Thank you Maddie, this gives me and idea of what to expect when i start my PhD in ChemE in the Fall

@MaddieMettler

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you found it helpful! Best of luck with starting your program!

Thank you!

insightful video here. thanks for sharing these tips with us. i know it will be useful to me one day when I start my PhD.

@MaddieMettler

Жыл бұрын

I'm happy to help!

Nice video. Car insurance is quite cheap for you. I just finished my phd from UBC where the car insurance is super expensive and more so the rent. And all when the GRA was the same. So saving 40% from the salary like you are doing is impossible. Good insights though. Kudos to all PhD students who budget, sacrifice but live their dreams.

@MaddieMettler

11 ай бұрын

Yes it is quite cheap, same with my rent! I’m taking advantage of it as much as I can to save and invest now. I know this kind of budget is literally impossible for most grad students.

This was actually really helpful! I've been offered a funding package in the form of a GA position, guaranteed 4 years $20,000 per academic year stipend plus health insurance. Pursuing my PhD in Sociology and aiming to have no debt as I paid off my student loans in full and don't want to go back. Can I ask how did you set up your Roth IRA?

@MaddieMettler

2 жыл бұрын

That is so awesome that health insurance is included! I’m not sure what I’ll do when I get kicked off of my parents’…. I set up my Roth IRA using Vanguard which is also what I use for mutual funds and ETFs currently!

This video was very helpful for some of us joining PhD programs this fall. I do have a quick question, given the rising cost of living, has anything shifted in your monthly budget? Many thanks!

@MaddieMettler

2 жыл бұрын

Excellent question! I was actually just throwing together an Excel sheet to track expenses when I took a break and saw your comment! Initially, I had no real intention of altering my budget, but I will be moving and cutting my rent expense in half due to not being able to renew my current lease. This will also lower my wifi bill but could increase my power bill in the winter. Other than that, I will just be more cautious about my spending (which is why I'm making the Excel sheet). I also am working to be much more aggressive in my investments which might be counter intuitive, but I know currently I have the excess income, so I am going to use it for investing. I will *never* spend more than I make, unless there is an emergency, which is why I have an emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses. I have a couple other videos about personal finances tied to grad school, this one might also be helpful! kzread.info/dash/bejne/k6CHo7ubpLvKhrA.html

@simonmwaniki4204

2 жыл бұрын

@@MaddieMettler Thanks again. Finances and budgeting can be a bit daunting especially when you are moving to another country but this really helps!

Hi, I am planning to join msu as a grad student this fall. Can you tell me if the bus service is enough for going to campus and grocery shopping or do i absolutely need to buy a car.

@MaddieMettler

Жыл бұрын

Hi! I would say if you live on campus in graduate/family housing, you do not need a car. There is a grocery store about 10 minutes walk from there. It will be cold and difficult in the winter though! Also, in order to get around town well and explore the area a bit more (especially outdoor hobbies) a car will be a big plus. The bus system is not sufficient for easy travel wherever you want to go in town. It is quite restricted. I would say you can always try going without a car for a bit and then see if you want one. It entirely depends on where you live in town and your lifestyle/hobbies/level of freedom you want.

Hi! I'm not in grad school student, very curious: Are you a TA? Is that the reason for the stipend?

@MaddieMettler

2 жыл бұрын

I am not a TA this semester, but I am what is called a "graduate research assistant" aka a GRA. Most if not all research-based graduate programs have stipends associated with them. The stipend can either come from funding from an outside source (mine comes from NASA) where students are GRAs or students can be TAs to get their stipend. Like I said, this is the case for most research-based grad programs so that includes pretty much all STEM programs (master's or PhD) as well as many PhD programs, even if they are non-STEM. It varies a decent bit between universities and programs.

Thank you for the video. I was awarded a Masters package of 2 years $34k per school year and health insurance. I’m single with no kids so I believe i should be okay. I been watching several videos on graduate student budgeting

@MaddieMettler

Жыл бұрын

Congratulations on the award! That is awesome that health insurance is included! I also imagine that should be enough, especially if you are okay with having roommates. I'm glad you found this helpful! I am working on getting an updated version together to account for my different stipend and inflated grocery costs.

@jordanwilliams1546

Жыл бұрын

@@MaddieMettler thank you. Can you please do a video about getting a student apartment process? I’m currently looking and submitting applications for student apartments in the area of my university but I don’t want to do a guarantor since my stipend will easily cover my rent price of a student apartment.

@MaddieMettler

Жыл бұрын

@@jordanwilliams1546 I actually don’t have any experience in student apartments unfortunately. I haven’t had to have a guarantor since my sophomore year of undergraduate. Your university probably has a student help/success center where they could offer advice for your area!

@jordanwilliams1546

Жыл бұрын

@@MaddieMettler thank you for the advice.

How do you deal with federal and state taxes?

@MaddieMettler

3 ай бұрын

For the majority of my program I have been a W2 employee of MSU, so the taxes are automatically deducted like for any other job. One academic year (fall 2022-spring 2023) I was paid through a fellowship which was 2 lump payments (one at the start of each semester) without taxes taken out. So I did the 1040 estimated taxes form from the IRS and paid quarterly taxes in fall 2022. When I did my full tax return for tax year 2022, I listed the fact that I had non-W2 income but had already paid some taxes. I ended up getting a refund that year and decided not to pay quarterly taxes for spring 2023. So when I did my tax return for tax year 2023, I just listed my non-W2 income and knew I would be paying taxes rather than getting a refund--so I just knew to keep a few hundred dollars available for the tax bill. I hope this helps!

Amazing and informative video I have been offered ChE PhD position this fall 2024 in university of kentucky with 2.4k monthly stipend any advice you wanna give?

@MaddieMettler

5 ай бұрын

Congrats on the offer! If UK is anything like MSU, you should get on the waitlist for grad housing on campus ASAP! The housing on campus here is about half the price (if not less) than anything off campus and the waitlists are usually quite long. That can be a great way to save money! Otherwise, I would recommend living as if you had that level of income and expenses so you can adjust to the feeling.

@30-sakash-che87

5 ай бұрын

Ohh nice so on campus housing is cheap compared to off campus I didn't knew that Thank you letting me know maddie

@MaddieMettler

5 ай бұрын

It is for sure in Bozeman! Definitely worth taking a look at the housing at UK and Lexington to find out for sure. Also, give yourself lots of time to find housing! It is not the easiest thing to do in any college town@@30-sakash-che87

@30-sakash-che87

5 ай бұрын

Alright got it 👍

@30-sakash-che87

5 ай бұрын

Alright got it 👍

I want to do my PhD in economics. Would you please suggest some colleges to me?

@MaddieMettler

2 жыл бұрын

I don’t know anything about the field of economics so I can’t make any suggestions. I’d suggest Google, sorry!

POV of International Masters students crying from the corner because they are doing part-time allowed 20hrs/week with min wage of 11$/hr mostly getting 800$/month.

@MaddieMettler

10 ай бұрын

Technically with my contract through the university I am also only on a part-time 19.5 hour per week contract. If I actually worked 19.5 hours I would be making $31 an hour, but I work more like 40-50 hours a week which is more like $15.5 per hour (if a 40 hour work week). It's definitely tough to make ends meet no matter what in a graduate program, but I do feel for the international students who (depending on their visa) cannot go out and get a side job for extra cash.