i The Frugal Law Student | 2006 | November

Law School
Frugality
Personal Finance
Productivity
Nutrition

Young and Broke

Written by Brett McKay

Young and Broke is written by a “[A] recently married 20-something Chicagoan working in financial services/software development, with two MBA parents (and on a journey to an MBA myself).”

Amanda has several great posts on money management for college students. She recently started a series called “Frugal Friday,” in which she posts several quick tips on being frugal. Here’s a sampling of some of the tips she provides:

-Eat less meat. Josh hates this, but it’s not only healthier, it saves money. Make recipes with beans, cheese, lentils, tofu, etc. for protein. It doesn’t bother me because I actually love veggies!

- Get your haircut/massages/pedicures at beauty schools/massage therapy clinics from students. You get the nearly professional quality for a steep discount. If you have a pretty simple hairdo, you can’t go wrong. And who ever heard of a BAD backrub?

Those tips earn Young and Broke a spot on The Frugal Law Student’s Link list as well as his Bloglines feed. Go by and visit Amanda’s site.

> Brett McKay | 11 Nov 06 | Money Management, Personal Finance, Saving | Comments (2)

Quicken setup

Written by Brett McKay

In an earlier post, I discussed my dissatisfaction with Microsoft Money. My biggest problem with it was that its automatic updates didn’t work very well with my bank.

Well, I spent some time today setting up my accounts with Quicken. It seems much more intuitive than MS Money. Also, the automatic update works like a charm.

One my banks does not participate in Quicken downloads, so I’ll have to do that manually. Luckily, I don’t have many transactions with that account.

Does anyone use Quicken to track their finances, and if so, have you been happy with it?

> Brett McKay | 11 Nov 06 | Money Management, Personal Finance | Comments (2)

Cheap Date Last Night

Written by The Frugal Law Student

Mrs. FLS and I went out to eat to a great Mexican restaurant last night. We found a coupon for buy one meal get the other half off in the newspaper. The food was fantastic and we only spent $13 including the tip. Great Deal.

> The Frugal Law Student | 11 Nov 06 | Food, Saving | Comments (0)

Westlaw and Lexis Points Update

Written by Brett McKay

This week was a good week for Westlaw points. I attended three training courses that awarded me a total of 450 Westlaw points. The trainer even provided free Chick-fil-a at one the courses. I ate the crap out of the chicken nugget platter.

I’ve started to take Lexis Points more seriously. While the points are hard to earn, the possibility of a free dinner at Chili’s motivates me to do their Fact or Fiction trivia each day. It’s kind of a pain to have to go through their research system to get points; however, I admit that I’ve learned more about Lexis by doing it.

Westlaw Points: 4,820
Lexis Points: 520 (Boo…)

> Brett McKay | 10 Nov 06 | Lexis, Westlaw | Comments (2)

Use Your law library

Written by Brett McKay

One of the least used resources at law school is the law library. I’m amazed at the stuff you can find in there, especially when it comes to supplements.

I’ve had many helpful 2L’s and 3L’s suggest which supplements I should buy to help me prepare for exams. The problem is that if I were to actually buy all the supplements they suggest, I would be out about $1,000. Several of my fellow 1L’s have actually gone out and bought all the hornbooks for their classes. Not frugal.

You can find all supplements at you law school library. Most of them tend to be in the library reserve. After every class, I’ll go the library and check out my favorite supplement. (Right now my favorites are Examples and Explanations and the Understanding Series by Lexis.) I’ll read the chapter on the section we just covered in class and answer any practice questions. Total cost: $0.

I plan on taking advantage of all the multiple choice practice question books that the library has on reserve while I start preparing for exams.

Lesson: Don’t buy supplements. They’re expensive and you can use them for free at your library

> Brett McKay | 10 Nov 06 | Free Stuff, Lexis, School | Comments (4)

Coupons for dining out

Written by Brett McKay

I’m sure you all have received a Valpak mailing in your mailbox. I used to throw these things away thinking it was just junk. The reality is that envelope is full of great deals at local restaurants.

They have a website where you can print off those same coupons they send in the mail on your computer. Just enter in your zip code and Valpak.com will come up with a list of coupon offers for local business. Mrs. FLS and I found deals for restaurants we really like and we plan on using this site often.

> Brett McKay | 09 Nov 06 | Food, Free Stuff, Saving | Comments (4)
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