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Graduating from law school is a great, complex tangle of feelings. You’re relieved to be done with countless hours spent with books and case studies, you’re proud of making it through a long-term life goal, and you’re eager to get out and practice law. But you’re also probably pretty worried about a few things: where and when will the work arrive? Will you enjoy your new career? Won’t you miss your schoolmates?

 

One of your biggest worries is probably money. Law school costs a bundle, and high paying work won’t fall into your lap the second you graduate. New law school grads will, in most instances, need to spend a moderate amount of time not knowing where the money will come from. Luckily, there are some time honored methods to save you money while you begin your career.

Take Care of Yourself

It’s amazing how many people forget that exercise and good diet will save them tons of money. Healthy lifestyles will help every aspect of your life, and that includes your pocketbook.

 

• Food. Good nutrition will help ward off sickness, keep your body strong, and give you powerful energy. All of these things will help keep you from needing expensive visits to the doctor—new law schools grads are frequently without immediate health insurance. Balanced diets save you money directly, too—every dollar you don’t spend on soda and snack foods can go to more important things.

• Exercise. Like good nutrition, regular exercise will keep you from expensive hospital bills. Of course, this depends on the exercise, so exercise wisely. Basketball, football, and many other high-energy sports can actually cause injury. So stick to low impact physical pursuits.

• Hygiene. Washing your hands regularly and for long enough will keep you from getting sick and wasting cash on medicine. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay frugal.  

 

Take Care of Your Car

Like a neglected body, a neglected automobile can cost you tons of money. You don’t want to crack your engine block and have to buy a new car before you’ve found solid legal work. Good car care is good financial care. Remember these things:

 

• Tune ups. You may think you’re saving money by skipping that oil change, but the thirty bucks you spend now could save you thousands down the road. Take your car in when you need to. Get those tires rotated.

• Drive safely. Accidents are an enormous drain on money, not to mention time. Don’t get so cocky after graduation that you forget to exercise caution on the road. Driving slowly, practicing defensive driving, and following all traffic laws will save you from doctor’s bills, legal fees, and car repair costs.

 

Watch Hot Law School Trends

Keep your eyes out for lucrative law fields. No matter what you trained for formally, you’ve got law skills, and you’re young enough to switch directions. By definition, trends always change, so keep your ear to the ground, but at the moment, you might get some good work if you go into water rights law, data management law, or other environmental law issues.