podcast

Working Hard and Playing Hard as a Grad Student in NYC

November 26, 2018 by Emily Leave a Comment

On this episode, Emily interviews Nicholas Giangreco, a bioinformatics graduate student at the Columbia University Medical Center. Nick’s expenses in Manhattan are relatively high – such as spending over 50% of his net income on rent – but his stipend still allows him to spend on his priorities and still save money consistently. Nick lived very frugally while he was paying off his student loans prior to grad school, and now applies his thoughtful budgeting skills to enjoying life in Manhattan without breaking the bank or detracting from his research.

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0:00 Introduction

1:15 Q1: Please Introduce Yourself

Nick Giangreco is a bioinformatics graduate research assistant at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. He started his program in August 2016. His post-taxes pay is approximately $1,300 biweekly.

2:58 Q2: What are your five largest expenses each month?

Nick’s top expense categories are rent, health, transportation, and food. His miscellaneous and entertainment expenses are considerably low. He uses a spreadsheet to monitor his spending.

3:38 #1 Expense: Rent

Nick lives in a studio apartment located on-campus and managed by the university. He pays $1,200 for his studio, which is lower than nearby off campus studio apartments that are $1,500 to $1,600 rent. Nick recognizes that he could find housing options near campus for less than $1,200 monthly rent. He mentions his friends who share four bedroom apartments and each pay $600 for their room. Finding a place in New York City is challenging. If you don’t find somewhere on Craig’s List, you may need a broker and to pay the broker fee.

Nick says the majority of graduate students live on-campus. To accommodate the demand for on-campus housing, the university has three tiers of priority consideration for housing applicants. The first priority tier is international students, the second tier is students from outside the New York – New Jersey – Connecticut Tri-State area, and the third tier is students from within the Tri-State area.

According to Nick, living on-campus makes graduate student life easier. Nick has a 15 minute walk to work, and he avoids commuting on the subway. The university gives current residents the first priority to renew leases. Nick plans to renew his lease for his on-campus apartment.

11:38 #2 Expense: Health

Nick spends a few hundred dollars per month for pilates sessions. He sees a personal pilates trainer in the West Village and pays $100 per session. He goes to physical therapy and rehabilitation at the hospital at Columbia. The copay is $20, which adds up since he has an appointment every week.

Nick’s health insurance does not cover his pilates session, but he likes his personal trainer and gets value out of the sessions. He first tried going to pilates classes at the university’s gym for no charge, but he was dissatisfied with the generalized approach of group classes. He wanted something personalized for his needs, so it is his priority to budget for pilates classes.

14:23 #3 Expense: Transportation

Nick estimates that he spends $200 to $300 per month on transportation and travel, or as little as $100 in a month if he doesn’t leave New York City. He puts $20 on his subway card and adds as needed. Additionally, he takes taxis and Ubers to get around Manhattan. Though taking a taxi to the JFK airport can be expensive ($70), the subway takes two hours. He uses Amtrak to go to his hometown, but those tickets add up. He also looks for cheap tickets from Megabus.

18:55 #4 Expense: Food

Nick spends less than $200 per week on food. In his studio apartment, he has a kitchenette which has a stove but no oven. He doesn’t buy groceries that require baking. He buys non-perishables and items that keep well. Some of his go-to items are sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and popcorn. He takes out $20 per week in cash for use at the food trucks, which only accept cash. He buys gyros for $5 and coffee for $1 from the food trucks. He goes to restaurants or diners once or twice a week.

Nick looks for free food from graduate school events. He is part of a Slack group for graduate students in the department, where people share information about free food. He eats food at seminars, lectures when alumni are invited, and club events.

Nick’s kitchenette does change how he approaches his food budget. When he lived in Washington, DC, he lived in a house with a kitchen. He used to batch cook on the weekend and set aside portions of leftovers for the week. He would host friends for meals. In New York City, he doesn’t have room to host anyone and can’t cook very much. He microwaves sweet potatoes and makes rice and beans on the stove. He keeps leftovers from events. He doesn’t plan his food for the whole week, instead he plans by the day. Nick thinks he could plan better, but right now he needs to focus on his PhD work so he needs the convenience.

30:35 Low Entertainment Expenses

Nick says there is a lot to do in New York City. He doesn’t spend much money on entertainment because he does a few cheap activities. He goes to clubs and university events. He sees plays for $10 on the Columbia Medical Center campus. He saw Spongebob the Musical for $30. Though Nick has friends who go out for drinks every day, Nick doesn’t buy much alcohol.

33:30 Q3: What are you currently doing to further your financial goals?

Nick recently paid off all his student loans. Before starting his PhD, Nick lived in DC for two years. He lived a very frugal lifestyle, and took two and a half years to pay off his student loans. Now, Nick is working on his rainy day fund so he can create a financial cushion in his budget. He spends about $2,300 per month of his $2,600 monthly income, so he puts the rest to savings.

Nick keeps a budget in google sheets to log his expenses. He wants to become conscious of his spending habits. He is looking into passive investing approaches and learning about retirement. Columbia Medical Center provides graduate students the option to invest with Vanguard. Though there is no matching offer, he determine an amount to withhold out of his biweekly check. He called the financial office and asked explicitly about this retirement program applicability to graduate students, and he is considering it.

Nick tries to save $100 to $200 per month for his rainy day fund, and wants to increase this to $300 to $500 per month.

39:14 Q4: What don’t you spend money on that might surprise people?

Nick doesn’t spend much money on entertainment or alcohol. He takes it seriously that he is in New York City for graduate school, so he prioritizes his studies and his work. He doesn’t go to Brooklyn or the East Side, instead he goes to Central Park for free and finds cheap shows at comedy clubs. He uses the subway because this transit option is $20 to $30 less than taxis and Ubers. He will listen to podcasts while he’s on the subway.

43:07 Q5: What are you happy with in your spending and what would you like to change?

