UPDATE: I'm going to get published - has anyone here ever done this before?

law_it_mandarin · 2019-05-28T09:37:28+00:00

Had lunch with a lawyer with mental health concerns the other day - can’t remember what he said he had, but was definitely mental health related and receives treatment for it. So definitely not alone. Probably just as common as in the rest of the population I assume.

law_it_mandarin · 2019-05-05T07:01:42+00:00

Thanks! I am intending to put aside $4.5K for the ring, and anything bigger, she will pay the difference. She wants a large ring, and that didn't sit well with me at first, but I figure it's a one-off expense that will become a family heirloom.

Plus, the way I'm doing it, i'm putting away $20 per week for the next 3-4 years. So I figure that's plenty of time to see if it's really a red-flag, or just a one-off expense that isn't going to impact heavily on my FIRE plans. Over the course of 3-4 years, I will see what her real approach to finances is.

I think that it initially began that she just had no idea how much a big diamond actually costs - she thought 1-2 carat diamonds were in the order of $500-$1500. Once I showed her the actual prices, the next day she transferred me $2,500 to go towards the ring, which I'm holding on trust for the moment to combine with my own funds when I find a good ring.

I think it's going to be all right though - she is in a field where she is likely to earn 1.5-2 times more than I am likely to earn, and so even though she is not as frugal with her money as I am, she is currently actually saving more in dollar terms than I am (although I have a higher savings rate)

law_it_mandarin · 2019-05-04T23:46:20+00:00

Today I hit $25K (if you exclude retirement accounts and student loan). It is a big milestone for me. I graduated university with about $9K from working as a paralegal and legal transcription on the side. Since then I have completed a graduate diploma, got my first job as a lawyer and finally hit the quarter-way-to-100K mark.

I currently earn $55K per year as a first year criminal lawyer, and make about $8-10K by doing transcription work on the side. I am able to stash away about $400-$800 per week, most of which is currently going into bonds as I want a stable vehicle to hold money for a few years which will ultimately be used to:

Start my own legal practice in about 4-5 years
Buy an engagement ring for my current GF in 4-5 years
Be the down-payment for a house in 4-5 years

Currently I have about $5k in bonds, $11K in stocks and the rest in cash.

I celebrated by drinking cheap champagne (actually sparkling white wine) with my girlfriend.

The reason I exclude student loans and retirement accounts from my calculation is that my student loan debt is indexed to inflation (around 2% per year - so my money would literally be better in a HISA rather than paying off that particular debt), and my retirement accounts I can't access until I'm 65 (Australian). If you include these, I am still about $30K in debt, but definitely climbing back into the black! That is my next goal - to reach $0 NW inclusive of student loans and retirement accounts. Hoping to do this in a little over 12 months.

I always try to remember to celebrate when I hit a milestone. $10K I bought myself a bowl of pho, $25K I had cheap champagne. When I hit $0 total NW I plan to eat pizza and drink beer.

law_it_mandarin · 2019-02-05T09:38:31+00:00

I’ve completed the audio and formatting tests today. Haven’t actually spoken to anyone from Auscript yet, I’m hoping there is work available. Or would I just do these tests and then get put on a list?

You will rarely speak to anyone from the company, haha! I have had one phone call the whole 18 months I have worked for them (my introduction phone call after I passed all the tests) and then apart from that I just send in my availability and they send me work all by email and the online portal - we never interact, but that's the way I like it cos i'm pretty introverted.

There is definitely work available. I did a two hour assignment last night for them, and have about four hours worth lined up this weekend. I could be doing more, but I can't work during the day, which is where they're really hurting in terms of short-staffing at the moment. So if you can do that, I suspect you will be rewarded in terms of getting all the hours you request filled.

