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about to start biglaw in chicago. going to market gig. carrying about 15k in debt. what should my budget look like? how much should i be planning on spending on food, rent, etc? i have 0 experience budgeting and am just trying to get general ideas.

umichman wrote:about to start biglaw in chicago. going to market gig. carrying about 15k in debt. what should my budget look like? how much should i be planning on spending on food, rent, etc? i have 0 experience budgeting and am just trying to get general ideas.

you got 15k total in debt? i dont think you really gotta worry too much about that. try and spend 30% or less of your paycheck on housing. max out 401ks, put 15% of your money in index funds or some other investment vehicle. save up 6 months of rent. after that do whatever you want.

congrats dude

thanks jj. would that be 30 percent of my gross or 30 perccent after tax

After tax

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Are you planning on sticking around for a while? I recommend saving up for a condo down payment your first year. So you can skimp on rent by not going over say 1100 for a studio or one bedroom in Lincoln Park or Lakeview. Don't get a car or sell it if you currently have one. It's expensive to park and you'll be fine without it.

Thanks for the responses guys. In a perfect world, I'll love work adn stay there long term but i know that thats a long shot. However, I am moving with my significant other who is a student, so I may have a pay a little more to get a little bigger place to be comfortable. I do like the idea of saving up for a downpayment on a condo though. Maybe its owrth living a little further from work so that I can pay low rent.

Oh with SO you can totally do like 1450 for a nice 1BR Lincoln Park.