Law Schools, Student Loans

Gift Ideas For Debt-Burdened Lawyers And Law Students

Sometimes, it is best to simply gift something that you can tell the recipient could really use.

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Or you could give them some money…

The holiday season is now fully upon us.  Every other commercial on TV has a holiday theme, classic Christmas music is playing all around us, and our homes and businesses are completely decked out in holiday décor.  Now is also the time when people need to make decisions about what kinds of holiday presents they wish to provide significant people in their lives.

If you are reading this website, it likely means that you know numerous lawyers and law student whom you wish to provide presents.  Many of these individuals are likely burdened with student loans, and this circumstance might influence what kinds of gifts you provide.  From my own personal experience, there are certain types of presents that debt-burdened lawyers and law students would appreciate the most.

When I was paying off my student loans, I rarely ate out, and I tried to only spend $10 a day on food.  This was hard to do when I was a law student in the District of Columbia and when I was a young lawyer in the New York City area.  In order to save money on food, I cooked most of my meals, because preparing food was much cheaper than going to a restaurant or ordering out.  Since I only knew how to cook about four dishes, it was a real drag to have to keep eating meals that I prepared.

If you are thinking about providing a debt-burdened lawyer or law student with a gift card, consider making this a gift card to a favorite restaurant.  Since people trying to save money usually do not eat out, this will be a great present.  I remember when I was in law school, there was a popular chain restaurant nearby that had an all-you-can-eat salad buffet.  My grandparents had raised me to take advantage of all kinds of buffets, and whenever I had some spare money, I would head there for a relatively cheap meal out.  One of my friends knew that I loved that restaurant because of the buffet, and he gave me a gift card for that restaurant around the holidays.  I stretched that gift card as far as I could by only using it on the cheap buffet, and that simple gift card brought me much enjoyment.  From my own personal experience, I know that debt-burdened lawyers and law students in your life will also appreciate this type of gift, since eating out alleviates one of the burdens of saving money to pay off student loans

Another good gift idea is to provide debt-burdened law students and lawyers gift certificates to purchase clothes.  When I was paying off my student loans, I rarely bought new clothes so that I could save money.  Most of the clothes I wore during this period were purchased when I was in high school, and some of my outfits were really worn out.  As a result, I really appreciated when people bought me clothes, since I could make good use of this gift.

It is not always safe to purchase specific clothes, since the recipient might not like the gift, and people like me who are 6’8’’ tall might not fit into the clothes you buy!  However, providing a gift certificate to a popular clothing store is a great present idea for debt-burdened lawyers and law students, since I can tell you from firsthand experience that this gift will go to good use.

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It is also a good idea to purchase gifts for debt-burdened law students and lawyers that you can tell they could use.  I saved money and cut expenses in unbelievable ways during my student debt repayment saga, and most of my friends and colleagues could tell that I was “penny-pinching” in many aspects of my life.  For instance, during my first job after graduating from law school, I was still using the wallet that had been gifted to me when I graduated from high school.  This wallet was extremely worn down, and one of my coworkers commented incessantly about my decrepit wallet whenever we would grab lunch or coffee together.  For the holidays, that co-worker gifted me a fancy new wallet that I still use to this day.  I truly appreciated her consideration, and it is wise to gift items to debt-burdened law students and lawyers that you can see they could really use.  If they are like me, they won’t spend the money to purchase necessary items themselves, even though having these things would make their lives much better.

All told, many law students and lawyers who are struggling with student debt are likely saving their money to help pay off student loans.  As such, debt-burdened lawyers and law students usually appreciate certain types of gifts that help alleviate the burdens of student debt.  And sometimes, it is best to simply gift something that you can tell the recipient could really use.  On that point, the wallet gifted to me a while back is getting a little old…

Jordan Rothman is the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a personal finance website discussing how he paid off all $197,890.20 of his college and law school student loans over 46 months of his late 20s. You can reach him at Jordan@studentdebtdiaries.com.

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