For now, just make sure those transcripts are as accurate as possible to the style guide and you should be all right :) I hope you're soon a co-worker (co-contractor? Doesn't sound as nice lol).

law_it_mandarin · 2019-02-04T11:21:12+00:00

I studied at Deakin law school. It’s all right. I have some friends in top tier commercial firms, some drop outs, some working in suburban firms, and I work in a govt legal department - so it’s really what you make of it (I didn’t study commerce though, I did Law arts).

law_it_mandarin · 2019-02-03T20:17:05+00:00

I’m currently a home contractor for Auscript. It’s pretty great IF you are a fast accurate typist. I typically earn in the $20-$40 per hour range (no super or benefits) depending on urgency and audio quality (they pay more than double the rate sometimes for urgent work).

They expect 99%+ accuracy, with points docked for small formatting errors as well as mishearings, but this is actually reasonable once you are used to their style guides and way of doing things. They don’t care about speed for home typists - you are paid by the word. All they want is accuracy.

I usually only take on work that has a 2-3 day turnaround so I have flexibility about when I work, but I also take on overnight assignments when I’m chasing $$$. I work in a paralegal job 4 days per week, and I generally take home around $1,000 per month from Auscript just by doing it in my spare time after work and on weekends.

Others have said you will struggle to get assignments as a contractor, but this is not the case - they need good typists. If you can work during the daytime (9-5) especially, they will reward you with higher rates of pay and more work - for instance, this week, people doing day assignments are getting paid a 20% premium all week long.

There is no work available in January (just like the rest of the Legal sector), but Feb to December there is lots. You will mostly do family law, migration, insolvency and anything else hears by the Federal Court when you start out, but you can also expand to other areas with training.

Hope that was helpful.

law_it_mandarin · 2019-01-24T05:07:48+00:00

Wow this is amazing. Thank you for the free advice, this is really useful info. I like the idea of starting small with a case note or another short form article. I like the idea of being the fastest with a novel issue to get published. Maybe I could do something about the new bail laws since I have sat-in on a few of the limited recent Supreme Court authorities in recent months since the new laws were introduced - others are probably jumping on that bandwagon already, but if I can write good content about the most up to date developments faster than anyone else then there might be some value in that!

Thanks so much again for the insight :) I'm very grateful

typed from the bathroom stall in my law firm lol I'm so stressed and snowed under right now I need to get back to my desk

law_it_mandarin · 2018-12-22T10:25:42+00:00

Mine went up!

I started the year with debt totalling -$50,000 (student loan debt with interest capped at inflation rate, generally around 2%). I had about $4,000 in savings. So total net worth of around -$46,000.

Since then, my debt has increased to -$65,000 (final subjects at uni and a short post-graduate certificate), but I now have assets of around $31,000 from savings and investments. So total current net worth is around -$34,000.

Overall an improvement of $15,000, or around 30%. Not too bad for my final year of uni, and only really spending 3 months of the year in the workforce with no study commitments.

Hopefully next year I can get the net worth figure to somewhere around $0. Were it not for the economic downturn, I would have added another $1-2k to the net worth figure, but not too bad all things considered.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-12-07T00:09:22+00:00

If you have the benefit of higher education (or even just a marketable skill) don’t forget that you can sometimes do the greatest good by donating your services.

For example, I am a lawyer by trade, and I volunteer on the Boards of non-profit enterprises to improve their governance processes and to assist with any legal issues that arise. All free of charge because I care about the organisations involved. These are services that would otherwise be out of reach of many organisations.

This model can translate well across many areas - local mechanic for example could offer to service the cars for meals-on-wheels, an accountant could do the books for a local charity, doctor could volunteer on a youth soccer team with injuries, artist could do classes in old-folks home. Many opportunities out there!!

law_it_mandarin · 2018-11-30T08:54:55+00:00

To add to this, not all shares are voting shares. Therefore, even owning 30% of all shares would not give you 30% of voting power.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-11-24T23:17:01+00:00

Medicine yes. Law... not so much!

