When you graduate in May, take the bar exam in July, but don’t start working as a lawyer until January, a budget is in order. But it’s hard to establish a budget, if you haven’t tracked your expenses for at least a few months. It’s also hard to estimate just how much you’ll be able to cut back when needed. And it’s nearly impossible to know how much you might make at your part time job.
So I began by trying to minimize all discretionary spending for the month of August and hoped for the best. Here are my numbers:
| EXPENSES | |
| Gas | $ - |
| Electric | $ (64.28) |
| Cable | $ - |
| H20/Trash | $ (40.47) |
| Cell Phone | $ (119.84) |
| Rent | $(1,645.43) |
| Car Insurance | $ - |
| Health Insurance | $ - |
| Credit Card | $ (59.05) |
| INCOME | |
| Part-Time Post-Tax Income |
$ 1,829.44 |
| MONTH END | $ (99.63) |
After my first full-month of deferred status post bar exam, I made an immediate change:
- Cell Phone Plan. I have an iPhone with a rate plan that is a step up from the bare minimum. I signed up for a phone number with Gmail and have been using Google voice for daytime calls, so I was able to scale back my cell phone plan to the minimum number of minutes (+ data, of course). I contemplated ditching my iPhone entirely, but I rely on it for GPS, which I need in the short term.
As you can see, my rent is absolutely killing me. I live in a complex managed by a large corporation and am currently suffering the consequence of an outrageous month-to-month penalty. This could have been avoided by moving in May, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of moving right after finals and before the bar exam. I am now paying dearly.
In future months, I will have some additional expenses. My insurance (health and auto) was pre-paid, but I will have payments on both policies coming due during my deferral period. I will also have a high speed internet bill–a service my part-time employer required that I add in order to continue work. Finally, I am unclear on whether I’ll be able to keep the “credit card” expense down (this is the amount I spent on groceries and Netflix for the month).
Despite my regrets regarding my rent amount, I am satisfied with this outcome. The ~$100 of expense in excess of income was pulled from what remains of my bar stipend.
Read the full article: Budgeting for the Deferred