wrote:
I am planning on not heating my unit during the winter, and relying on the ambient heat from the surrounding units as a way of cutting my gas bill. (3 story building, I am on the second floor in the middle)

I'm not sure if you're from Colorado already ... but make sure your lease doesn't leave you responsible when your pipes freeze.

[lawduder]

Some of the things in this thread make me sad. I plan on living on a budget but not at the expense of my health and general well-being. I'm certainly not going to live off crappy foods or live in some sketchy place (or with bad roommates) to save a buck. Law school is expensive but it's an investment and for someone like me that doesn't want to have a miserable three years, I'll spend a little more money and deal with the loans later.

[adrib]

I've started couponing, to see if I can get the hang of it before LS. I'm gonna donate plasma, too--I hope it's awesome.

[Ford Prefect]

http://www.restaurant.com/

If you haven't seen this, the deals can be pretty good.

[dutchstriker]

Some of the things in this thread make me sad. I plan on living on a budget but not at the expense of my health and general well-being. I'm certainly not going to live off crappy foods or live in some sketchy place (or with bad roommates) to save a buck. Law school is expensive but it's an investment and for someone like me that doesn't want to have a miserable three years, I'll spend a little more money and deal with the loans later.

Have you been reading the food advice? Doesn't sound unhealthy to me.

Fact is, living cheap doesn't mean being miserable. Living frugally and simply is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It's actually quite liberating, and I intend to live frugally my entire life regardless of salary.

[JOThompson]

I'll be staying in an apartment that's close to the law school for 1L, $620/month. It wasn't the cheapest option, but the convenience is worth the extra cost for at least the first year.

Iowa City can be pretty distracting with the party scene, so I'll need the force of will to just stay in most nights. Even with relatively cheap drinks, I can't afford to get very crazy more than one night a week if even that.

As for food, I'm expecting to spend $125-150/month. I don't want to starve, but I will be frugal. Turkey sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, protein shakes, frozen vegetables, etc.

[j.wellington]

Fact is, living cheap doesn't mean being miserable. Living frugally and simply is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It's actually quite liberating, and I intend to live frugally my entire life regardless of salary.

+1

[bmontminy]

I've started couponing, to see if I can get the hang of it before LS. I'm gonna donate plasma, too--I hope it's awesome.

Donating plasma ftw...Also looking into donating sperm if my little guys are potent enough to pass apparently stringent testing beforehand.

Will happily trade bodily fluids for a decent meal allowance, and may as well help people while i'm at it

[JTX]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/27/nyreg ... gewanted=1

[regatsrj]

I'm being realistic. You can't realistically find an apartment that's cheaper than $1,200/month in Manhattan...unless you go out to Inwood. A more realistic range is $1,500-$2k, probably closer to $2k. Maybe one could live out in Jersey City and live on $800-$1k for rent, but if you have a late night study group or something, you might end up SOL, stuck in Manhattan for the night. The Northeast corridor is an expensive place to live.

I'll probably get stoned to death here for this, but parents are covering tuition and CoL. Graduating with no debt FTW

I pay $645 a month in DC for a decent, large, and historical rowhouse that is a 10 min. bike ride/20 min metro from Georgetown Law. The options are there, if you're looking. I won't rail on you too much, but I can't believe that your parents are willing to throw down $1200+ for a place to live in DC! If you were spending your own hard-earned cash or loans, you'd find a way to find cheaper places to rent while in school.

Yeah, but the point is, he's not spending his own hard-earned cash. If his parents have the means to help him live in a safer/better place during law school, I say go for it. Sure, it's probably still a good idea to save as much of your parent's money as possible, but I live in DC and $1200 is not an insane amount. There are a lot of decent places (in terms of housing quality, transit access and neighborhood amenities) in the $800-$1000 range.

If you're paying $645 within 10 minutes of GULC, you must be near the H Street corridor or one of those scary areas north of Union Station. You can find plenty of decent group rowhouses in those areas for $600-$900, but the point is those areas are pretty unsafe and have NO grocery stores. Also inconvenient to the Metro. If you're paying your own way, it's probably worth the sacrifice, but if you can afford to not live there, I don't see why you wouldn't. QOL matters.

[as stars burn]

I'm going to live in a van. down by the river.

hahaha. I love chris farley.

I'm only taking out loans to pay for tuition and books. I want to stay as far away from the gradplus loans as possible. I will be living entirely off of my fiance's salary, and our savings (I've managed to save 15k with a retail management job, and my fiance has saved nearly $40k). There's a chance we might have to live apart for a little while depending on how fast he can find a job where I am (we've done long distance before--no biggie) so if that happens he'll be paying for his AND my rent, and helping where he can elsewhere. I know it's crazy, but that's much better than taking out loans. He makes 57k a year right now at his current job so it's manageable. We're huge savers. We don't even have cable right now.

[farewelltoarms]

I've started couponing, to see if I can get the hang of it before LS. I'm gonna donate plasma, too--I hope it's awesome.

Ha, I do not recommend this at all. while donating plasma for like two weeks during undergrad, I was coming down colds constantly. Apparently, donating plasma fucks with your immune system, but they will never tell you this when you donate. Also, if you work out then scrap that, because you will be to tired the day or the next day to work out properly.

[motiontodismiss]

How do you live on $150/month for food? I spend at least $350/month (in NYC). Including booze. Every time I go grocery shopping I end up spending like $60. Then again, I cook every night (I almost always throw leftovers away) and make everything from scratch.

Maybe I could sell my blood. I'm not O- (universal donor), but I'm O+ (I think). The doctor told me I was O+ but the report I got in the mail said I was type A. I have no clue which type I am.

