Personal Finance for Lawyers

Often the way we manage our money results in us taking care of companies before we take care of ourselves and our goals. This is very common and can happen in extreme and more subtle ways. In this episode, let's talk about how we take care of companies before ourselves and what to do about it. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/170 for the episode show notes. Join the Money Mastery for Lawyers memb...

My client Rachael was already doing some good things here and there with her finances. She had a financial planner helping her with her investments, but she didn't have plan, and she didn't know how to manage her money from day to day. That's when she came to me. In this episode, we talk about our work together, some of the things she's been able to accomplish with her money, and her perspectives...

Overspending is a common concern for the lawyers I speak with. Getting on top of overspending is key to managing your money better and ultimately achieving your financial goals. In this episode, let's talk about 4 tips to help you stop overspending. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/168 for the full episode show notes. Join the waitlist for my money membership at https://www.rhothomas.com/waitlist...

Money can be an emotional topic for many people. This can sometimes make it difficult to access the logical side of your brain to make strategic decisions. The good thing is it’s easy to objectively measure specific monetary goals, which helps to take some of the emotion out of it. In this episode, we talk about separating the math of your goals from your thoughts and feelings about them and the b...

Many lawyers who make six-figure incomes and higher feel broke. This often has more to do with their money mindset and money habits than anything else. In this episode, let's talk about key takeaways from a recent Bloomberg article about six-figure earners in America titled "Are You Rich?" and some action steps that lawyers who feel broke can take. Get the full episode show notes at https://www.rh...

Managing your money isn't all about cutting back and being responsible. It's important to make room for spending on fun, as well. In this episode, let's talk about including fun in your finances and how to integrate fun money into your money plan without taking yourself off-track from your goals. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/165 for the full episode show notes. Join the waitlist for my money...

One of the biggest money mistakes lawyers make is taking on purchases they can't afford. Don't fall into the trap of buying status symbols just because you're a lawyer when your finances aren't ready to handle them. That will only hold you back from achieving your financial goals. In this episode, let's talk about two examples of people buying things they can't afford and how to know when you can...

There's a common perspective that spending on luxury and being financially responsible are mutually exclusive. But that's not the case at all. It's possible to spend on luxury in a financially responsible way to make sure you're still able to achieve your goals. In this episode, let's talk about spending on luxury, including some ways that I have incorporated luxury spending throughout my financia...

Many lawyers have complicated systems to manage their money. Having a bunch of different bank accounts and credit cards makes it a lot harder to manage your money and often leads to avoiding it altogether. In this episode, let's talk about how to simplify your money system. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/162 for the full episode show notes. Let's talk about how we can work together: https://www...

Many lawyers have trouble sticking to a budget. Typically, it's for one of only three reasons. In this episode, let's talk about the top three reasons lawyers don't stick to their budget and how to fix them. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/161 for the full episode show notes. Let's talk about how we can work together: https://www.rhothomas.com .

Have you ever played a game where you sit for turn after turn not able to move forward on the board? The same thing is happening with many people with their finances. In this episode, let's talk about how your finances are like playing a game and how you can make sure you're moving forward with each turn you get. Head to rhothomas.com/160 for the full episode show notes. Schedule your consultation...

Have you ever considered a consolidation loan? Or used a bonus or refund to pay off your debt? So many lawyers look to these solutions as the answer to their debt problem. But often the results don't last, and the lawyers end up right back where they started—with the same debt or more. In this episode, let's talk about why these quick fixes don't work and what you need to do to ensure that once yo...

If you want to change your finances, something has to change. You can't change staying the same. In this episode, let's talk about the requirement for change, including two examples from attorneys with things keeping them from the changes they want to make in their finances and one example from an attorney who changed her finances. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/158 for the full episode show no...

Many lawyers approach achieving their money goals in the same way people approach losing weight—depriving themselves to get to the goal as quickly as possible. But that approach often ends up setting them further back and keeping them from achieving their goals. In this episode, let’s talk about why the crash money diet approach isn’t sustainable and what to do instead. Head to https://www.rhothom...

Lawyers tend to be familiar with debt—myself included. About 95% of law students take out student loans, and many lawyers delay life events like getting married or buying a home because of their debt. In this episode, I'm sharing the first year of my journey out of debt. We'll talk about the loans my husband and I paid off and the things that happened in our lives that year that impacted our debt...

The way you think about money and the way you think about your ability to manage it play a huge part in whether you're able to achieve your money goals. You're always able to choose what you think. In this episode, I'm sharing some of my top thoughts about myself and about money. As you listen, I invite you to explore your own thoughts and adopt any of mine that feel good to you. Head to https://w...

Many lawyers view their financial situation as something that just happens to them. They treat their finances as if they're powerless to change them and have to just do what they can to survive. But if you don't change your finances, no one is going to do it for you. In this episode, let's talk about the power that you have to change your own finances and the kind of change you want to be seeing w...

Feeling guilty when you spend money happens for two reasons: (1) you think you shouldn't be spending the money, and (2) you didn't plan to spend the money. But spending money without guilt is a skill you can learn, just like any other money skill. In this episode, we talk about the stigma around spending and how to develop the skill of spending money without guilt. Head to https://www.rhothomas.co...

My client Danesha was about to transition from Biglaw to a clerkship. She realized that the way she had been handling her money wouldn't work with her lower salary, so she reached out for help. During our time together, Danesha learned the money management skills she had been lacking. But more importantly, she shifted her money mindset and improved her relationship with money overall. In this epis...

Let's talk about why you hate managing your money. It all comes down to a few things that you're believing about yourself, about money, about money management skills, and/or about whether your efforts will pay off. In this episode, let's explore the different beliefs you may have that make you hate managing your finances and talk about how to change them. Head to https://www.rhothomas.com/151 for...

There are three stages of action: no action, passive action, and productive action. Many lawyers get stuck in the passive action stage, and it's a dangerous place to be. If you actually want to improve your finances, you need to get to the productive action stage and stay there. In this episode, let's talk about the three stages of action, how you know you're in each, and the key differentiator be...

Many lawyers allow their financial situation to dictate how they see themselves. But this is a mistake. Although your self-worth can impact your net worth, your net worth does not determine anything about your self-worth. When you can learn to separate the two, you'll have more success with your finances. In this episode, let's talk about what your net worth is, what self-worth is, and why keeping...

Learning the skill of saving money is one of the best things you can do for your finances. So many people never learn and consequently either don't save at all or do so inefficiently. Like any other piece of your money plan, saving starts with having a goal. In this episode, let's talk about the importance of setting savings goals, a strategy for saving that increases your ability to achieve your...

The way you think about money is vital to your success with it. I teach my clients to think about their money differently, which helps them to approach it in a way that allows them to achieve their money goals and feel better about money overall. In this episode, let's talk about 8 of my top beliefs around managing money and why they're so important. Get the full episode show notes at https://www....

"Debt is dumb." "Student loans are good debt." "Oh my gosh, I can't believe anyone has THAT MUCH debt!" Lawyers generally are no strangers to debt. Many have six-figure student loans alone, not to mention any other kinds of debt. We get so many messages about how we should view debt. But internalizing these messages leads many to feel bad about their debt and avoid it altogether. In this episode,...