Seminar Descriptions

The intended audience for these seminars is funded graduate students and postdocs. The content is specifically tailored to cover what trainees need to know to take control of and improve their finances in the present.

Each seminar can be presented in either a virtual or in-person setting.

The titles of each seminar available in the 2022-2023 academic year are below:

The Graduate Student’s and Postdoc’s Guide to Personal Finance

• Most popular selection for first-time clients
• Covers multiple personal finance topics
• Live lecture and Q&A format
• 2 hours

Optimized Financial Goal Setting for Graduate Students and Postdocs

• Details my 8-step financial goals framework: how to choose which financial goal to pursue
• Live lecture and Q&A format (1 hour)
• Live workshop format (2 hours)—includes lecture content plus worksheets, spreadsheet templates, and/or discussion prompts
• Flipped classroom workshop format—includes recorded lecture content, worksheets and/or spreadsheet templates, and a live call (up to 1 hour) for discussion and Q&A

Why and How to Passively Invest as a Grad Student or Postdoc

• The subject PhD trainees are most intensely interested in (after taxes)!
• Explains why passive investing is the most effective, least expensive, and most cost-efficient manner of investing
• Teaches about IRAs and workplace-based retirement accounts
• Discusses how to choose which brokerage firm to use
• Lecture and Q&A format (1 hour)
• Workshop format (2 hours)—includes lecture content plus worksheets, spreadsheet templates, and/or discussion prompts
• Flipped classroom workshop format—includes recorded lecture content, worksheets and/or spreadsheet templates, and a live call (up to 1 hour) for discussion and Q&A

Whether and How to Pay Off Debt During Graduate School or Your Postdoc

• Details methods of debt repayment
• Explains how to choose which debt to prioritize
• Gives an overview of student loan repayment options
• Lecture and Q&A format (1 hour)
• Workshop format (2 hours)—includes lecture content plus worksheets, spreadsheet templates, and/or discussion prompts
• Flipped classroom workshop format—includes recorded lecture content, worksheets and/or spreadsheet templates, and a live call (up to 1 hour) for discussion and Q&A

Up-Level Your Cash Flow as a Graduate Student and Postdoc

• Teaches how to budget for large, irregular expenses
• Explains how to stay “on time” with budgeting and credit card usage
• Gives a framework and ideas for increasing income
• Includes my frugality quadrant: where to focus your frugal efforts for maximum effect
• Lecture and Q&A format (1 hour)
• Workshop format (2 hours)—includes lecture content plus worksheets, spreadsheet templates, and/or discussion prompts
• Flipped classroom workshop format—includes recorded lecture content, worksheets and/or spreadsheet templates, and a live call (up to 1 hour) for discussion and Q&A

Hack Your Budget

• Collects spending data on necessities from attendees in advance through a survey
• Presents the group’s spending data
• Leads a discussion on how to manage spending in each expense category
• Live workshop format—1 hour

I also create custom seminars upon request.

Looking for tax content?

My tax education seminars are now available as pre-recorded videos with live Q&A calls and support materials. Email emily at PFforPhDs dot com to discuss a bulk purchase for your group.

• Quarterly Estimated Tax for Fellowship Recipients [available year-round]
• How to Complete Your Grad Student Tax Return (and Understand It, Too) [available during tax season]—for tax year 2022, I plan to offer four versions:
  • Citizen/resident graduate students
  • Non-resident graduate students
  • Citizen/resident postdocs
  • Non-resident postdocs

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