Phyllis Stein

Not so sure about that. I know a lot of people in different circumstances in my program and although I'm sure some of us wish we had the money that others were getting, I don't think there's much animosity. I think part of the reason that person's post was "voted down" is because it just seems like pointless bragging. The topic is how do you live on a grad stipend, which I think should be obvious to everyone refers to a meager income. Why would any of us care how that guy manages to live on 35k/year or how you live on your parents' dime? That's useless info.

I really love your very no-nonsense, organized approach to budgeting. Living on a budget doesn't mean not living reasonably well, so long as you plan for it! And I too have a moka maker and I actually prefer my coffees to the $4 lattes you get at the coffee shops. I have to admit that I've fallen off the wagon a few times this year in terms of budgeting, and it really hurts! Stressing about money while in grad school is NOT fun, especially when it's your own damned fault for being to free with the spending. My biggest weakness is buying lattes (even though I love what I make at home, I find myself wanting another hit at school, hence the daily latte runs). This is going to stop asap. I'm also going to make more of an effort to stick to my actual budget (I have a budget but lately I just buy groceries as needed, hoping things balance out - not a good approach). I've been able to get away with deviating from my budget because I'm expecting a lump sum soon (tax refund), which I think is also a really big mistake. The more you stick to the budget, the easier it gets. I really like your idea of taking out $100 in cash at the beginning of each month. Anyway, to answer the original question, I've kept my expenses reasonably low by not owning a car, renting a studio, not having cable. I've splurged on internet, a semi decent cell phone plan. I don't go out that much either, which suits me fine at this point. When my sig other comes to live with me I will be a little more flexible on this. People might find this strange, but I think living this way may be good for the soul. I know many people who work and have a decent income who are quite wasteful and don't think too much about what they purchase, and tend to soothe themselves with unnecessary big ticket items, and also have more expensive "needs" (like two cars, bigger-than-necessary houses, etc). I used to waste a lot of money (before grad school, when I was working for a while) and I know I wasn't happy. So while I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm "happy" living like this, I feel like it's good for me for now. There are many things I like about living simply and frugally. Good luck to you all!

Uggh..I think the best thing we can all do is find some project to keep us very, very busy for the next month and the be pleasantly surprised when you check the mail one day and there is an envelope that says "SSHRC" on it. Okay, I'm going to do something drastic now and remove the link to this thread from my bookmarks. I will find out about SSHRC when the letter arrives. What's the point of trying to anticipate it? The letter will come when it does! No amount of anticipation will change the outcome, so why spend precious mental resources thinking about it before then? On that note, bye bye and good luck to all!

I think you are right... :S I heard a funny joke the other day about statistics and I think we can substitute "on this thread" for "in my statistics class": If I had only one day left to live, I would live it in my statistics class; it would seem so much longer. By the way, I'm doomed to suffer longer than most because I'm in the US and will have to wait for the mail. Is there any chance that SSHRC will send out electronic notifications? Or perhaps once I know the results are out, I can email them and expect an informative response, or do you think that's too much to ask?

That's forever from now!!!

Haha, me too actually. But seriously, NSERC already got back to people a loooong time ago (last week, I believe) and in the US, people expect to hear about NSF this week! (I know these things are not related, but still.) Like, how much time do they need?

Does anyone think we'll hear back this week?

I think she's frustrated because she was given misinformation in the first place, not because she doesn't agree with their policy. I didn't know that about mat leave. Nice to know.

Wow, really? That's pretty nice. I get taxed on my meager stipend so this is one more reason I want a fellowship.

Are fellowships like the SSHRC taxed by the Canadian government?

Sounds very frustrating. Well, I hope things work out somehow. It doesn't seem like it should effect your doctoral SSHRC eligibility, but I don't know for sure. Good luck!

Oh yes, I'm also quite tired of classes at the moment, so I know where you're coming from. But try not to feel too bad - you're doing a PhD!! That's nothing to sneeze at. Maybe you should consider other awards that may be available at your institution, so that in the event that you don't get this one, you can apply to other things. Don't let your lack of confidence dictate what you do...best to just apply, try your best and sooner or later you will succeed! I hear you re: grad school doing a number on your self-esteem. A major goal of mine is to not let my self esteem be too contingent on the successes and failures along the way. Failure is bound to happen. And as people here have said, getting a SSHRC doesn't mean you are a great researcher - nor does not getting one mean that you are a crap researcher. Hmm, is the SSHRC really considered that prestigious? Not sure what the perception is. I think it would look nice on the CV, but I'm not sure it's really going to wow anyone? Maybe I'm wrong though. I agree with you regarding the financial benefit. That's why I think it's important to apply for anything you are eligible for and just keep applying until you get something. Good luck!

What if you delayed your graduation date but got all the work wrapped up well before, so that there is minimal interference with your PhD work? Would delaying your graduation affect your official PhD start date? If not, then why not delay? Sounds worth it (financially).

I don't get this...on the form I put September as the start date because I wanted to make sure that I was funded through the summer on year 3 of funding (which will be year 4 of my degree). I will still have another year of grad school after that. Did I make the wrong choice? I hope making that selection doesn't mean I forfeited funding for the 3rd summer?

Thanks. To clarify, I will be going into year 2 PhD in Fall 2010. I would hope that they would take into consideration the fact that I haven't done an MA yet and judge me accordingly. I think they might expect more productivity from someone who has completed an MA, so just having an MA and having done some research shouldn't necessarily make them more competitive than me. I've done a fair bit, considering the fact that I haven't done an MA and am in my first year. I think that's partially why they've modified their evaluation criteria to be more holistic. But we shall see what happens. I think having potential as an academic researcher is what is key, and the advantage that people who have completed an MA have is more time to demonstrate this potential.