If your monthly overhead is overwhelming you, follow Megan Hottman’s tips to cut spending. This is the second article in a series about redefining success and achieving financial freedom. Megan, also known at The Cyclist Lawyer, formed her own law practice in 2010 at age 29. She has been an EO Colorado member since 2018. Check out the other two articles in this series, “Are You in Over Your Head in Overhead?” and “How Low Can You Go?”

As is often the case in personal injury law practices, we can be funding many cases, while going a long time between settlements or verdicts—which means there is no money coming in but plenty going out.

In early 2018, we happened to fall into one of those phases where we had lots of new cases requiring lots of up-front investments in records, experts and filing fees. Meanwhile, we did not have any cases resolving. We went on like this for many months in a row.

My law firm has a healthy line of credit with the bank intended for times just like this. And my house is paid off, so I could borrow against it. Plus, I’ve got a great credit score that would allow me to charge a lot to my credit cards or even to take out a personal loan.

These were all options, yes. Instead, I turned this dry phase into a game. I decided to see just how low I could cut spending. Here are a few of the steps I took to slash my overhead: