I offer workshops on various financial education topics for different audiences, all tailored to the PhD experience. My workshops are interactive and actionable and require active participation from the attendees; this is a change from previous offerings, which were largely in the lecture and Q&A format. They can be delivered in person or remotely.
If you don’t see the topic you are looking for, please book a call with me or email me ([email protected]) to discuss a custom workshop.
View a list of my previous hosts and/or host and attendee reviews.
For Current Graduate Students and Postdocs
Title: Tax Season Preparation Starts Now for Graduate Students
Description: It’s never too early to start preparing for tax season, especially if you want to minimize your tax liability and avoid penalties and interest. This workshop will help you understand the type(s) of income you receive as a funded graduate student (domestic or international) and how much of it is subject to income tax. You will receive specific action steps to take now to maximize your deductions and during tax season to minimize your stress. Finally, fellowship recipients who are not having income tax withheld from their paychecks will learn how to avoid a large, unexpected tax bill.
Audience: Funded graduate students but especially first-years and those switching onto fellowship for the first time; domestic and international.
Timing: Near the start of the academic year, e.g., during orientation
Title: How to Prevent a Large, Unexpected Tax Bill on Your Fellowship Income
Description: Congratulations on being awarded a fellowship! Don’t let your dream turn into a nightmare next tax season; too many fellowship recipients are surprised by a multi-thousand-dollar tax bill stacked with penalties and interest. When you aren’t having income tax withheld from your fellowship paychecks, it becomes your responsibility to manually pay your income tax bill up to four times per year. During this workshop, you will determine if you are required to make estimated tax payments and calculate your total tax liability for the year. Furthermore, you will learn the best practices for saving up for those payments, how to document your educational expenses to minimize your tax liability, and which tax software is most amenable to fellowship income.
Audience: Graduate students and postdocs who receive fellowship (non-W-2) income, are US citizens/residents, and are not having income tax withheld from their paychecks.
Timing: Near the start of the academic year, e.g., during orientation
Alternative asynchronous option: Quarterly Estimated Tax for Fellowship Recipients
Title: Your Financial Orientation to Graduate School
Description: Your finances will look different in graduate school than they did in undergrad or when you had a full-time job, especially if you are new to the US. This workshop will show you the downstream effects of the type of funding you receive on your time, cash flow, and taxes. You will also learn the best practices for your checking, savings, and investment accounts; managing your credit; and budgeting and frugality. Student loan acquisition, deferment, and repayment will also be discussed.
Audience: First-year graduate students who receive stipends; domestic and international.
Timing: Near the start of the academic year, e.g., during orientation
Title: Demystifying Taxes for Graduate Students (US Citizens/Residents)
Description: Graduate students who receive stipends or salaries are in a niche tax situation, but it need not cause undue stress! Attend this workshop for tailored and actionable tax guidance, whether you received a Form W-2, a Form 1098-T, some other unusual document, or no tax forms at all. The workshop walks you through calculating the taxable portion of your academic income and minimizing your tax liability using your higher education expenses. Special considerations for fellowship recipients and state residency for tax purposes will also be covered. The intended audience for this workshop is graduate students who are US citizens, permanent residents, and residents for tax purposes who have assistantships or fellowships.
Audience: Funded graduate students who are US citizens, permanent residents, and residents for tax purposes
Timing: Tax season, i.e., January to April (February is ideal)
Note: Because of the complexity of this topic, I suggest sponsoring my asynchronous workshop, How to Complete Your Grad Student Tax Return (and Understand It, Too!), for the grad students who want a more in-depth resource and the ability to ask questions of me throughout tax season—likely a minority. I can offer the asynchronous workshop as a follow-on resource to the live workshop at a discounted rate.
Alternative asynchronous options: How to Complete Your PhD Trainee Tax Return (and Understand It, Too!), with versions for US citizen/resident grad students, US citizen/resident postdocs (non-employees), and nonresident grad students/postdocs. More cost-effective for smaller groups.
Title: Demystifying Taxes for Graduate Students (Nonresidents)
Description: As an international grad student receiving a stipend or salary, you likely feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the US tax system. This educational workshop supplements your use of tax software so that you can be confident your return has been prepared correctly. The workshop walks you through understanding your academic income(s) and withholding, applying a tax treaty (if applicable), minimizing your tax liability using your higher education expenses, and filling out the nonresident-specific tax forms. The intended audience for this workshop is graduate students who are nonresidents for tax purposes who have assistantships or fellowships.
Audience: Funded graduate students who are nonresidents for tax purposes
Timing: Tax season, i.e., January to April (February is ideal)
Note: Because of the complexity of this topic, I suggest sponsoring my asynchronous workshop, How to Complete Your Nonresident PhD Trainee Tax Return (and Understand It, Too!), for the grad students who want a more in-depth resource and the ability to ask questions of me throughout tax season—likely a minority. I can offer the asynchronous workshop as a follow-on resource to the live workshop at a discounted rate.
