Finances and Law School

One of the hardest part of my first year, in addition to studying harder than I've ever had to in my life, was handling my finances. I attended law school as a full time student, and thus was only allowed to work 20 hours per week. I decided since this was going to be the year where I focused primarily on my studies I did not obtain a job. To make matter worse, I moved from Philadelphia to Orlando! So how did I handle a new city with no job.... Student loans and scholarships!

I obtained my apartment prior to moving to Orlando. I got a quaint one bedroom for $1K. What I should have done was prepay the entire 6 month rent with my student loans, but I decided to pay it monthly. The reason why this ended up being a failure is in between of paying rent and utilities life happens. For me Life included my car needing a whole new engine, and having to use half of my precious rent and utilities money on a new engine! If I had pre-payed my utilities then I would have to make do with what I had. Since I did not I ended up crying to my mama and fiancé to make the difference. I know that many people do not have others to fall on so here is my advice that I am happy to give and did not take on how to budget yourself during law school.

Step 1:

• Figure out how much funds you will receive per semester 
• Realize although a semester is about 3-4 months you will need funds for 12 months
• Include in your budget in addition to rent and utility bills funds for food, gas, and some fun
• Include cost of furniture and other necessities if you did not move with them 

Step 2: 

• Arrange with your landlord to pay your rent every six months 
• Budget six month of utilities, move it into a separate account so you will not accidentally spend it 
• Break down your budget so that you allocate wiggle room in case of emergencies (like my engine fiasco) 
• Remind your friends and family that you have no job and cannot lend them anything!
• Every penny counts! 

Thats all the advice that I have, if anyone has any questions let me know, I'll be glad to answer.