If you don't want to spend the end of your semester eating top ramen and sitting at home on a Friday night, you need to budget your loan refund to last through the semester.  So how do you reign in your spending, but still have fun when the tuition at GW is $42,205 and rising?  The financial aid office says that, after tuition is taken out, $24,095 is sufficient to live off of for an entire year, including books and rent. Even more humbling is the experience that incoming law students have if they worked prior to law school.  Suddenly, devoid of any steady income, you are expected to support yourself on what is perhaps one-half to one-third of your previous years' earnings.  But if you worked, your refund check the following May will be the best gift of your 1L year while your fellow 1Ls eat Top Ramen, you will be having strip steak.  2L Joon Song, perhaps jokingly, says that you should borrow the maximum and enjoy yourself, but, there are some students who turn green at the mere thought. So for those of you that do turn green, please don't pass out - here are some tips for tightening your boot straps and enjoying your next three years as a law student.

Set up a budget. If you have multiple bills, make sure that you account for them when you plan out how to spend your loan money.  Unless you have a part-time job or a trust fund filled with readily accessible cash, you will need that money to cover 12 months of living expenses.  Bear in mind that the school sets up the cost of attendance for a 9-month year.  You need to live for 12! You may not have a high paying firm job in the summer.  In fact, chances are you won't have a paying job at all (now that $24,095 has gone from $2600/month to $2000/month). In addition, minimize your costs and keep track of your spending. Also, see the financial aid website for a breakdown of the cost of attendance.

Re-evaluate your living situation. Do you really need a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or house all to yourself? Probably not.  To reduce your household expenses consider the following:

1.      Get a Roommate: GW allocates the housing budget based on students having at least one roommate. Yes, roommates can be annoying, but the expenses saved by sharing a place can be the difference between a ticket home for the holidays and staying in your apartment by yourself eating Lean Cuisine for Thanksgiving.

Can't do the roommate thing?  Well, if you can live without bedroom doors for the next 3 years, consider looking into a studio or bachelor apartment (also called an efficiency). DC caters to these types of setups and while your refrigerator may be in your closet, you will certainly survive and save cash.  If, on the other hand, you need doors, then look for a one-bedroom apartment a little further out in the district or in Arlington, Virginia or Silver Spring, Maryland.  These areas are near metro lines and a one-bedroom apartment in Virginia can run you $1200 to $1500, while the same apartment in DC starts around $1900.  Yes, some of you shudder at the idea of suburbia, but saving money on rent means more money for Starbucks and Bar Reviews.

2.      Reconsider what you need in your apartment: If you buy enough underwear (very inexpensive at Target), you can turn a trip to the laundry room once every two weeks, into a trip once a month; saving cash and precious time. If you're in DC, you probably don't need or get an in-unit washer and dryer, nor do you need the king size bed and the plasma TV.  Now is not the time to go on a shopping spree.  Treat yourself to the high-end toys after graduation. If you packed up a lot of items from college that are usable or you lived on your own prior to moving, bring what you have, but consider the size of your place.  Many apartments in DC are relatively small and too much stuff will simply clutter up your apartment and cause frustration. Storage costs will also eat up your loan money if you can't keep everything in your apartment.

Kick Your Shopping Addiction. Yes, those Ferragamo shoes and the Dolce & Gabana suit look amazing and will look fabulous during your interview at next year's Fall Recruiting Program, but if you have one, then you're set for the year. For those of you that insist on brand names try Filene's Basement.  The work involved in sorting through the clothing will pay off when you can score a $400 shirt for a quarter of the price.

Get the Necessities. There are some basics that every student needs to have.

1.      Internet for your apartment: Don't be that guy sitting in the soft lounge all day and all night mooching off the school's less than stellar wireless internet.  You will be doing a lot of research and gchatting, so having an easily accessible internet may cost you a little, but save you a lot in the long run.

2.      Good Winter Gear: While it doesn't snow all winter in DC, it can get quite chilly. Spending $150 to $200 on a good cold weather jacket will save you a couple of hundred dollars in the long run because you won't need to keep replacing the items nor will you be cold all winter.  Check out the sporting goods store at Pentagon City.  They have great sales on Columbia, NorthFace and Patagonia coats and they have a much larger selection than department stores

3.      A Good Suit and Shoes: Shortly, you will encounter interviews for summer jobs and internships and you want to look snazzy and put-together.  While it is all about first impressions, you still don't need that high-end suit.  A solid shirt with a basic black suit will do.  Try Macy's on one of its many sales days.  They have sales just because the sun shines.  You can't miss them.  They have high quality suits that are marked down by up to 50%.

4.      A solid backpack: Backpacks may seem dorky and so junior high, but you want a good bag.  It's worth a little more money for the peace of mind that you will have knowing that your books won't suddenly spill out on the metro when the bottom falls through (it happens), or that you will not be left carting 3 casebooks in your arms and carrying an umbrella in the frequently inclement weather.