Nick is happy with his food spending and his entertainment spending. He has a social life and indulges in brunch with friends on the weekends. He wishes he could save more on rent, but he doesn’t want the responsibilities that come with living in a house. Landlord, roommates, and housing infrastructure problems add extra stress that he doesn’t want to deal with. He wants to concentrate on graduate school, and his studio apartment helps him focus. He also appreciates the security in his building, the community and the convenience. He lives on-campus and one block away from the subway. Ultimately, the convenience of the location is worth the high rent.

46:42 Q6: What is your best advice for someone new to your city who is budget-conscious?

Nick recommends living on-campus. He thinks the Columbia Medical Center bioinformatics graduate program pays well. He says the initial payment for first years is nearly $20,000 as a lump sum, which needs to be budgeted carefully. The Columbia Marketplace Facebook group is useful to find free and cheap items. The Grad Talk list-serve helps you find out about free and cheap items as well.

Nick says to enjoy yourself without going crazy, and to be mindful. Anyone considering New York City for a PhD program should know that grad school can be intense, New York City can be intense, but this is a time to work really hard while making good friends and good memories. Nick coordinates a Meetup group and leads an NYC chapter of an international organization. New York gives you access to broader networks and opportunities.

51:38 How do you budget your biweekly pay? How does it compare to other pay structures?

Nick used to work at the National Institute of Health in DC, where he monthly check. The biweekly pay does not change how he budgets, instead he enters his income twice a month into a spreadsheet instead of once a month. He had enough cushion money in his account to manage expenses, and knows that he will get another paycheck in two weeks. His spreadsheet helps him keep track.

55:41 Q7: Would you like to make any other comments on what it takes to get by where you live on what you earn?

Nick says it’s a great time to be a graduate student in New York City. So many people like to visit New York City, so it’s great for spontaneous reunions with friends. It’s easy to get out of the city if you want. New York City offers many opportunities, and you’ll interact with people from multiple universities, companies, and form a broad network.

57:48 Conclusion

Even in NYC, This Graduate Student Maintains a Super Frugal Lifestyle

September 24, 2018 by Emily Leave a Comment

In this episode, Emily interviews Athena Pierquet, a rising second-year graduate student at New York University in English. In her first year as a PhD student, Athena lived on her $28,000 per year fellowship and save all of her smaller income sources, but her finances are facing a new challenge as she transitions out of subsidized university housing. Despite living in Manhattan, Athena maintains a very frugal lifestyle, minimizing her spending on groceries, transportation, entertainment, and recreation.

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0:00 Introduction

1:15 Q1: Please Introduce Yourself

Athena is a rising second year PhD student in the Department of English at New York University. She lives in the Manhattan neighborhood Stuyvesant, or Stuy Town. Her overall income was $38,000 from several university sources. Most of her income comes from the MacCracken Fellowship, provided for all NYU PhD students, which was $27,526 this past year. She received a housing stipend of $5,500. Several scholarships and grants made up $4,000 of her income, and short term research contracts made up $1,000 to $2,000.

2:20 How is your income reported for taxes?

For taxes, Athena has to self report the MacCracken Fellowship and her other scholarships to the federal government. The university provides her a 1098-T form for taxes. Her short term research contracts are reported on W-2, but these are a minor part of her income.

4:08 Q2: What are your five largest expenses each month?

Athena’s five largest expenses are rent, food, books and supplies, incidentals, and going out for fun.

4:28 #1 Expense: Rent

Athena pays $1,100 per month for rent. This cost includes all utilities, except for internet. She shares a two-bedroom apartment in Stuy Town with another first year NYU PhD student. The market rate for her apartment is $3,500 per month, but since the apartment is in a university housing complex, the cost is subsidized by the university. However, university housing is only available to first year PhD students, so Athena is searching for new housing in Manhattan.

For her new housing search, Athena’s budget is $1,200 to $1,300 for a room in a three or four bedroom apartment. NYU will continue to provide a housing stipend of $5,500 during her second year, but in subsequent years the housing stipend will be replaced with income from teaching classes. In general, her income does not increase to cover the new housing costs.

Athena saved much of her income from her first year in anticipation of her move into the cut throat Manhattan housing market. To get an apartment in Manhattan, she needs $3,000 to $5,000 available. Securing an apartment requires payment deposits for first month’s rent and last month’s rent.

9:57 #2 Expense: Food

Athena’s food budget is $100 per week. This category broadly covers anything she purchases to eat. She includes groceries, coffee shops, restaurants, and take-out in her weekly food budget. She plans out her meals and makes grocery shopping a priority. She makes almost all of her food at home and describes some of her meals, such as fully loaded oatmeal and hearty, entree salads. Athena eats at restaurants only two or three times each semester. She has several frugal tips for going to restaurants in Manhattan and getting free food from NYU events.

20:30 #3 Expense: Books and Course Supplies

Athena’s spending on books and course supplies is about $300 per semester. Her expenses for books and course supplies are considered non-taxable income. As a literature student, she needs many books for her work. She estimates that if she bought every book she needed or wanted, she would be spending thousands of dollars. She frequently borrows from the library, gets used books, and finds resources online. Nonetheless, this was tricky to budget for because of different needs for different courses.

24:29 #4 Expense: Incidentals

Athena budgeted for unexpected expenses, which she describes as the impulsive book purchase, miscellaneous fees, and spontaneous entertainment. Since she set her budget week by week, she intentionally put $45 each week for incidentals. Typically, she only had one or two unexpected expenses each month. The miscellaneous category is a place to lose money if you’re not careful, in Athena’s opinion.

27:29 Problems budgeting for taxes while on a fellowship

Athena later learned that the $45 per week that she budgeted for incidentals was really what she needed for taxes. When Athena began first year of graduate school, she didn’t know how much to set aside for taxes. NYU does not withhold taxes for U.S. citizens in their PhD programs, so it was Athena’s responsibility to estimate how much she might owe in taxes and plan for tax season. This is a challenge faced by many PhD students receiving fellowship funding.

Further reading: The Complete Guide to Quarterly Estimated Tax for Fellowship Recipients

30:47 #5 Expense: Going Out for Fun

Athena budgeted $20 per week for going out, and spent $280 over one semester on happy hours and other social events. She went to bars with friends about once or twice a month for happy hour, where she would socialize for two or three hours. In her budget, Athena distinguishes drinks at a bar or restaurant from purchasing a bottle of wine or six pack from the store. She notes that at NYU, she has plenty of opportunities to enjoy free drinks and free food at events sponsored by the institution.

