Lawtrades Podcast

Personal Finance Tips For Lawyers

Episode Summary

Join our Head of Community, Matt Margolis, as he dives deep into the world of personal finance alongside industry experts Douglas Boneparth, President of Bone Fide Wealth, and Tiffany Lee, former General Counsel of Thrive Market. Get ready to demystify the daunting realm of personal finance, gain clarity, and embark on a journey towards financial empowerment.

Episode Notes

In this event we cover:

• Managing Your Money
• Understanding Risk Vs. Reward
• Choosing Investments

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Managing Your Money‍

To manage your money effectively, focus on both cash flow (money coming in and going out) and net worth (assets minus liabilities).

• Prioritize paying off high-interest debt before investing or saving.
• Consider automating savings contributions to make it easier to save consistently.

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Understanding Risk vs Reward

• 6:11 Investing involves balancing risk and reward. Generally speaking, higher-risk investments offer higher potential rewards but also come with higher potential losses.
• Diversification is key to managing risk in your investment portfolio. Spread your investments across different asset classes and industries.

Choosing Investments

• When choosing investments, consider factors such as fees, historical performance, and the overall market environment. Index funds are a popular choice for many investors because they offer broad exposure to the market at a low cost.

Importance of Tracking Expenses

Why Track Expenses?

• Tracking expenses is important to understand spending behavior.
• Getting 12 months of data is necessary to account for seasonality and smooth out spending habits.
• Use tools like Tiller Money, Mint, or Rocket Money to plug in accounts and get real data.

Compensation Structure‍

• 18:16 Partners in law firms receive a base salary for three years before their total compensation is increased to seven or eight figures. Partners are responsible for making estimated tax payments directly to the government instead of having withholding come out of their paycheck. This can lead to cash flow issues and confusion about promised compensation.

Challenges of Partnership

• The transition to partnership can be challenging due to the sudden increase in responsibility and financial obligations. It may take several years before things normalize, leading to frustration among new partners. Many professionals, including lawyers, lack financial education and rely on working hard and throwing money at problems rather than managing finances effectively.