How are my fellow gov lawyers doing with $$$ right now? Anyone have financial strategies or tips to providing for a family on a non private sector salary? I want to stay at my CA DOJ job as long as I can but also want to have kids. Live in LA

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Honestly, being a government lawyer makes having kids easier in my opinion. There’s a lot more flexibility and typically better benefits (I get 5 weeks vacation + all the typical holidays off + sick leave, whereas the firm I was at was 2 weeks vacation and I had nights I was working until 3-4 in the morning to make sure I was getting enough hours and able to be home for dinner/bedtime).

Budgets are tighter for sure and I have to weigh the costs of more expensive expenditures, but the flexibility is worth it. We also live in a townhouse instead of a bigger stand alone house because we live in own of the most expensive counties in the country. It’s all a trade off. I also love my job and hated working in private sector. Please don’t forget your own happiness in your career is important for you and for the example you set for any children in your life.

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NYC is on the more decent side of benefits (at least in terms of PTO). I also worked outside the city and the benefits weren’t as good, but still better than private practice.

I managed to save $63,000 this year or roughly 57% of my salary. But I started financially changing my life in 2018. So it's been an evolution to get to this point. I moved out of my 2500 sq ft house and into a 400 sq ft apt for $550/mo. I stopped going out to eat, cook at home. I downgraded my vehicle so no car note. Might sound doom and gloom but these changes have helped me save a good bit of money and allowed me more money to travel. I max out my 457b, IRA and hsa. Since I have freed up $$$ and my work schedule is predictable, I go to Mexico once a month either for a beach getaway or spend time in Mexico city. I don't schedule meetings on Fridays and I'm usually at my layover by 5pm. Recently I began to look at properties there. I'm now shooting for early Retirement. Bottom line is, it's all about lowering your expenses and the money you DON'T spend but invest instead.

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Yeah, you can’t do this with kids. But sounds like you have a pretty good system worked out!

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My fiancé and I are looking to invest in rental properties to generate some additional income. Luckily, he makes slightly more than me so we have some money to work with right now.

Yeah, I’m gonna have to go back to private practice eventually at this rate. Sadly.

If you have young kids, take a look at the GSA daycare and HSA for childcare.

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