Every career has its own expenses. For me, some of the more substantial ones include:
*Bar dues
*Malpractice insurance
*Suits
*Marketing
Unless you're a lawyer practicing solo, your list looks a little different, but the principles behind cutting those expenses probably aren't. Some expenses (for me, bar dues) are pretty well set in stone. If they're a non-negotiable necessity (which keeping my bar membership active is, just like keeping one's driver's license current is for a trucker), all you can really do is sigh and stick it in the budget. But those immutable expenses are the exception, not the rule, I've found.
Instead, I find that most things you need, even for your career, can be gotten more cheaply, or even done without. It's just a question of what you're willing to do to save that money.
Ex: malpractice insurance. Even in KY, there are at least two providers who would LOVE to take my premiums...and this is the way with most products/services that you're going to need in this life. Yes, it takes more time to shop around and get quotes, but the $250/year I save makes it worthwhile to my mind! A lot of things come down to that choice, it seems: do you spend more money or do you spend more time to get what you need? For me, it's usually a pretty easy choice: I do the math. Let's say you earn $10/hr. If it takes you 45 minutes to find a way to cut your bill by $20, it's completely worth it to invest the time. On the other hand, if you make $10/hr, it's probably better to buy a new $10 shirt instead of spending 3 hours trying to fix the one you already have (in case you can't tell from that example, I am a genuinely awful seamstress).
Suits (and clothes in general) seem to be one of those categories where people easily transform a need into a want, much like food. Yes, you need clothing, and if you happen to be a litigator, like I am, you need suits. What you don't need is the latest suit from the runways of Milan (just like you business casual folks don't need the coolest, fanciest thing on the rack either). If you're a suit-wearer, find a good tailor, and then take any nice but too big suit you can find (Goodwill, garage sales, hand-me-downs) and your tailor can make you look like a million bucks. I have ten suits, for which I paid a total of $200 with tailoring. Especially women. Hate to tell you girls, but even if you lost that last ten pounds, clothes off the rack would still look awful and fit funny. Even for biz casual clothes, I think a good tailor is worth his/her weight in gold. Plus, a couple of beautifully tailored outfits are much less expensive than a bunch of ill-fitting clothes, even cheapies.
Marketing is key for any working person, even those who have traditional 9-5 jobs. The most important part of marketing you can do for absolutely free: be outstanding in your field, seek out opportunities to show your excellence (volunteer for high-visibility projects, pursue leadership positions, etc), and develop relationships with all kinds of folks. Talk about your work at the store, at synagogue/church/temple, at the kids' soccer games...not in an ostentatious or pushy way, but the way you'd talk about anything you're passionate about. These relationships are the real reason, in my opinion, that those super-involved community leaders tend to also be successful professionals: they have the network to draw on to help them get where they're going, and they've invested the time and energy in the community whose support they need. If you are going to invest money in marketing, think about putting it where your heart is--part of my marketing budget goes to my brother's high school band, because it's a cause I believe in and because the potential clientele there knows who I am. People often want to buy from someone they feel they "know." And a little goes a long way with local organizations, too.
Having a career has expenses, but they don't have to break you, as long as you're thoughtful about it.