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34:36 Q3: What are you currently doing to further your financial goals?

Athena tries her best to live within her means. She only lives off of the MacCracken fellowship, about $28,000, which is her only guaranteed income source for 5 years. She puts her other fluctuating funding sources into savings and does not create her budget from it. Athena has a healthy cash savings account, and every now and then she moves it into an investment account with Vanguard for retirement and index funds that could be used for major purchases in 20 to 40 years. She needs her cash savings for her new apartment, new furniture, and irregular expenses.

38:19 Q4: What don’t you spend money on that might surprise people?

Athena doesn’t spend money on transportation. If it’s less than an hour walk, she will walk to the distance. The $2.75 to take the subway or bus is better spend on coffee, in her opinion. She won’t take cabs or ride share unless she absolutely has to.

She makes use of public spaces with internet access and working spaces, like the New York Public Library. Some people pay memberships to writers’ rooms and co-working spaces, or even a desk at home, but Athena has a list of go-to public spaces to work remotely.

Additionally, Athena doesn’t have a gym membership, and she won’t go to exercise classes. She avoids shopping and costly activities. Though she’s surrounded by high income earners in Manhattan, she reminds herself that she has more important priorities than the high expense lifestyle.

43:56 Q5: What are you happy with in your spending and what would you like to change?

Athena would like to change how she tracks her cash spending. Since some places are cash only, and some only take cards, Athena finds it tricky to document all of her expenditures.

She’s happy with how little she spends on exercise activities. Athena is a long distance runner, so she makes use of the long trails and paths throughout New York City. She has a deeply discounted New York Roadrunners membership, and recommends that others look into student discounts.

47:36 Q6: What is your best financial advice for a new PhD student at NYU who is budget-conscious?

First, Athena says that budgeting and spending conservatively is absolutely a must. Many daily necessities, like laundry and groceries, are more expensive than you might expect.

Second, she says do not buy in bulk! Buying only what you need will save money in the long term, as well as save space in small apartments.

51:17 Find out your summer funding situation

Athena recommends being aware of how you will be funded through the summer. In some cases, you will receive payments for only the nine months of the academic year. Some refer to the first summer after graduate school as the “summer of poverty,” so think about this when you get your offer letter. You may need to save during the academic year to get through the summer, or find summer work. Make plans at the beginning of the academic year.

Further reading: How to Financially Navigate an Summer

52:49 Q7: Would you like to make any other comments on what it takes to get by where you live on what you earn?

Athena says you need to be honest about your financial situation. Seeing wealth around you in NYC does not mean you need to spend like that too, or emulate what you see people doing around you. Athena takes the initiative to suggest more frugal activities, like going to coffee or happy hour instead of more costly brunches and dinners.

Athena does an end of the semester assessment of her budget that she finds highly valuable. She evaluates how she spent her money and considers how she can do better the next semester. It can be difficult to anticipate how expensive things will be ahead of time, so she has gone through a process to try things out and reassess her expenses.

58:00 Conclusion

This PhD Student Paid Off $62,000 in Undergrad Student Loans Prior to Graduation

September 10, 2018 by Emily 1 Comment

In this episode, Emily interviews Dr. Jenni Rinker, a mechanical engineering PhD currently working as a researcher at the Denmark Technical University. Jenni paid of $62,000 of student loans from her undergraduate degree while pursuing her PhD at Duke University. Her average payment was approximately $1,500 per month on a post-tax income of $2,700-$3,000 per month. Jenni shares her motivation for setting her lofty debt repayment goal and the practical strategies she used to accomplish it. After paying off her student loans, Jenni even saved enough money to take six months off from work post-defense.

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Links mentioned in episode

0:00 Introduction

1:10 Please Introduce Yourself

Dr. Jenni Rinker is a postdoc researcher at the Denmark Technical University. She attended Harvey Mudd University for undergraduate studies in engineering then went to Duke University for graduate studies. Her PhD is in Mechanical Engineering.

2:28 We’re talking today about your debt repayment journey. Can you tell us about this?

After undergrad at Harvey Mudd in 2011, Jenni had $62,000 student loan debt. She set the goal to repay the full debt during her PhD. She accomplished this goal, paying off the debt in 3 years and 7 months.

3:48 Can you tell us more about what kinds of loans you had?

Jenni kept a spreadsheet, a valuable tool that she used to track her debt repayment. She only had the option of unsubsidized student loans because she comes from a middle class household. At the time she started graduate school in September 2011, Jenni had $62,00 total from nine different loans. Federal student loans from Sallie Mae and Nelnet made up $28,000, at 6.8% interest rates. Jenni’s private student loans came to $34,000 total. Her single largest loan was from Alaska Advantage, a loan of $8,500 at 7.3% interest. She had several low interest (3-4%) private loans from Wells Fargo.

5:54 What was your income during your PhD?

Overall, Jenni’s post-tax income varied from $2,700 to $3,000 per month throughout her PhD. Before she started graduate school, Jenni was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship provides an annual income of $34,000 for 3 years. When she started, Duke University offered her income in addition to her NSF fellowship. After the NSF fellowship period ended, Jenni won another external fellowship through the Office of Science that offered $3,000 per month.

However, Jenni started graduate school in debt and did not have any savings or assets she could use to reduce her debt.

10:50 Why were you so determined to pay off student loans during grad school?

Although student loan repayment could have been deferred while she was in graduate school, Jenni was uncomfortable with debt and letting interest accrue. She thought that keeping the debt would limit her choices after graduate school. The student loans felt like a weight over her head that was growing every day, and she wanted the freedom that would come after debt repayment.

Jenni decisively started paying off her student loans as soon as she started graduate school. She saw that her income was higher than her monthly expenses, so she made it her priority.

13:53 How did you pay off your student loans?