Alternative asynchronous options: How to Complete Your Nonresident PhD Trainee Tax Return (and Understand It, Too!). More cost-effective for smaller groups.
Title: Seven Steps to Start Investing as a Grad Student or Postdoc
Description: Even if you’re financially ready to invest, doing so is not straightforward as a graduate student or postdoc if you don’t have workplace retirement benefits—or even if you do! However, it is possible to invest even very small sums of money—without the investment management becoming a part- time job. This workshop walks you step by step through selecting and funding your first investment account, such as an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA), brokerage account, or workplace-based retirement account. While you will not receive individual investment advice, you will be taught basic principles, learn from your peers’ experiences, and be pointed to follow-up resources.
Audience: Graduate students who receive stipends and/or postdocs; domestic and international.
Timing: Anytime/year-round
Title: How to Set and Achieve Financial Goals as a Graduate Student or Postdoc
Description: Having any savings rate when living on a grad student stipend or postdoc salary is a huge financial accomplishment. You are eager to make the best use of that limited flow of money—but you might be stuck in analysis paralysis. Should you save up cash? Should you pay down debt (even student loans)? Should you invest—and is that possible during PhD training? During this workshop, you will apply an eight-step framework to your own individual finances to identify your next singular financial goal and gain ideas for how to increase your savings rate.
Audience: Graduate students who receive stipends and/or postdocs; domestic and international.
Timing: Anytime/year-round
Title: Expert-Level Budgeting for Graduate Students and Postdocs
Description: Managing your money week by week or day to day can feel like flying by the seat of your pants. However, when you’re living on a grad student stipend or postdoc salary, there’s little room for error. This workshop will show you how to realistically predict your expenses and apply timeless budgeting principles so that you can be confident in your spending choices. You will leave the workshop with a working budget and specific action steps to keep it balanced month after month.
Audience: Graduate students who receive stipends and/or postdocs; domestic and international. (Note: The request for this content must come from the grad students/postdocs themselves. It’s unlikely to be received well if it is chosen by the administration without their input.)
Timing: Anytime/year-round
Title: Strategic Frugality for Grad Students and Postdocs
Description: When it comes to balancing their budgets, grad students and postdocs usually try to pack as much value into as little spending as possible. This workshop will help you determine how to decrease their spending in the most strategic categories for them as individuals. You will receive dozens of realistic frugal ideas, swap strategies with your peers with on-the-ground experience, and leave the workshop having identified concrete changes to make in your spending.
Audience: Graduate students who receive stipends and/or postdocs; domestic and international. (Note: The request for this content must come from the grad students/postdocs themselves. It’s unlikely to be received well if it is chosen by the administration without their input.)
Timing: Anytime/year-round
For Prospective/Rising Graduate Students in Their Application/Admissions Year
Title: Can You Get Paid to Go to Grad School—and Will It Be Enough?
Description: Sufficient financial support is vital for a PhD student to thrive academically and personally, but how can you ensure that you matriculate into such a program? It starts with curating your list of schools and fellowships to apply to with an eye to the finances. This workshop explains the funding models for graduate school (assistantships, fellowships, etc.), why you should apply for external fellowships, and how to identify fellowships. It also shows you how to uncover the stipends for each of the PhD programs on your application list and compare the stipend to the local cost of living.
Audience: Prospective domestic graduate students who expect to receive a stipend, e.g., college seniors, postbacs
Timing: Summer or early fall
Title: Decipher and Negotiate Your Grad School Funding Offer
Description: You’ve received a funded offer of admission to a graduate program—congratulations! But exactly how far will that funding go? This workshop equips you to successfully interpret your offer letters and ask the necessary follow-up questions, including negotiating the offer. Finally, you will be equipped to evaluate whether the offered stipend can sufficiently support you in that city.
Audience: Prospective domestic graduate students who expect to receive a stipend, e.g., college seniors, postbacs
Timing: January to February
Title: How to Start Graduate School on the Right Financial Foot
Description: Graduate school will be a financially challenging period of life, but you can start off on the right financial foot by taking certain steps over the coming months. During and follow this workshop, you will ‘right-size’ your housing and transportation expenses for your grad student budget, plan and save up for your move and start-up expenses, and learn exactly when your first paycheck will arrive and in what amount. By using the months leading up to your matriculation wisely, you will set yourself up for financial success during graduate school.
Audience: Prospective domestic graduate students who expect to receive a stipend, e.g., college seniors, postbacs
Timing: March through early summer
Logistics
I encourage you to consider hosting your workshop(s) in person (I live in San Diego), but I can also facilitate these workshops remotely.
My speaking fee for these one-hour workshops starts at $2,500 for up to 50 participants with a slight escalation for larger groups. I offer a discount on my speaking fee for booking multiple events in a single academic year: two events, 10% discount on both; three events, 20% discount on all; four or more events, 30% discount on all. Travel costs are in addition.
Some of these workshops are available in an asynchronous format (plus live Q&A), which can be more cost-effective for smaller audiences.
Whenever you are ready to discuss the possibility of working together, please book a call with me or email me ([email protected]).
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