Living Richly on a Budget

When we talk about living richly on a budget, it doesn’t mean you have to be able to put the deed to your home in the bank – it’s more about knowing how to keep the things you love, give value to the important things, and get the most for your buck. One of the keys to living richly that you’ll find in this blog is essential to those things – honing your useful skills is what gives you the ability to pay less for the things you really want, so they need not fall by the wayside. One of those important skills? mastering legal writing and analyses skills.

We are all included in the grand plan, and lawyers still live and work in the same world with the majority of you. Even if you’ll never go to law school, mastering your legal writing and analyses skills can give you an advantage in other areas of your life. Here are just 10 ways in which honing your legal writing and analyses can help you:

• Precise Communication: Often we think of lawyers having especially communicative positions, but those communications can make precise communication across the board. In other words, great legal writing and analyses lets you communicate better with everyone – including your spouse and the people who live with you in your household. This is an important skill addition that can help you in your life and your finances.
• Drafting Agreements: Contract or lease agreements don’t have to be formal and overly difficult to understand – start using your new legal writing and analyses skills to draft new agreements for more important things, like how long you’re going to last on the latest “movie binge” on Netflix, how long dinner will last at a fancy restaurant, or how much time you’ll set aside each weekend for cleaning. Legal drafting may not be sexy, but these little agreements can help you reach the next level.
• Rhetorical Persuasiveness: I can’t stress enough how much this helps in negotiating situations. You can use this skill to get everything from better sales prices to half-off clearance items to a promotion at work. It sounds deceptive, and it isn’t intended to be. You’re just better able to persuade others to give you the important things that you really want. All it takes is the ability to combine those writing and analytical skills with the proper persuasiveness, and you’re off and running.
• Attention to Detail: Poorly written legal documents can result in problems down the line, as you undoubtedly know. The good news is that this interest and skill to pay attention to details can ensure that your home is organized, neat, and simple to keep on track forever. You will know exactly where everything is, which will help you to save money on replacements, and keep things in their place.
• Uncovering Deeper Meaning: Critical analysis isn’t just for lawyers, it’s for everyone. It helps you to see where the value lies in things you might be interested in, and uncover hidden costs. Take your legal writing and analyses to the next level by using it to really know yourself, and what you want.
• Battle of Broken Windows: This is a law enforcement analogy, so you may not have heard of it, but the idea is that if there are broken windows in an abandoned house, you may be more likely to experience vandalism and other crimes. It is a great analogy for why you should be putting forth your best effort to invest in yourself and your education, because the skills you obtain will stay with you in other situations.

You may not be a lawyer, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy yourself more time, money, and freedom. Perfecting techniques to gain valuable legal writing and analysis skills can help you stay on top of things, no matter what. Check out this great article, Written Statements and Written Opinions, for more on the details.