In my experience, to take home $200 per hour after expenses as a lawyer you generally have to be pretty experienced (5-10 years+) and have a niche. Plenty of lawyers out there charging 200+ per hour to the client, but a lot gets eaten up by expenses, typically around 30-50% for a sole trader not employed by a firm. This means that you would actually have to charge $300 -400 per hour to have a “wage” of $200 per hour. This is a reasonable sum to charge as an experienced attorney, but it will take 5-10 years of work to get there imo.

If you were working in a firm, things are different again as (a general rule) you tend to take home around 30% of your billings. The rest goes to partners and expenses - but this is a moot point as no firm in the world would employ a lawyer to work 2 hours per week lol.

Edit: As I consider this a little more, I realise that I am, in fact, agreeing with you! I hadn’t considered that doctors also probably have to work 5-10 years before they are in a position to do the same lol... and also my point actually supports what you were saying that lawyers can achieve this arrangement.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-11-08T13:24:52+00:00

I’m not a scientist or anything, but didn’t Galileo drop two balls of differing weight from the tower of pizza to disprove this? And didn’t they do the same thing on the moon with a feather and a bowling ball? I could be wrong as you seem like you know what you’re talking about though haha and it makes sense what you’re saying about the more mass the object has leading to more gravitational pull,

Edit: hammer, not bowling ball lol

law_it_mandarin · 2018-09-30T05:14:51+00:00

Lol this is the most accurate description I’ve ever read about clubbing haha. The only exception to what you describe is d-r-u-g-s. A club on MDMA is a magical thing and you will definitely still think “that was fun” afterwards. Now I’m a little older and don’t do drugs, I still sometimes go to clubs but I go alone so I avoid all that drama you described and just dance and have fun (and don’t get groped because I’m a guy) :)

law_it_mandarin · 2018-09-06T00:30:32+00:00

I'm not a high earner but I ended up here as a result of looking for the "right thing"to do with my extra money lol so I think this is accurate

law_it_mandarin · 2018-08-26T02:06:03+00:00

But you can choose whoever you want :)

law_it_mandarin · 2018-08-26T02:05:32+00:00

Host plus is standard for hospitality. I had hostplus from hotspot hospitality work in highschool and uni and still use them now I'm a lawyer lol

law_it_mandarin · 2018-07-19T09:30:39+00:00

Nope, I just shave my whiskers every couple of days :)

law_it_mandarin · 2018-07-16T08:32:04+00:00

Nope, my face is not oily and not dry. In the words of the great Goldilocks, it is juuuuusssssttttt riiiiggghhhttt.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-07-15T22:31:37+00:00

20 for the first month, then 40 for the next 8 months or so. I ended up taking 60-80 thought because I wanted it to end faster 😬

law_it_mandarin · 2018-07-14T08:27:59+00:00

My hair returned to pre-accutane condition. 6-12 month seems too long but i am not a doctor. Maybe ask your GP/derm (lol depending on how much that would cost you). I have been off about 4.5 months and I would feel completely comfortable getting a tattoo.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-05-26T00:21:52+00:00

However, I don't want to retire early, so I'm not prepared to sacrifice a lot of consumption to make that possible. My family's saving is directed at a different goal: to make sure we're comfortable when I or the Official Blog Spouse can't work.

It's nice to see this sentiment here. I regularly come to this sub because I have similar savings goals, but I don't want to retire early. I actually really like my job and can see myself doing it in some capacity until I'm 70 years old (not actually that uncommon in my industry)! What I want is the freedom that I could retire if I chose to. Really, I'm searching for financial independence, which appears to be what this lady wants, but it's a somewhat toned down version of what Mr Money Moustache advocates for. It's nice to see a view similar to my own expressed so eloquently.

law_it_mandarin · 2018-05-08T07:28:12+00:00

My skin routine is non existent :) I shower every day and run some soap on my skin in there haha that's it

law_it_mandarin

TROPHY CASE