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Why Your Average Lawyer Can’t Pay Their Student Loans

Last Updated on 32 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

I usually get praise for the fact that I was able to pay off $87,000 in student loans in 2.5 years. It’s definitely one of my proudest money moves and, importantly, it opened up a lot of doors for me. Not being forced to stay in any particular job because I “needed” the income greatly improved my quality of life.

But sometimes when I share my story, rather than praise, I’m met with scoffs.

Of course you were able to pay off your student loans quickly! You’re a big shot lawyer making six figures a year!

But these scoffs got me thinking. The assumption appeared to be that anyone in my position could do what I did.

So, if I was able to pay off my student loans off as fast as I did, why weren’t others in my position doing the same?

Avoiding Paycheck Complacency

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This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

It’s pretty easy to become complacent when it comes to our paychecks. We collect them every two weeks and just assume that whatever amount is on that check is the amount we need to survive. It’s funny how your expenses always seem to match up to whatever amount is on your paycheck.

I think of this as paycheck complacency. First, we arbitrarily begin with some number on our paycheck that we often (perhaps unwittingly) choose. Second, we get used to that amount. Third, we assume that’s the amount we need in order to live.

Here’s the thing – you might think you need it all, but the reality is, you probably don’t.

Podcasts I Recommend To Improve Your Financial Life

Last Updated on 15 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

The great thing about technology is the ability to have an entire world full of knowledge and information at your fingertips. And in my opinion, one of the best ways to get information is through the medium of podcasts. There’s almost no other way to turn what might be considered idle or wasted time, into something really productive. Being able to gather information while commuting to work or walking around town is a major game changer. After all, we only have so many hours in the day, so podcasts are a great way to get some of those hours back.

Your Side Hustle Is Worth A Lot More Than You Think

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This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

One of the big benefits of side hustling is the ability to bring in extra income that you don’t need to spend. Arguably, you might need every last bit of your day job income in order to survive.

But if you’re already making ends meet with your day job income, that means that every single dollar you make on the side can be saved. It might not seem like that big a deal to make a few extra hundred bucks a month. But the power of being able to save the entirety of that money shouldn’t be underestimated.

Our Basic 10 Year Plan (And What Might Trip Us Up)

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This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Ms. FP and I have a sort of general plan as to how we plan to use our money over the next decade or so. The plan isn’t rock solid though. There are a lot of balls in the air and we’re at a point in our life where we aren’t quite sure what the world might throw at us. We’re getting married in the spring, Ms. FP is still completing her residency, we have her student loans to pay off, and of course, kids and other major life events will pop up. Needless to say, its important that we’re okay with rolling with the punches.

Luckily, both of us aren’t particularly big spenders. The skills we’ve learned from living on less and saving money should hopefully continue throughout our life, even if our best laid plans don’t come to pass.

I Can Afford The New iPhone And You Can Too

Last Updated on 15 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

The new iPhone just came out and folks are lining up to get their hands on it. While everyone else rejoices about the new phone, it seems like we in the personal finance community collectively shake our heads. I recently read a few articles about the financial evils of buying a new phone and found this puzzling. I’ve never thought of a new phone as a financial sinkhole. And when you do the math, it’s not very expensive if you plan it out in advance. So why are people saying not to upgrade the single most important piece of technology most of us own?

Where and How I Cut Back Financially and How Much I Was Able to Save

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This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Hey everyone! I’m out in NYC this weekend, staying in one of the most expensive hotels in NYC that I booked for free using credit card signup bonuses! Score! Anyway, since I’m busy enjoying my trip here, I thought it’d be a perfect time to share this great guest post from Jacob over at Dollar Diligence. He […]

August 2016 Side Hustle Report – $2,225.02

Last Updated on 16 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

It’s time for another side hustle report. For new readers, every month, I like to document what I earned from side hustling using sharing economy websites. I hope that these reports can help show you the type of money you can make using some of the skills and assets you already own. Use the money you earn from side hustling to pay off debt, super charge your savings, or buy yourself something you want.

The key to these sides hustles are basically three-fold: (1) I find them fun to do, (2) these side hustles generally incorporate tasks that I’m already doing; and (3) I find that I derive a benefit from them beyond just making money.

How I Save The Same Amount Of Money Despite A $50,000 Paycut

Last Updated on 22 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Earlier this year, I left my high paying, big law firm job and took an attorney job with the state. I did so for a variety of reasons. The hours weren’t great, the work was stressful, and the atmosphere was overall pretty unpleasant. It just wasn’t a great fit for me. I pretty much knew this would be the case going in, but I still needed the job in order to make a big dent in my student loans. As a young lawyer, there really isn’t any other way to make a ton of money except by working at a big law firm.

I ended up paying back my student loans in 2.5 years. With my debt gone, I no longer needed the big paycheck. Since I was free of the student loan burden, money was no longer the primary motivating factor for a job. I could instead look at jobs that I thought would be a better fit for me.

Prism App Review 2024 – An Awesome Free Bill Management App

Last Updated on 64 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Prism is a bill management app that lets you see and pay all of your bills from a single app. I like to think of it as similar to Mint or Personal Capital, but dedicated solely to managing your bills. The app only works on your phone and there’s no web app for it at the moment.

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