Personal Finance for PhDs

Jan 27 2025 100 ep. 39 mins 38
Personal Finance for PhDs Podcast artwork

As a PhD (in training), you face unique money challenges that stem from your low stipend/salary during your years of graduate school and postdoc training. Listen here for the hard-won financial wisdom of your fellow graduate students, postdocs, and PhDs with Real Jobs. From budgeting and frugality to investing and debt repayment, this podcast is your higher education in personal finance.

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Financial Questions from an International Graduate Student Who Hopes to Become a Permanent Resident

Jan 27 2025 42 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Gauri Patel, a first-year grad student in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Gauri is on an F-1 visa, but she has lived in the US for over 10 years. The financial questions Gauri has encountered are different from those typically asked by both US citizens and new international students. Gauri and Emily discuss bank account

Sustainably Moving in the Right Direction in Your Finances (with Dr. Kate Henry)

Jan 13 2025 44 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Dr. Kate Henry, a productivity coach for academics. Kate was a workaholic who equated her work with her worth until her declining health forced her to stop overworking. Now, she coaches grad students and academics in how they can achieve career success in a sustainable manner. Together, Kate and Emily explore several overlapping concepts and strate

Catching Up with Prior Guests: 2024 Edition

Dec 16 2024 21 mins  
Emily published the first episode of this podcast in July 2018. This is the 223rd episode, and over the last six and a half years, the podcast has featured over 300 unique voices in addition to my own. For our last episode in 2024, we are catching up with the guests from Seasons 12 through 14, and a few from earlier seasons as well. The guests were invited to submit short audio cli

This Former Prof Found True Flexibility and Profitability in Her Academic Editing Business

Dec 02 2024 31 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Dr. Paulina Cossette, a former professor and the owner of Acadia Editing. Paulina followed the prescribed academic path, but found herself profoundly unhappy in her faculty position. After leaving academia, Paulina stumbled into academic editing and eventually started working under her own brand. As a business owner, Paulina earns more, works less,

Negotiation and Long-Term Thinking Effected Financial Success for This International PhD

Nov 18 2024 45 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Wen, who recently earned a PhD in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wen came to the US for her master’s degree immediately after finishing undergrad and started learning about the US financial system, even though she had an avoidant money mindset. After overdrafting her checking account, she realized she needed to take con

This Grad Student Channeled Her Financial Exuberance into Teaching and Coaching Her Peers (Part 2)

Nov 03 2024 35 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Elle Rathbun, a 5th-year PhD candidate at UCLA. This is a continuation of a conversation started in the last episode. Last year, Elle shifted her financial education efforts into an official position with the UCLA financial wellness office, through which she delivered presentations and provided one-on-one coaching. Having a 75% position with the un

This Grad Student Channeled Her Financial Exuberance into Teaching and Coaching Her Peers (Part 1)

Oct 21 2024 44 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Elle Rathbun, a 5th-year PhD candidate at UCLA. Elle shares her financial origin story of growing up in a low-income family, becoming a QuestBridge scholar during undergrad, and working for two years before matriculating at UCLA. During those years, Elle developed her financial acuity and prepared financially for grad school, including investing fo

Navigating the Career and Financial Transition Out of Academia

Oct 07 2024 44 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Dr. Jill Hoffman, a former assistant professor who left academia to become a stay-at-home parent and part-time business owner supporting academic entrepreneurs (including Emily!). Jill recounts how she decided that academia was no longer the best place for her and how she and her husband planned out how to swap roles as the stay-at-home parent and

Your Side Hustle Really Is a Business and Other Tax Insights with Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax

Sep 23 2024 47 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Hannah Cole, an artist and the founder of Sunlight Tax. Sunlight Tax primarily serves artists and creatives in their business tax needs, but there are many overlaps between artists and the academic community. Hannah and Emily discuss the best practices and insights that graduate students, postdocs, and PhDs with side businesses need to stay on the

This Grad Student Puts Half Her Stipend Paycheck into High-Yield Savings

Sep 09 2024 44 mins  
In this episode, Emily interviews Maggie Canady, a rising second-year grad student at the University of California at Irvine, on her budget breakdown. Maggie gives us a peek into her life via her top five expenses each month, which are rent, car insurance, groceries, utilities, and travel. Despite taking a pay cut when she started grad school, Maggie maintains close to a 50% saving