Jenni committed to her financial philosophy that the money earned from her job goes to rent, utilities, food, loans and other essential expenses first and foremost. Money for her other interests had to come from side income. Jenni earned extra income as a technical copyeditor. She had private clients and worked for the American Journal Experts. She funded several trips from her side income.

Spreadsheets were Jenni’s most important tool. She had a spreadsheet for each year, where each month had a tab. She calculated that $1,300 per month needed to be budgeted for student loans in order to pay off the debt in 4 years. Her living costs, the “monthly nut,” were $800 to $900 per month. She kept frugal habits, such as rarely going out to dinner.

Jenni implemented the strategy of paying herself first. Right after receiving her paycheck, she made her loan payment so the $1,300 was out of her account immediately and she wouldn’t be tempted to use it elsewhere. However, Jenni paid her student loans instead of building up her emergency fund, which was drained after she needed a car repair.

Jenni paid her loans manually, so she could pay the highest interest loans first. Her biggest loan also had the highest interest rate, so she prioritized this one first. Though she had nine different loans, she focused on paying off one loan completely before paying towards another loan.

Her story is an example of the debt avalanche method. Jenni prioritized bigger loans with higher interest to pay off first. She was motivated by paying as little interest as possible. This is in contrast to the debt snowball method, where a person pays off the smallest loans first, to feel motivated by these easy wins.

Jenni also identified where she overspends. She would take out cash to be more aware of her expenses.

28:23 Did you have any speed bumps during your debt repayment journey?

Though Jenni had one instance where she paid for car repairs, she feels like she got lucky with no major financial setbacks. Paying her student loans was her highest priority, and she ended up paying about $1,500 per month on average over three years and seven months. She paid her loans back faster than she expected.

29:53 How did you feel after paying off your student loans? Did anything change in your life?

Jenni realizes that this is an unusual accomplishment. She posted on Facebook and got many congratulations. At the time she made the final student loan payment, Jenni was still working on her dissertation.

She was so used to immediately using $1,300 for student loans, that she started saving that amount each month for travel. After she defended her PhD, she had stress-free travel for 6 months. She went to Patagonia, Europe, and traveled around the United States. Jenni already had a job lined up, so her travel was a true vacation to celebrate finishing her PhD and repaying her undergraduate debt. Jenni learned that traveling is very important to her, so this experience rejuvenated her and put her in the right mindset to start her postdoc.

34:30 Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Jenni wishes she had rebuilt her emergency fund after she drained it for her car repair. Overall, she’s satisfied with her debt repayment journey. She balanced frugality with having a good quality of life.

During debt repayment, Jenni allowed herself flexibility for how much she paid every month. In the beginning, her repayment was more aggressive but she relaxed as time went on. She knew that in an emergency, her family could support her and she could pay her parents back for financial help in a tough situation.

38:14 Did this experience affect how you approach personal finance?

When Jenni moved to Denmark, she stopped tracking her daily expenses so carefully and has allowed herself to indulge in treats and go to cafes.

However, her budget spreadsheet is still her most valuable tool. She created her own spreadsheet template that makes sense to her. Jenni briefly considered using software budgeting tools like Mint, but never ended up trying one out. By using her own spreadsheet that she updates manually, she feels like she has more control of her budget. This manual system forces her to actively consider how she’s spending her money.

43:00 What advice would you give to someone starting graduate school with student loans?

First, Jenni recommends that graduate students with student loans set realistic goals. Your income must be more than your expenses, and you still need to have a good quality of life. Figure out your “monthly nut” and compare it to your income. Then, identify your problem areas in your expenses.

Second, she encourages graduate students to reevaluate their financial strategies. As graduate students, we have to educate ourselves about finance and learn from our mistakes. If your financial strategy is unsustainable, you can change it.

46:37 Final Comments

Jenni’s inspiring story is applicable to anyone in any kind of debt repayment scenario. The financial strategies Jenni used can help graduate students pay off their own student loan debt.

47:47 Conclusion

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This Grad Student in DC Prioritizes Living Alone and Investing in Mental Health

August 27, 2018 by Emily Leave a Comment

In this episode, Emily interviews Christina Padilla, a PhD candidate at Georgetown University in human development and public policy earning $38,000 per year. Christina shares her top five expenses as a DC resident: rent, groceries, eating and drinking out, regular monthly expenses (i.e., phone, internet), and the copay for her therapist. They discuss Christina’s tips on leveling up her housing, meal planning, living car-free, and finding frugal fun in the city.

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0:00 Introduction

1:18 Q1: Please Introduce Yourself

Christina Padilla is a PhD candidate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She is in the psychology department, and specifically in the human development and public policy program. Her research focuses on early childhood, parenting, and early education.

Christina completed her undergraduate studies in Baltimore before taking a 2-year research position at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the D.C. area, and then stayed for graduate school.

3:11 Q2: What are the top expenses that you have, either in a typical month or in the last month?

Christina’s top five expenses per month are rent, groceries, eating and drinking out, other regularly occurring monthly expenses like phone and internet access, and a copay for therapy, which she started in the fall.

4:15 Expense #1: Rent

Her first year at the NIH, Christina lived in Maryland because it was closer to her lab and her rent was only $600-$700 plus utilities, but she hated being so far outside the city. In her second year at the NIH, she moved to a group house and paid $800 a month. However, it was a very old house and required Christina to have four roommates. She lived there for three years, including her first two years of graduate school, and then decided it was worth it to live by herself. She had saved money to be able to live in a studio.

Now, Christina is budgeting with an income of $38,000 for the fall 2017 through the summer; after that, her funding situation is uncertain. She allocates $2,700 per month, and of that, rent is $1,350. For a place in D.C., that is not very expensive. Christina lives alone in a rent-controlled studio apartment in a very desirable area outside of Dupont Circle.

Transportation was once one of Christina’s top expenses, and she would spend $150 a month to get to and from campus. She does not own a car: all the costs were for public transportation. At present, she is able to walk to campus, and now spends about $40 every other month on Metro costs. Georgetown also has a free shuttle between the area she lives and the university campus.

9:13 Is the building that you’re living in popular with students?

