To ask my parents for financial help

I agree, @concernedchild is most definitely not a failure.

@Tahinii - if op's parents naively thought what they are already doing for op is enough, then yes they are being very naive and should perhaps make it their business to develop a basic grasp of what op's financial situation might be.

I have 3 dcs in their 20s. They've never asked me for money but I have offered on numerous occasions when I've suspected money might be tight.

Op is clearly working hard to develop a good career for herself. Her parents ought to notice that she isn't spending money on going out, new clothes etc and maybe just ask now and again if she's okay for money.

To be honest, reading your replies - you have 18 months left and your exam payments won't be for all of that time - I feel it's a case of just sucking up the next year or so 🤷‍♀️

Just part of the journey I'm afraid.

I have read all OP's posts but not all comments - want to say OP's parents must be incredibly mean with money or just blind and stupid to not be actually throwing money at her - if they do indeed have ''100s of 1000s'' - be firm with your parents OP and ask them how they think you are managing, what they think your expenses are and how you would actually like to enjoy a little of life at your age without constant money worry. They are very bad parents!

Honestly, you sound like you are doing everything you possibly can and any parent would be proud of what you are doing and achieving. You are absolutely on the right track with the right mindset so please give yourself some credit. Life these days can be financially tough, particularly when you are starting out. As a parent, I'd absolutely want you to ask for help and would do anything I could to assist you. I'm glad the initial conversation went well. It might be tough for a bit longer but you'll regret it if you give up when you've come so far. Good luck.

In the kindest possible way… your’re 24, you have a safe place to live, you are building a career which has the potential to open lucrative doors to you in future - this is just a moment in time.

By all means talk to you parents, everyone needs some help from time to time, but please don’t go and work in a supermarket because it’ll take your professional qualifications/loans etc off your plate. Believe me when I tell you that being in this kind of precarious financial position is even less enjoyable when you’re 34 or 40+.

Keep looking at the long term goal and put one foot in front of the other to get there.

Some people seem to be under the impression that trainee lawyers are fantastically well paid (and qualified lawyers).

Here’s the current guidance. “Firms are required to pay no more than the NMW”.

Set out your income and expenses as they stand:
Income £1,300
Travel £200
Uni costs £100
Exams £650
Summer £100
Remaining... £250

This needs to cover clothing, food outside of the house, books, etc

Suggest Loan

Exam cost £6,500
Travel expenses for exams £1,500
Uni Costs £2,000
Total £10,000

To be repaid when you qualify and have a job paying more than £25,000 to be repaid over 3 years which will allow you to move out and pay rent.

Show them exactly what you are earning and exactly what you are spending your money on and exactly what costs you have to save for. They may be under the impression that you have more money than you do.

Bless you, I get the impression from your comments that you’ve reached breaking point and I really feel for you. Having money worries can really affect your mental wellbeing.

Just to give a slightly positive story…..I’m a solicitor, having qualified 9 years ago. I did my LPC then worked as a paralegal for many years, with the promise of a TC being the reason why I worked crazy hours for pennies. Then just before it was time for the TC applications my firm (national firm but small office) decided they wouldn’t do any more TC applications as the office was too small to sustain the seat requirements. So I did the CILEX route and cross qualified. I was as experienced and well rounded as anyone who had done a traditional TC.

Shortly after qualification I got married and decided I was done with a 50 mile commute so I looked at what other jobs I could do with my qualifications - I am now an in-house solicitor for an insurance company based close to my house, I earn a decent salary for what I do and I genuinely love my job.

Don’t lose hope - being a qualified solicitor will open many doors.

Tell your parents how much you’re struggling, they sound decent and will likely really appreciate the fact that you’ve identified the problem, you’ve identified a possible solution and you’ve set out a plan to get from A to B. I would suggest trying to agree slightly lower repayments for you - better to pay a bit less but not default than to promise repayments that will still be a stretch and will make for awkward conversations if you can’t manage them.

Try and keep your chin up, you’ll get there :)

Agreed but, to be fair, they are housing and feeding and providing so maybe they naively assumed this was enough.

Yes, of course talk to your parents! Why wouldn't you? If you don't want to raise it directly, ask them to help you budget or see if they would support you getting a loan and see if they offer.

There are so many horror stories about people getting into spirals of debt with payday loans or credit cards at a young age that 99.99% of parents would do whatever they could to prevent that happening to their child.

@AtTheStream Well said! So many negative comments on this thread.

Just another suggestion: it might be worth approaching your employers about:
(a) meaningful pay rises when certain milestones are met in terms of passing your exams and
(b) asking if you could set up a salary sacrifice scheme whereby they pay your study fees, but deduct the same amount from your pre tax earnings - this would mean you're saving tax and NI (and VAT if charged on your fees). Your employer would also be saving NI from their end, so an incentive for them - a good employer would pass this saving onto their employee..A caveat with this is they must ensure doing this doesn't then bring your salary down to below NMW.

It seems kind of sad that your parents have plenty of money in the bank but they've never offered to help you out and you feel so bad about asking them.

If you were my child I’d be incredibly proud. I wouldn’t want you to struggle and would help. Particularly as you are clearly doing everything you can already and all your time and money is going into your career. You live at home so your parents will know this already. If it makes you feel like a failure then you can always agree a repayment plan as you are working towards higher paid employment. Expenses are high right now and employers haven’t caught up with inflation. We all know we need to help our kids if we can

@Dweetfidilove depends on type of law as sadly lots is country specific!. Don't take my word for it - not a lawyer but have loved ones who are

@concernedchild
this is the reality of professional exams that many don’t see or appreciate!

I was in a similar position 20 years ago.
I’m now “the boss” and we do manage to get level 4 & 7 apprenticeships for most of our trainees, but there is always the odd one that’s too old or has already started!

i would highly recommend also having the same conversation with your employer!

they may not understand the position you are in and may be willing to help with increased salary. (I’ve been on the receiving end of these conversations and been amenable to them!)

are you due a NMW pay rise next month anyway?

Good to know as my nephew is considering it, so we’ll ship him off up north if he decides to go ahead ☺️.

Look at career development loans from the bank. You get a loan and once qualified pay it back. It sounds like it would be perfect for someone like you.