The first pp had it right. And live in a studio close to work, no car.

You're forgetting about high taxes. Gross 160, probably net 90. Still plenty if you live frugally. Work hard to pay down the loans, but live a little too. BigLaw is a grind and a tough way to make a living - I did it for 8 years. Have some fun, but bank as much as you can to get rid of loans as quickly as possible. I would send extra lump sum payments twice a year in addition to the monthly payments.

Anonymous wrote:You want to max out your 401k, pay student loans and not put on the golden handcuffs (take on debt or a lifestyle that keeps you from leaving the firm if your want to do so).

Try to live on a "salary" of 100k.

Haha, I was going to say live on a salary of $60k and use the other $100k of save/pay off loans. I lived on less than that after grad school when I was single - totally doable if you keep your lifestyle in check. With your salary, if you live frugally, in two years you could be debt free and have a decent amount saved. Great position to be in both personally and career wise.

You want to max out your 401k, pay student loans and not put on the golden handcuffs (take on debt or a lifestyle that keeps you from leaving the firm if your want to do so).

Try to live on a "salary" of 100k.

16:08 is the way to go.

Great advice.

A couple of seemingly trite ideas but after 35 yrs. they helped me afford to retire early.

Pay yourself first: as described above, save, pay off debt, manage expenses. A 3-6 month emergency fund is a must IMO.

"The secret to early retirement is low overhead." You don't have to starve yourself or suffer but prudent spending and not blowing available cash on things like overly extravagent cars, vacations, more mortgage and house than you can handle or should, etc., etc., etc., can really pay off down the line.

My father used the example once of a friend of his who had 2 houses, a plane, etc., and told me that the friend and he were in about the same financial situation. The friend spent much of what he had, my father was a saver.

Anyway, good luck.

Why in the world would op get a one bedroom plus den?! It is way too expensive.

Rent a studio. Keep living and spending like you're still a student until your loans are paid off. I agree with much of what previous posters have said, but also try to amass a nine-month emergency fund. Also get started on a down payment fund.

You could very well lose your job. Be conservative, pay off high interest loans, and save as much as you can.

OP, suck it up and live cheap for a couple years. You should be able to pay off $100k in loans pretty quickly on your salary if you live cheap.

I agree with all of the above. I was in biglaw for a number of years and recently left for a lower paying job. After law school I prioritized paying off my loans, which were a lot, but sometimes wish I had stashed away a larger chunk of savings instead of funneling all of my money into loans. Just something to consider if you are thinking of saving for a downpayment, etc. If you leave big law it will become much more difficult to save money as quickly. I don't regret what I did - because not having the loans definitely gives me flexibility, but it wouldn't be the worst thing if I had 20K in loans still instead of 0, and 20K extra cash for a downpayment. Just a thought. Good luck!

This is all really good advice guys, especially 14:54! (OP here)

When I first started in biglaw I lived on my first paycheck of every month and put the second paycheck right to student loans. I was able to pay off my loans quickly and never missed the money because I hadn't had it before. Pay your loans off first. It will give you freedom to make work moves that will be important given the state of the profession.

My biggest advice is to be aggrwssive about paying down the loan debt. I think the order above makes sense, though i can't imagine you have any employer match. But the loan debt (for me at least) keeps you a slave to a high salary, even if you are ready to move on to something less lucrative but also less soul sucking. For instance, I dumped all of my bonuses into paying off loan debt, and just moved in-house to a job i find much more rewarding.

Anonymous wrote:I would do the following (in this order):
Save a 3 month emergency fund
Contribute to your 401(k) up to the point of your employer match (if you get one)
Pay off high interest rate loans ASAP
Max out 401(k)
Pay off lower interest rate loans
Invest leftover in market

+1 to all of the above. I would also suggest holding back on your housing costs (get a 1br + den if you really want a guest room) and put as much as you can into your loans. Big law is tough and many people leave after 3- 5 years. You don't want any of that debt hanging over you.

I would do the following (in this order):
Save a 3 month emergency fund
Contribute to your 401(k) up to the point of your employer match (if you get one)
Pay off high interest rate loans ASAP
Max out 401(k)
Pay off lower interest rate loans
Invest leftover in market

I'm about to graduate law school in one month and will be at a Biglaw firm where I'll earn $160k. I'm completely clueless about how to start saving and investing this money. My family was lower-middle class growing up and I have about $100k in law school debt to pay off, and I'll be living in DC where the cost of living is high.

I don't really want to discuss this stuff with friends in real life, so I just wanted to know if the folks on DCUM would have any advice. Just general advice. I likely won't have a ton of money to save/invest every month considering taxes, living expenses, and paying off debt, but I want to start building a stable portfolio. What advice would you give me?

Thanks in advance.