Another graduate student living in the building recommended it to Christina when she moved out, but Christina took a different unit because the cost was significantly less due to rent control factors. A number of other Georgetown students do live in the building; there are quite a lot of young people and quite a lot of long-term residents, but very few people in between.

11:43 Expense #2: Groceries

Christina spends about $200 per month on groceries on average. Unless she is going to a social event, she tries to cook all of her meals at home instead of ordering out. Christina has a small kitchen, which it is in a separate room from the rest of the apartment. She does not have a dishwasher or garbage disposal, but all other major appliances are included.

13:11 Have you always tried to cook at home, or is that something you decided to do along the way?

Cooking dinner at home is a habit Christina has always had; eating out was only for special occasions, rather than a casual habit. Even when she was at the NIH, she would cook every day. Her savings enabled her to take a lengthy trip to Europe before starting graduate school—Christina and another woman compared their spending and found that a major factor in Christina’s savings for the trip was that she was not ordering out, and the other woman was ordering food almost every day.

16:17 Do you have any comments on how you keep food costs down in a high cost of living area?

Christina also allocates $200 per month for eating out, but her ability to stay within both budgets was enhanced when she started meal planning. Planning meals for a week and only buying what’s necessary for that week has helped her stay within her budget. Christina enjoys cooking, and so cooking food and freezing it is both relaxing and budget-friendly.

On Sundays, Christina will make breakfast and lunch for at least Monday through Wednesday, and cook again on Wednesdays. Previously, she would try to prepare meals one day ahead of time but would often find that she was too tired or busy to do so, and ended up having to cook in the morning or buy meals. By planning meals ahead and cooking in bulk, Christina saves herself money and time.

19:13 Expense #3: Eating and Drinking Out

Christina sometimes feels that $200 per month for eating and drinking out may be high, but acknowledges that D.C. is an expensive city to eat in—one brunch could cost $50 or $60. Brunch and happy hours are both popular in the city, and the costs of each can add up. The $200 also includes going out for celebrations and other social events. Christina avoids going out to eat unless it is with other people so that it stays a treat instead of becoming an expensive habit.

21:21 Expense #4: Other Regular Monthly Expenses

Other regular monthly expenses make up the fourth largest category for Christina, which amount to about $100 per month. She pays $35 each month for her phone, $43 for internet access, $13 for dental insurance, and $5 for Spotify, which is cheaper with a student membership. The cell phone price is for the cost of the actual phone; the one thing Christina’s parents still pay for is Verizon service.

22:12 Expense #5: Therapy Co-Pays

In the fall, Christina was having a difficult time with her dissertation. The $200 per month she now spends on co-pays were originally going into savings and have transitioned into payment for counseling. Christina mentions that all graduate students need support but sometimes struggle with talking about it or feeling justified in seeking out help, and enjoys talking about counseling to help de-stigmatize it. She considers it an investment in herself and getting through graduate school in one piece.

23:24 Will you be finishing grad school soon?

Christina has an external fellowship for $30,000 for two years, and her department gave her an extra $8,000 to match everyone else’s stipends. She will continue to receive the $30,000 stipend but does not know whether her department will award the $8,000 again. She hopes to finish in January of 2019. She may drop her counseling sessions to once or twice a month instead of each week.

25:33 Q3: What financial goals are you working on?

In addition to the five categories and other spending, Christina saves at least $200 per month. $100 goes into a mutual fund with Schwab and $100 goes into a Roth IRA that she set up last year.

Christina does not get a very good interest rate on her savings account and chose to invest in a mutual fund because of an episode of the John Oliver Show “Last Week Tonight,” from which she learned it would be a good option for her savings goals. She has not decided whether to use it for a mid-life expense or for long-term savings, such as a down payment on a house or for retirement.

28:03 Q4: What don’t you spend that much money on that might surprise people?

People are often surprised by how little Christina goes out to eat. Many people in graduate school tend to order in a lot for convenience. However, many people bring lunch to campus, so Christina regularly eats lunch with other people in her lab, and bringing food has not been an isolating experience.

29:24 Q5: What are you happy with in your current spending and what would you like to change?

Christina is overall happy that she is staying afloat and able to save money even though she lives in an expensive city. Many of her friends have “real” jobs where they make more money, and it is hard to compare herself to them, but she is pleased with being able to save at all. She tries to think positively about being paid to get a degree and be happy that a stipend is available, that tuition is covered, and that she has no student loan debt.

31:43 What advice would you have for someone who is starting in their first year at Georgetown?

Christina’s number one piece of advice is to be honest and reflective with yourself about your priorities in terms of housing. It’s not always possible to live in a luxury building in a great location without roommates and have low rent. There are housing options for all priorities, but you have to be honest about what you want and to be ready to make sacrifices in terms of money, location, or roommates. A lot of people live outside D.C. in Virginia or in Maryland, but many of those areas have become as expensive as D.C., so comparing prices is important.

Georgetown does not offer much graduate student housing, and what’s available is about equally expensive as other housing options if not more. Georgetown does provide shuttles, however, because the campus is not connected to the Metro line.

35:30 Any closing thoughts or other comments about living in D.C. on $38,000 per year?

D.C. has a lot of free activities, especially in the summer. There are many free outdoor concerts, and all of the D.C. museums and monuments are free to visit.

No matter where you live, setting a budget and sticking to it is immensely helpful. Christina uses the free version an app called Good Budget, which allows you to create spending categories and record your transactions. The app will show a green bar decreasing as you spend throughout the month. Christina found that Mint was not helpful for her in curbing her spending and now uses Good Budget instead.

Trying to keep up with people who have “real” jobs and salaries is impossible, but it is possible to politely take charge of social situations. For example, Christina recommends offering to choose the restaurant where friends will gather and selecting a lower-cost option. Other people may not recognize that their budget constraints might be looser than a graduate student’s.

Christina opts for casually steering events with friends towards more affordable activities, and will occasionally decline to go to things if they are too expensive. She has found that most people are fairly sensitive to graduate student budgets and have no problem with less expensive activities and options.

40:13 Conclusion

Serving as a Resident Advisor Freed this Graduate Student from Financial Stress

August 13, 2018 by Emily Leave a Comment

This episode’s money story features an interview with Adrian Gallo, a PhD student at Oregon State University. Adrian serves as a resident advisor in a fraternity house close to campus. For most of his four years in the role, it was a dream side hustle: high-paying (in defrayed costs), low time commitment, and personally gratifying. However, when the house experienced a calamity, the time he had to spend in the role rocketed up; his research suffered, and he had to have difficult conversations with his advisor. We discuss the pros and cons of side hustles generally and resident advisor roles in particular, including how this side hustle frees Adrian from the financial stress some of his peers experience.

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Links mentioned in episode

0:00 Introduction

1:06 Please Introduce Yourself

Adrian Gallo is a fifth year at Oregon State studying carbon cycling. He also hosts a radio show, Inspiration Dissemination, which interviews grad students about research and their path to grad school.

2:45 What is the scope of your role as a resident advisor?

Adrian started as a resident advisor concurrently with starting grad school. His contractual obligations are minimal: he is a liaison between undergraduates and landlords and responsible for dealing with big-picture items, such as replacing appliances.

The role is in a fraternity house; Adrian is also a member from his undergraduate years. He knew the possibility for growth inherent in participating in this fraternity, so he decided to also serve as a mentor to the fraternity members. He helps with big-picture planning such as five-year goals.

The time commitment of the role fluctuates throughout the academic year and has also varied year-to-year. When the fraternity leadership was running well, Adrian didn’t do as much, but he became more involved when it was warranted.

On average, the time commitment of the position is 2-3 hours per week, which includes two hour-long meetings. Typically, he chats with the kitchen manager or house director as well a few times. On the ‘big’ weeks, the job has taken 20+ hours.

7:33 What pay and/or benefits do you receive for the role?

Adrian doesn’t pay rent (the average rent in Corvalis is $500 to $700+) and lives very close to campus so it is quite convenient to get to and from campus. He has two bedrooms in the fraternity house (one serves as his office) and his own washer/dryer. Utilities and a parking spot are included.

He also receives food service during the academic year: breakfast, lunch, and dinner five days per week. He can get to and from the house and eat a pre-prepared meal in just an hour lunch break. This is an amazing degree of time savings.

10:09 How did you land this resident advisor position?

Adrian initially inquired with the local fraternity chapter about finding a place to live and a roommate. Instead, they offered him the resident advisor position, which he though was outlandish. He was nervous about living in a fraternity house with approximately 50 college students. However, after a few phone conversations, he decided to give the position a try for a year. After one year in the position, he realized he really enjoyed the role and had found a home.

13:41 How do you make sure you’re fulfilling the expectations of you as a graduate student while holding this side position?

At first, there was no problem as the time commitment was so low.

Last year, 10 rooms in the house flooded and the floors had to be removed. The damage was so extensive that it couldn’t be fixed right away, which deprived everyone of sleep and wore them down.

Adrian had to spend significant time dealing with contractors (all day on the phone) and contacting the landlords, which kept him out of the lab for some time. He wishes he had asked for help from the student leadership in dealing with this situation much earlier as the time management was so difficult.

17:00 Did you let your advisor and co-workers know what was going on during the house disaster?

For about a week and a half, Adrian wasn’t at work and finally his advisor initiated a conversation with him about what was going on, at which point Adrian filled him in. He wishes he had been more forthcoming.

Adrian’s advisor knew about the position and that he was able to balance the roles well for the first two years. His advisor started to question whether the resident advisor role was compatible with Adrian’s role as a graduate student.

Ultimately the floor repair took approximately 2.5 months. Adrian learned more than he ever expected to about working with contractors, repairs, etc. The time commitment was very intense at the beginning but tapered over time.

22:22 How did you decide to stay in the resident advisor role and also convince your advisor that it was a good idea?

Adrian finds witnessing and facilitating the growth of the undergraduate fraternity members so fulfilling that he didn’t seriously consider resigning his position. Another job wouldn’t compare to the resident advisor role.

25:10 Have you received any additional intangible benefits aside from the mentorship that you’ve found fulfilling?

Staying in close contact with the undergraduates helps Adrian in his teaching role because he can make relevant references, which his students find engaging.

27:28 What might cause you to resign this position?

Adrian had second thoughts about the position during the flooding situation, particularly because he couldn’t sleep in the house with the soundproofing missing. The sleep deprivation really got to him; he couldn’t think or work well.

30:30 Do you think you’ll continue with the role even through writing your dissertation?

Adrian already has written his master’s thesis while in the resident advisor role and actually found it helpful to live in the fraternity house. He would come out of his office mentally exhausted and find refreshment in the escape of interacting with the undergraduates. This approach isn’t for everyone, but it worked well for Adrian.

33:28 How has your role as a resident advisor affected your finances?

Adrian paid off his student loans from his undergraduate degree and bought a car. He bought a nice mountain bike, which bring him a lot of joy and health benefits.

The chief intangible benefit is that he doesn’t have to feel concerned about his finances. Many of his friends have to budget very tightly to make it on their stipends. In contrast, Adrian can absorb unexpected expenses without worrying.

As an undergraduate paying his way through college, Adrian found concern about finances to be a constant cloud over his head, but it’s not something he experiences any longer thanks to his side hustle. The resident advisor role frees Adrian from the constant cloud of financial stress in exchange for (usually) only a few hours per week.

The benefits of this role have on balance been very much worth the time put in, even though he went through the tough period during the renovation. Thankfully, his advisor was ultimately supportive.

Resident advising is a great solution to the problem of insufficient stipends, and often comes with the side benefit of mentoring students.

41:15 Final comments

There are a few other graduate students serving as resident advisors to the fraternities and sororities, including two who had not previously been involved in the Greek system. A social scientist might find it very interesting, and in fact the person who held the role prior to Adrian used observations from her resident advisor role in her dissertation.

Try serving as a resident advisor out! Being willing to experiment with this role has enabled Adrian to make significant financial progress during graduate school. What’s the worst that could happen by saying “yes” for a year?

Undergraduates are worth getting to know as well (networking)!

36:40 Conclusion

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Dual PhD Couple in Seattle Spending $20k/Year on Rent

July 23, 2018 by Emily Leave a Comment

In this episode, I break down my own budget from 2017. My husband and I earn about $100,000 per year and live in Seattle, WA with our two small children. I detail our top five expenses (rent, groceries, travel, kid spending, and transportation) as well as the financial goals that we’re currently working toward. I give some advice for a budget-conscious person moving to Seattle. Finally, I share what it’s like to be a renter in Seattle’s rapidly inflating housing market, spending nearly $20,000 per year on rent and feeling shut out of the housing market.

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Links mentioned in episode

1:05 Q1: Where do you live and what is your income?

My husband, Kyle, and I live in Seattle, WA, with our two daughters, a 2-year-old and a newborn. We moved here in 2015 for Kyle to take a job at a biotech start-up. I am self-employed; Personal Finance for PhDs is my main business, and I also have a side hustle. Our household income in 2017 was around $100,000.

Further reading:

1:40 Budgeting Background Info

Kyle and I practice percentage-based budgeting, which means that from our gross income we:
- Pay income and FICA tax
  - through payroll deductions on Kyle’s income.
  - through quarterly estimated tax on my self-employment income.
- Tithe (donate 10% to our church).
- Save into retirement accounts (20% in 2018, 18% in 2017).
We live on one income. Kyle earns most of household income and has a regular salary, so we base our budget entirely off of his income after the percentage-based allocations. All of my income after the percentage-based allocations goes to savings. This helped a lot when my self-employment income was irregular, although now I pay myself a salary.
We budget for our regular (monthly) and irregular (yearly) expenses. More details about this system can be found in Season 1 Episode 1.

Further reading: How to Pay Tax on Your PhD Side Hustle

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4:19 Q2: What are your five largest expenses each month?

Our total spending in 2017 was approximately $47,500 (excluding the above percentage-based allocations and health insurance premium paid as a payroll deduction).

5:09 #1 Expense: Rent

In 2017, we spent $18,870 on rent, which is a monthly average $1,570 and 40% of our total spending.

Our rent went from $1495 per month to $1645 per month.

We live inside Seattle city limits. Our apartment in older building with no amenities. The apartment is approximately 850 square feet and has two bedrooms and one bathroom. We chose the apartment based almost solely on location and price.

When we next move, we definitely want to get a place with a dishwasher! Our kitchen is pretty small. We cook and eat in a lot and with two little kids so we wash a lot of dishes every day.

6:38 #2 Expense: Groceries and Household Consumables

In 2017, we spent $7,733.54 on groceries and household consumables, which is a monthly average of $644.46 and 16% of our total spending.

This amount of spending feels high to me, and this is a category that I keep a close eye on.

We meal plan, eat virtually every meal out of our own kitchen, and usually buy food on the less processed side of the spectrum. We shop mostly at Costco and Fred Meyer and also a little at QFC. We don’t seek out organic or similar food except when we buy directly from the from farmer’s market.

Most likely the reason we spend a lot in this category is simply that we eat a lot, and the food we eat is on the more expensive side of the spectrum. These days, we alternate between eating low carb/Whole30-ish and eating the standard American diet, which means we are consistently eating meat and often dairy, which are both more expensive categories.

Our typical meals are:

Breakfast: Egg casserole with sausage, sweet potato, onion, and spinach.
Lunch: Chicken yellow curry, chili, sausage and eggplant hash, fish plus sautéed spinach or zucchini.
Dinner: Meat with vegetable, e.g., balsamic vinegar chicken and roasted asparagus. Kyle’s favorite meal: Brussels sprouts bowls. One of my favorite meals: Mexican breakfast bowls.
Snack: PB and almonds

Our toddler is a very good eater. We followed the baby led weaning technique, and now she eats the food we do plus more milk, fruit, and cheese.

9:57 #3 Expense: Travel

In 2017, we spent $3,482.47 on travel, which is a monthly average of $290.21 and 7% of our total spending.

I was surprised that travel ended up in our top 5 because I perceive that we travel much less than before we had children.

In 2017 we traveled on five occasions: two weddings, our 10-year college reunion, a memorial service, and to one of our parents’ homes for Christmas.

In addition to the flights, on various of these trips we paid for hotels, rental cars, meals, entertainment, and registration.

We definitely spend more per trip than when we were in grad school. Flying with a baby has spurred us to take direct flights at convenient times of day instead of purchasing the lowest fare available.

Our current frugal practice regarding travel is to rewards credit cards; we currently have the Alaska Airlines credit card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.

12:10 #4 Expense: Miscellaneous Kid Spending

In 2017, we spent $2,688.66 on miscellaneous expenses for our oldest daughter, which is a monthly average of $224.06 and 6% of our total income.

This is the category I have the least handle on as it is so unpredictable.

Our one regular expense included in this category was preschool tuition, but that only applied for a few months

Our spending out of this category was all over the place

Medical copays, occupational therapy copays, breastfeeding medicine.
Travel car seat and travel stroller (in addition to the ones we use at home).
Bookcase, mattresses for grandparents’ houses, jacket, and teether.
Toddler class at the local community center and zoo membership

This is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants category.

I was surprised these miscellaneous kid expenses as a category cracked top 5 because our first-time-parent start-up expenses hit in 2016.

14:30 #5: Transportation

In 2017, we spent $2385.77, which is a monthly average of $197.98 and 5% of our total spending.

I really thought transportation expenses wouldn’t be in our top five; low transportation spending is a point of pride for me!

It turns out that 30% of the spending was from our regular monthly budget, and 70% was from our irregular expenses budget. Our regular expenses included gas and parking, whereas our irregular expenses included car insurance, registration, and maintentance.

We own one older car and don’t use it for commuting. Kyle has a sub-10 minute bike commute and I work from home. We generally just use the car for errands, activities with the kids, church, grocery shopping, etc.

Those irregular expenses hit in only 3 months of the entire year, which is why I sort of forgot about them. We pay our car insurance once every 6 months, and it’s inexpensive. We spent over $1000 in car repairs/maintenance in 2017, which was unusually high and not a yearly occurrence.