5.      A Good Umbrella: When it rains here, it pours; gale force winds included.  You want an umbrella that won't flip inside out at the smallest gust. Sorry to say, but if you are from a fairly dry state, the umbrella you purchased there will not survive here.  Target carries great umbrellas for a reasonable price.  Go for a fold-down golf size umbrella to protect your books and laptop on the walk to school.  Speaking of walking...

Getting Around

1.      Leave your car at home - 3L Denise L. Turner suggests getting rid of your car note if you have one.  Pay off your car if you must have it or sell it and save the money for future needs.

2.      Learn to love the metro - DC has a great metro system and riding it, rather than driving, will save you gas money.   Get to know it and the bus system as well.  Purchase a Smart trip card and use that when boarding the metro and the bus.  It's much faster than the tickets and you can register them so that if you lose them you will get your money back.  ($5 for the card and $25 to top it up if you buy it online or $5 for the card plus $5 loaded if you buy at a metro station). If you get a granny cart you can use the metro for most, if not all your errands, and you won't have to worry about carrying heavy bags.

3.      Register for a Zipcar account.  This is a shared car service that you can rent hourly or daily with gas and insurance included.  Make sure you register as a GW student so you get a discount on the yearly fee.  Several students can split the cost of a vehicle and run all your errands on the same day as you will find there are some things that are just better accessed with a vehicle.

4.      Don't forget about parking.  If you really feel like you need a car, note the parking requirements.  There are certain neighborhoods where you can't get a student pass to park on the streets and then you must register your car in Washington, DC and obtain a DC license (both added expenses).  Also, consider the cost to park in your apartment building and the cost to park at school.  The Marvin Center Garage charges $220 a month to park, with a monthly pass.  The daily rate varies between $10 and $16 a day without a pass.

Learn To Cook: Guys, pay attention; this is not just for girls.  The average cost for lunch at Au Bon Pain is around $8 and at Wendy's it's $6 or more.  You can save yourself a lot of money by learning to cook and brown-bagging it.  There are refrigerators, freezers and microwaves at the school, so bringing lunch is easy.  Frozen meals are often on sale for a dollar or two a piece.  If the thought of cooking appalls you, but you don't want to spend money, try hovering around the hard lounge during the evenings.  Student organizations typically cater their meetings with pizza or other goodies and that means free food once the meeting is over.

Put the Credit Card Away: Save whatever available credit you have for emergencies.  Not using your cards will save you in finance charges and potentially rising interest rates.

Buy Used: With a little internet searching, you can often find the same editions of your textbooks and supplements for a significantly lower price.  A 1L last year was able to get her supplements for $1 a piece at Amazon.com by shopping used.  Also, check with upperclassmen, who may lend you their books or sell them to you on the cheap.

Be Smart About Booze: Everyone loves a good beer or a great cocktail, especially law students.  But the cost of alcohol can easily eat up your cash.   The cost of a single drink in DC can run you $7 or more, which means at the end of the night, your tab could easily go over $50.  Instead of hitting a trendy bar downtown, go to Thirsty Thursdays in the Student lounge where the booze is free.  Attend the SBA sponsored bar reviews with a tab, or cheap drink specials, or even better,  warm up to that lonely 2L or 3L at the bar and get them to buy you a drink.

Watch Your Stuff: Misplacing your stuff, or mistrusting your fellow students, with your laptop or iPhone can cost you more than outlines or photos.  It could be up to a $1500 mistake and a headache you don't need.  And since items can also go missing from your home, you should consider...

Renter's Insurance: It's like American Express... don't leave home without it.  For a minimal yearly fee, you can protect the items in your apartment in the event of theft or other unnatural event that isn't covered by your lease. Make sure you take photographs of your apartment and store them in a safe place in the event your items do go missing.

Health Insurance: If you're lucky enough to still be covered by your parent's insurance, skip this.  If not, definitely get the school's health insurance.  It seems costly up front ($1600), but you'll be glad you have it when flu season comes around.  As an added bonus, with GW's student health insurance, trips to GW's Health Services are free! And lastly,

Do DC for Free. Washington, DC plays hosts to a vast collection of museums in the Smithsonian, which offers free admission.  Visit the Smithsonian on the weekend.   Take in the cherry blossoms in the spring and attend the arts and craft festival.  Head out to the High Heeled Race in Dupont Circle in October and laugh as people try to run in high heels wearing various forms of ridiculous costumes (last year someone was dressed as the National Monument). When the weather permits, exercise outside.  Go down to the National Mall and play soccer or Frisbee.  Walk around Eastern Market or sample some fruit at the local farmers markets.  You can live in DC on a budget.  You just need to be smart about your planning.  Make the best of the next 3 years and enjoy DC.