Finished Law School (Long Post)…

I finished my LAST law school final on Wednesday night and I am sooo excited. =) I graduate this Sunday and I start the bar prep course next Wednesday. Yippee!!!

On a financial note…

I received the funds from my last and final student loan. I am placing the money directly into my high yield savings account, which has been depleted almost completely over the last few months. The only remaining money that I expect to receive is tuition reimbursement. I will also be placing this money into the savings account. All in all, these funds will serve as my emergency fund and should total approximately $20k.

As for upcoming expenses, I need a new computer. My Dell computer was temporarily fixed but, now the mouse on my laptop is not working. To top things off, it makes beeping noises for no apparent reason and I am always afraid of when and if it will completely black out again. I am going to back-up all the rest my files this weekend and keep a look out on deals. I am hoping that I may receive a few graduation gifts which may help me with paying for a new computer. Who knows? I don’t expect anything and I shouldn’t but you never know.

Student loans…

Repayment of my federal student loans starts in June according my student loan website. I am a little startled by how quickly the first payment is due but of course I knew that I was giving up the grace period on my federal loans when I decided to consolidate. I looked into forbearance and filled out the form to see if I can put off payments for a few months until I am able to pass the bar exam and find a better paying job. Right now, it looks like total monthly payments once all loans kick into repayment will be $1,650 per month. Can you scream….OUCH!

The initial federal loan payment is almost $500, which would leave with $50 after all expenses for the month are paid. So as you can see…there isn't any wiggle room and certainly not enough cash flow to pay all my student loans. I will definitely need to land a new job before April 2008 when my private loans enter repayment.

Here is the student loan breakdown:

- Consolidated Federal Loans: $497 – payments begin 6/1/07
- Unconsolidated Federal Loans: $238 – payments begin 1/1/08
- Private Loans: $915 – payments begin 4/1/08
- Total Monthly Payment: $1,650

Okay...it kind of hurts to put everything out here but this is my reality (my current reality...soon to be my past reality)!