I recently posted a lament about what I saw as a lack of interesting new law student blogs (some of my previous favorites are listed in my blog roll). That post is located here. Yet perhaps my negativity was premature. What I now suspect is that it might take new law students about half a semester to figure out what to put on their blogs and to develop their blog personas. Maybe that is why I found little of worth previously.
In any event, one new law student blog that I enjoy reading right now is The Frugal Law Student. Many law students take on heavy (even crippling) debt, so the theme of the blog is a good one. The tone is fun, and the blog is somewhat in the vein of the Anonymous Lawyer blog (complete with a "Mrs. Frugal Law Student"). And anyone who is married and moves in with his in-laws to save money has my respect (and pity).
My favorite part of the blog? The ticker at the top that lists his current negative net worth.
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4 comments:
Hey! Thanks for the link and the post. I'm flattered and happy that you are enjoying my blog. I hope other students or potential students can learn from my experience in dealing with debt in law school.
I also want to say thanks for your blog. It's nice to get a professor's perspective on the whole law school experience.
You bet--keep up the good work on the blog.
As for getting my perspective, I hope it helps in dealing with law school and its various pressures and challenges. Bridging the prof/student divide is certainly good for students. But maintaining a dialogue with students outside of the classroom (via blogs and otherwise) is also good for me, since it helps me be a better teacher. So thanks.
Ah, law school debt. I lucked out because I'm enrolled in the cheapest law school I've been accepted to.
As to cutting costs (aside from attending a cheap school), I've taken up work study and attend plenty of student events (for the sake of free food), shop at bulk discount stores, brought home packed snack bars and drinks so I wouldn't be tempted to go to the school vending machines.
Another way to save is to cook batch meals. Make a week's worth of food, freeze them, save the first 3 meals in the fridge, and shove it in the oven. It's cheap, fast, and saves time. I find pasta, stuffed chicken, curry, soup easy to cook in batch and store.
I guess as the year progress, you'll figure out a way to save in the most efficient manner.
Unfortunately, debt is a necessary evil in the world of $20k+ per year tuition. Especially when the federal government caps all financial aide - loans, scholarships, everything - at $39k/year. If you're an older student whose parents can't/don't contribute, you have real problems. Add in a mortgage, daycare, and health insurance, and you have a financial trainwreck.
Yes, large debts are a problem, but larger debts would be a welcome alternative to having your wife get pregnant while you have no health insurance...and the bank is threatening to forclose on your home...and you can't afford to pay for daycare anymore. Think I'm exaggerating? I went from a $65k/year job to $14k/year in loans, after the school takes tuition. Wife is applying for medicaid, the rest of the full brace of welfare offerings isn't far behind.
At least a new generation of lawyers/legislators who understand the value of government-sponsored social services is being created...I guess you could call that a silver lining.
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