All of our top 5 expense categories together accounted for 74% of total yearly spending.

17:20 Q3: What are you currently doing to further your financial goals?

1: Retirement Savings

We save a fixed 20% of our gross income into our retirement accounts.

We actually don’t use Kyle’s 401(k) through work at all because of high fees. Instead, we put our retirement savings into our two Roth IRAs and my individual 401(k), which we had total control over. Kyle’s 401(k) is the account of last resort because there is no match.

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2: Down Payment Savings

In 2017, we saved 21.7% of my income and all of our self-tax refund for a down payment on a home.

Further reading: Creating Our Self-Tax Refund

In early 2018, paused our down payment savings to save into a fund to help with expenses and lost income associated with the birth of our 2nd daughter’s.

Once those expenses have settled, we’ll resume saving for our down payment. In the remainder of 2018, we plan to save a fixed rate from Kyle’s income plus 22.7% of my income.

Our initial down payment goal was $60,000, but now that we’re getting close to that number, we want to keep saving and perhaps make $100,000 our next goal. We’re not necessarily shooting for a 20% down payment, but having a lot of money available for the down payment, other fees and expenses, and moving costs will be good.

3: Kids’ College

We save a nominal amount of money toward our children’s college expenses. We plan to hit this goal harder after we buy our first home.

4: Paying Down Student Loan Debt

We are currently making only the minimum payments on a standard 10-year repayment plan on my student loans. Episode 1 explains why we have not yet paid off these loans. However, as of the day of the recording, we received an update on the loans and decided to pay them off completely.

20:47 Q4: What don’t you spend money on that might surprise people?

1: Kid Expenses

A: Childcare

We don’t spend much money on childcare because of the way we have structured our life. Kyle has a regular job, and I’m self- employed. I’m also our children’s primary daytime caregiver. I work when Kyle is home with the kids and when they are sleeping. In 2017, I worked around 20 hours per week with this system. When I travel for speaking engagements, we hire sitters through a service we subscribe to, but this is irregular. We don’t have any regular childcare as of now. We are considering hiring a part-time nanny this fall since we now have two kids to help keep my work hours up.

B: Diapering and Clothing

We cloth diaper, which means we paid a bunch of money for diapers in 2016 but not in 2017. We use disposable diapers when we travel and disposable wipes sometimes.

Further reading: Cloth Diapering in an Apartment

We didn’t have to spend any money on clothes in 2017. The communities we’re plugged into gave us lots of gifts, hand-me-downs, and borrowed clothes.

Further reading: Outfitting Our Baby with Hand-Me-Down, Borrowed, and Used Stuff

When we buy stuff for our kids, we often look to the secondhand market first.

2: Eating Out

We only spent $254.38 on eating out in 2017, which is an average of $21.20 per month. This is a shockingly low figure to me. Since having our first child, we basically don’t go out to eat or get take-out any more!

We don’t drink coffee, which many people pay for out of the house.

Kyle does buy a beer at occasional happy hours with his coworkers, which probably accounts for a good fraction of the spending in this category. I’m in a non-drinking phase of life due to breastfeeding and pregnancy.

3: Entertainment

Our only recurring entertainment expense is Netflix. We are still avid Duke basketball fans, but as we’re not attending games anymore that is an inexpensive hobby.

This low spending is a big change from before we had kids. We used to have season tickets to the Broadway musicals series our local theater, which is not something we’re doing now.

Most of our entertainment now revolves around our toddler: going out doing activities or playing with friends and even at home. We attend lots of free activities around Seattle: parks, toddler rooms and gyms at community centers, and libraries. We also hang out with her toddler friends and our kids tag along to game nights with our friends.

I’m chalking this low spending up to this being a unique phase of life! We expect to spend more in this category again later.

26:31 Q5: What are you happy with in your spending and what would you like to change?

Overall I am quite happy with our spending and progress toward our financial goals.

I don’t love that we spend almost $20,000 per year on rent, but it is reasonable for this city.

I’m not so happy with the grocery and kid expenses.

I feel like we’re spending a lot on groceries. I have some frugal practices, but could do more. During the Frugal Blitz this coming September, I will focus on frugalizing my groceries.

I don’t mind spending what we do on the children, I just want it to be more predictable! Perhaps we will institute a monthly cap on spending or try to anticipate the larger expenses as they grow.

28:11 Q6: What is your best advice for someone new to your city who is budget-conscious?

Focus on housing and transportation: Do your research in advance about where to live and what your commute will be like.

Renting and buying in Seattle is on a quick timeline. Places listed for rent are available immediately or like one week out, and little notice is required when you move out of a place. In 2015 when we moved to Seattle, the rental market was quite competitive. We had to make quick decisions on where to apply and compete with others.

We handled this market by researching the prices in the neighborhoods of interest before we started our moving trip, even though we were not expecting that any of those same rentals would be available when we arrived. This gave us the ability to spot a good deal.

Further reading: Apartment Search in Seattle

You should factor in your commute if you know where you’ll be working. A lot of people avoid the higher housing prices by living outside of Seattle, but that usually increases their commute time. We chose to eliminate the commute and pay the higher housing cost so that we could have more time together.

Don’t assume you’ll commute by car. Over 50% of people in Seattle commute by other methods: bus, biking, walking.

30:52: Q7: Would you like to make any other comments on what it takes to get by where you live on what you earn?

In Seattle, the high tech industry is quite dominant. Those positions are very well paid, and housing costs are being driven up quickly.

In 2017 and the first half of 2018, Seattle had the fastest-appreciating housing market.

Housing prices are heading up quickly, and it’s very discouraging for renters/first-time buyers.

Purchasing a home in our current neighborhood (maintaining that short commute) would be very difficult for us. Even earning $100,000 per year, the most we could afford in our neighborhood is the lowest priced condo possible. The median home value in our neighborhood is almost $1,000,000. The median condo price in Seattle is nearly $550,000. It’s also very hard to not get swept up in the hype of the market.

We are leaning against ever buying in Seattle. Housing is quite a struggle for first-time home buyers.

I’d love to hear from other PhDs (in training) who make less than what we do on how you manage your expenses!

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