[GordonBombay]

"Iowa City can be pretty distracting with the party scene, so I'll need the force of will to just stay in most nights."


wow

[PhantaManta]

I am trying to budget for Las Vegas but it is proving difficult. It is hard because I can't get much good info on the cost of utilities at different places. @ apartment ratings, one of these companies people are complaining about >50$ water bills and >$200 electric bills.... so... I dunno. Kinda getting worried/stressed.

I just hope the costs fit into the money I can get in loans. I have full tuition but still can't get more loans than the estimated COA and I don't want to run out of money =(

[PitchO20]

I'm tagging this topic simply for the (relatively) healthy and cheap food options. Crock-pot, frozen veggies, bulk brown rice, oatmeal...all good ideas.

Anyone else have any cheap/healthy/simple recipies/grocery tips for us law students on a budget?

[PitchO20]

I'm tagging this topic simply for the (relatively) healthy and cheap food options. Crock-pot, frozen veggies, bulk brown rice, oatmeal...all good ideas.

Anyone else have any cheap/healthy/simple recipes or grocery tips for us law students on a budget?

[eandy]

I'm tagging this topic simply for the (relatively) healthy and cheap food options. Crock-pot, frozen veggies, bulk brown rice, oatmeal...all good ideas.

Anyone else have any cheap/healthy/simple recipies/grocery tips for us law students on a budget?

I don't know how healthy it is, but I really like to take ground beef, brown it, put in the bottom of a big bowl, put half cream style corn, half regular corn on top of that, and then put mashed potatoes on the very top. Very delicious, very cheap, and it reheats very well.

[adrib]

I've started couponing, to see if I can get the hang of it before LS. I'm gonna donate plasma, too--I hope it's awesome.

Ha, I do not recommend this at all. while donating plasma for like two weeks during undergrad, I was coming down colds constantly. Apparently, donating plasma fucks with your immune system, but they will never tell you this when you donate. Also, if you work out then scrap that, because you will be to tired the day or the next day to work out properly.

well, shit. i'm glad you said something before ls starts, though--at least i have time to come up with an alternate way to save/make $200 a month. thank you so much for the tip!

[nick637]

I'm tagging this topic simply for the (relatively) healthy and cheap food options. Crock-pot, frozen veggies, bulk brown rice, oatmeal...all good ideas.

Anyone else have any cheap/healthy/simple recipes or grocery tips for us law students on a budget?

dont forget to keep your eyes peeled for free lunches provided by campus organizations. I go to a small public UG and theres still free lunch at least once a week. Id imagine there would be even more opportunities in law school.

[x47point6]

I'm tagging this topic simply for the (relatively) healthy and cheap food options. Crock-pot, frozen veggies, bulk brown rice, oatmeal...all good ideas.

Anyone else have any cheap/healthy/simple recipes or grocery tips for us law students on a budget?

dont forget to keep your eyes peeled for free lunches provided by campus organizations. I go to a small public UG and theres still free lunch at least once a week. Id imagine there would be even more opportunities in law school.

At almost any given time, there is free food somewhere on your campus. Get good at finding it, jettison your shame, and reap the benefits.

[ccs224]

I'm being realistic. You can't realistically find an apartment that's cheaper than $1,200/month in Manhattan...unless you go out to Inwood. A more realistic range is $1,500-$2k, probably closer to $2k. Maybe one could live out in Jersey City and live on $800-$1k for rent, but if you have a late night study group or something, you might end up SOL, stuck in Manhattan for the night. The Northeast corridor is an expensive place to live.

I'll probably get stoned to death here for this, but parents are covering tuition and CoL. Graduating with no debt FTW

I pay $645 a month in DC for a decent, large, and historical rowhouse that is a 10 min. bike ride/20 min metro from Georgetown Law. The options are there, if you're looking. I won't rail on you too much, but I can't believe that your parents are willing to throw down $1200+ for a place to live in DC! If you were spending your own hard-earned cash or loans, you'd find a way to find cheaper places to rent while in school.

How in the world did you find such an apartment?

[DavidYurman85]

This guy in my yoga class lives in a boutique hotel in DC for FREE on the condition that he works two evening shifts during the week and one on the weekend - there isn't a lot of traffic and he said that 75% of the time he's able to read and outline - he also gets breakfast for free because they have continental breakfast.

Another girl goes pt to GWU and works as a nanny, she lives for free in a sweet pad in georgetown and the two kids are in school during the day.

Cool thing about DC or probably any major city is that you can usually find something similar to the above if you're flexible and open-minded.

[astro1819]

I'm being realistic. You can't realistically find an apartment that's cheaper than $1,200/month in Manhattan...unless you go out to Inwood. A more realistic range is $1,500-$2k, probably closer to $2k. Maybe one could live out in Jersey City and live on $800-$1k for rent, but if you have a late night study group or something, you might end up SOL, stuck in Manhattan for the night. The Northeast corridor is an expensive place to live.

I'll probably get stoned to death here for this, but parents are covering tuition and CoL. Graduating with no debt FTW

I pay $645 a month in DC for a decent, large, and historical rowhouse that is a 10 min. bike ride/20 min metro from Georgetown Law. The options are there, if you're looking. I won't rail on you too much, but I can't believe that your parents are willing to throw down $1200+ for a place to live in DC! If you were spending your own hard-earned cash or loans, you'd find a way to find cheaper places to rent while in school.

How in the world did you find such an apartment?

I share the house with two other people, it's in the Shaw/Howard metro area -- which tends to be pretty reasonable -- and I just got lucky with the find. If you search long and hard enough, things open up.