Fabulously Broke in the City

Financial Snapshot: Two Young Lawyers

Ages:

Her – 25
Him – 29

Occupations:

We’re both lawyers. I’m currently working as a Contract Attorney [fancy word for the temp job I have] and he’s an International Tax Attorney for one of the Big 4 Accounting firms.

Location:

Jersey City, NJ – right outside NYC [we can see Manhattan from our balcony]

Gross Income:

Me – $22/hour [approximately $44,000/year-ish], Him – $103,000

FB Notes: I threw them together as a combined household income of $147,000/year or $7500 net a month


ASSETS: $11,200


Note on Assets:

Chequing Account: Not much, LOL. Varies throughout the month obviously.

Example: He got paid last Friday and I got paid Tuesday so there’s a bit over $1,600 in there now and most monthly bills have been paid already.

Savings Account: Roughly $7,000 in an engagement ring account and we recently started savings $50 bi-weekly into a savings account as well



DEBTS: $328,000



Note on Debts:

Car Loan: Owe just under $8,000 on it [don't know the exact amount] so we’ll be paying it for another 2 1/2 years I believe?


Debt-to-Assets Ratio: 29.29

They owe 29.29 times more debt than in assets.


Budget: $7500/net a month



Notes on Budget:

Rent: $2460


Electricity: Ranges from $75-150 [last two months were $100 and $150 - during the summer when we used the AC, it was $75 or so]

Cellphone: N/A because his cell is through work, mine is on a family plan with my parents/sister

Eating Out: We try to only eat out twice a month, if that.

Beer: Buying beer at the convenience store – $20 [we're trying to cut back on this

Clothing/Gifts: We usually don't "shop" so nothing is budgeted for this area

Savings: Depends on how much "excess" money is available. We're automatically transferring $50 into a savings account bi-weekly.

Monthly Transportation Passes: Receive $110 pre-tax reimbursement from his employer for this

Credit Card Payments: No credit card debt but balance varies each month, mine is currently $500 for this month. We don't carry a balance but pay it off in full.

We try to use these for larger purchases only [lately, furniture and other apartment furnishings] to delay payment for a month.

Student Loans: I currently pay $950/month but will increase another $300-400 in March as another loan enters repayment

Personal/Beauty: $75/month unless I get my hair done then it’s about $200

I feel like there are other expenses too but I can’t seem to think of them?

How did you decide to get into your occupation(s)?

When I started applying for colleges, I wasn’t sure what to pick for a major.

I noticed criminal justice was offered by most schools and since I enjoy reading true crime books, I went with that. Turns out it grew on me and I graduated from college with a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a minor in both legal studies and spanish.

Probably my second year in I decided that law school would be my post-graduation path and here I am!

He graduated college as a history and teaching major. He knew he didn’t want to teach immediately so he opted for the law school path as well. Took a tax class and loved it. The rest is history. ;)

Are you in debt? If yes, please elaborate how you got into debt

Yes, big time! We have no credit card debt but we do owe on a car still [I think for another 3 years?]. Mostly though is our student loans. Our student loans combined are roughly $320,000 [about $160,000 for each of us]. Monthly payments are about $1,500 each.

What are your top 3 financial goals?

[I know they're very general but it's a start...]

1. Save for an engagement ring and then once that’s out of the way, a wedding and downpayment on a house.

2. Save for a house/apartment/co-op

3. Pay off student loans as quickly as possible

What are the top 3 common budget busters for you and why?

I really can’t think of anything…

What is the most frugal thing you’ve ever done? (e.g. save tissue boxes for some reason)

Often times I reuse ziploc bags and lunch bags. Nothing really out there though…

What is your single best financial decision?

I have two… First, bringing lunch to work every day saves a LOT of money [especially in NYC]!

Second, I plan a menu for two weeks and make a grocery list based on the menu and the current sales flier. The two week plan tends to last three to four weeks for us since some nights I don’t cook or I’m home alone.

Also, each meal tends to give one or two left-over meals for lunch or dinner later in the week.

What is your single worst financial decision?

None. Yes we have a lot of debt but that’s due to student loans and I wouldn’t have done that any differently.

Where would you like to be financially in 5 years and what are you doing to get there?

Married, either owning our own place or being on the way to owning our own place.

Having a good chunk of our student loans paid off.

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