u/KingDanksta69

I just graduated from college and decided to take a gap year between undergrad and grad/law school. I currently have $24,000 in government student loans and plan to aggressively pay them off in 12 months by May 2027 before I have to be unemployed for 2-3 years and take more tuition loans to finish my education.

I got a full-time lab tech job that pays about $3800 monthly post taxes and want to use $2000 of it for student loans payments. My rent is $600, bills $200, groceries $200 and transportation $160. Worth noting, I have an existing $3000 as my emergency fund and savings. After the 12 month period, I have June and July 2027 to save for my 1L rent and bills until I can secure an internship or assistantship in my second year.

So estimating my annual salary of $45,000, my budget would look like the following: $24,000 for student loans, $7200 for rent, $2400 for bills, $2400 for groceries, $2000 for transportation, $500 for miscellaneous stuff (taxes, license renewal and car services), and $1500 for discretionary spending. Any extra money left after this will go into savings.

Since my salary will be several times more in the future than it now, I will not prioritize investments and retirement until after law and grad school in my mid twenties. I plan to go into patent law in the life sciences. Does this budget plan sound feasible?

I just graduated from college and decided to take a gap year between undergrad and grad/law school. I currently have $24,000 in government student loans and plan to aggressively pay them off in 12 months by May 2027 before I have to be unemployed for 2-3 years and take more tuition loans to finish my education.

I got a full-time lab tech job that pays about $3800 monthly post taxes and want to use $2000 of it for student loans payments. My rent is $600, bills $200, groceries $200 and transportation $160. Worth noting, I have an existing $3000 as my emergency fund and savings. After the 12 month period, I have June and July 2027 to save for my 1L rent and bills until I can secure an internship or assistantship in my second year.

So estimating my annual salary of $45,000, my budget would look like the following: $24,000 for student loans, $7200 for rent, $2400 for bills, $2400 for groceries, $2000 for transportation, $500 for miscellaneous stuff (taxes, license renewal and car services), and $1500 for discretionary spending. Any extra money left after this will go into savings.

Since my salary will be several times more in the future than it now, I will not prioritize investments and retirement until after law and grad school in my mid twenties. I plan to go into patent law in the life sciences. Does this budget plan sound feasible?