I'm a 33 year old woman, living with my partner. No dependents. We rent in SF. I've been accepted and given a full ride to several law schools for Sept. 2020 entrance. This means I would finish school and take the bar exam around July 2023, when I'll be nearly 37. I want to avoid debt as much as possible but expect to take out perhaps $40,000 in loans to cover living expenses while in school (if I go). Does it make sense for me to go to law school? Should I suck it up and stay the course?
Gross Salary/Wages: Approx. $65,000.
(I work as a paralegal making $35 an hour plus benefits and around $7000 annually in discretionary bonuses. My hours are flexible and vary a lot.)
401(k) - 10% pretax. No match.
Health insurance - $73.62 pretax per paycheck, so ~$1770 / yr.
Dental -. $11.75 pretax per paycheck ($282/yr)
Adjusted Gross Income: Approx. $55,500? (2019 was $48,700. 2018 was $22,678.)
Taxes: In 2019 I paid $4,189 in federal taxes and $1,365 for state (CA).
Current expenses:
Rent - $625 / month (This is my share only. My partner and I rent a bedroom and small office/study in a single family home that we share with roommates.)
Food and restaurants - $480 / mo. in 2019. Let's say $180 / month in groceries, $300 / mo. in booze / eating out / coffeeshops. I know.
Cash spending - $160 /month in 2019. This is additional food, small donations, walking-around money.
Utilities - Avg $50 / month for internet, electric, gas, water, trash (my share only). This also covers stuff that my roommates buy like toilet paper and dish soap.
Phone - $35 / month for my share of a Verizon family plan with data.
Auto & transport - $80 / month avg. This includes: $500 last year on bike maintenance (I got some parts stolen), local bus / train, and a couple tanks of gas when others give me rides. I commute by bike 90% of the time. I don't drive; my partner has a car that he pays for.
Gym - $55 / month for the YMCA. I lift weights and take classes 1-3x a week. I have tried cutting this many times but I do not work out without it.
Entertainment - $28 / month. This is magazine subscriptions, museum/park entry, movies, Netflix and Hulu (I switch back and forth and sometimes have neither).
Personal care - $25 / month (skincare, makeup, random shit at Walgreen's, a massage once a year or so).
Annual / variable expenses:
Travel - $1646 annual in 2019.
Education - $1700 annual in 2019. I paid for law school applications and a $900 prep class.
Gifts - $700 annual in 2019. My family is big on gifts; this is a bit higher than it needs to be.
Charity - $500 annual in 2019.
"Shopping" was $2,000. This is higher than normal.
Totals - In 2019 I spent $25,000 plus health insurance.
For context, my 2018 spend was $19,000; my 2017 spend was $22,000; my 2016 spend was $20,500.
Assets:
Trad IRA - $34,820
Roth IRA - $2,430
401(k) - approx. $6,600
HSA - $4600
Total pretax retirement - $48,450
Brokerage - $17,600 (after tax savings for law school expenses)
Total assets including cash - $66,000
Other assets: $7,000 put into a family members house - might get back eventually.
Liabilities: None
OKAY here's my real question! It feels crazy to voluntarily give up income and take on debt for the next 3+ years to go to law school. However, it also seems like the safest bet for me to increase my income in a real way. I am very smart, competent, and a very good employee, but I am also pretty lazy and averse to working full time for other people. I am not talented at getting jobs. But I'm good at saving money and have saved close to 50% for the last several years (except for periods of unemployment which obviously kill me).
My current job is very, very cushy and pretty interesting. They adore me and will do whatever it takes to keep me there. However, it's still a paralegal job, and I feel I've topped off my salary. Also, I still have to do the grunt work of a paralegal, plus a lot of the grunt work of an associate attorney (drafting motions, complaints, discovery). Non-lawyer staff in litigation is effectively there as excess capacity, and I feel I will always be a bit underutilized and frustrated as a non-lawyer in the industry. I think that lawyer work will keep me more engaged and give me greater flexibility in the longterm. I also am interested in running my own business or being a partner.
This is an industry I fell into because I was tired of waitressing and nobody else would hire me, but it's a good fit for a lot of my skills. I can see being a plaintiff's side lawyer doing civil litigation on my own or at a small firm for ~7 years and then going part-time or switching industries in my mid-forties.
The Bay Area is a grind but I don't think I could match my current income anywhere else. Part of the appeal of law school is I feel it will give me more flexibility to move to a smaller city eventually. My partner is rooted here due to having started his firm here but may be ready to move elsewhere in ~5 years.
Another wrinkle is that my partner is a lawyer, graduated law school 8 years ago, and still has $250,000 in debt at age 35. This is a huge stressor when I think about our shared financial future.
**Edited to expunge off-topic / unnecessary information and to add questions:
QUESTIONS:
Any ideas for other career moves that might get me to the same place (higher salary, more flexibility in jobs/region) as law school?
Is it crazy to go to law school if it means effectively starting a career with debt at age 37?
I foresee cutting spending to $18,000 or so a year while in school. Any ideas on further cuts?
My hope is to make six figures pretty soon after passing the bar, while keeping spending similar to current levels. Thoughts?