How do you live on a grad assistantship?

[melusine]

Somebody isn't a sports fan...

Actually, you can work your way around that too!

My bf and I have been living for two years without a TV, just internet.

Sports-wise, he's pretty much as bad as it gets (I get everything from the NBA playoffs, to the NHL, to the champions league, to the Copa Sudamericana playoffs, to every single game Colo Colo ever plays.. ). He has a bunch of websites bookmarked that are usually pretty good at streaming the games you want to watch, in decent quality.

If not, we also have a list of all the sports bars in our area with satellite programming: once you're on adequate terms with the bartenders, it's relatively easy to call or just walk in and request one of the TVs to be changed to the channel you want to watch. You just need to check which channel televises the game in advance.

So yeah, as long as you have the internet, there's a solution to everything!

[iLikeTrees]

Actually, you can work your way around that too!

My bf and I have been living for two years without a TV, just internet.

Sports-wise, he's pretty much as bad as it gets (I get everything from the NBA playoffs, to the NHL, to the champions league, to the Copa Sudamericana playoffs, to every single game Colo Colo ever plays.. ). He has a bunch of websites bookmarked that are usually pretty good at streaming the games you want to watch, in decent quality.

If not, we also have a list of all the sports bars in our area with satellite programming: once you're on adequate terms with the bartenders, it's relatively easy to call or just walk in and request one of the TVs to be changed to the channel you want to watch. You just need to check which channel televises the game in advance.

So yeah, as long as you have the internet, there's a solution to everything!

I'm going to do the same thing. I've even decided against netflix since there's enough websites where I can find almost anything I want streaming for free.

And Melusine, my bf is a giant CC fan too!! I was surprised to see that name come up and just had to reply! I'm guessing your bf will be glued to the internet or TV for most of June/July as well then...

[melusine]

I'm going to do the same thing. I've even decided against netflix since there's enough websites where I can find almost anything I want streaming for free.

And Melusine, my bf is a giant CC fan too!! I was surprised to see that name come up and just had to reply! I'm guessing your bf will be glued to the internet or TV for most of June/July as well then...

tu pololo tanbien es chileno???!!! CC fans are pretty rare to come by where we are (Canada)! And yes, world cup season is going to be.... interesting.

[poco_puffs]

The stipend I'll be receiving for my upcoming PhD is a little less than $9,500k/year (nine months really). The funny thing is that it's almost the same exact amount as I've been making at the job I had during my undergrad and my year off between degrees, and although I'll have a marginally higher rent and some new bills to worry about (splitting a cell plan and car insurance with my SO) it's really not all that bad when my student loan payments get deferred. I sat down and made a "now" and "future" budget with each income level to worry about, and it looks like I might have even more disposable income in grad school than I have out of school.

One thing to note is that I've been on foodstamps for the last nine months because of the loan payments, and I'm not sure if I'll continue them while I'm in graduate school. Once the loan payments stop, I should be able to transfer back to buying groceries on my monthly income.

My money-saving strategies: My SO and I live in a smaller apartment than we need to in order to save on rent, and I am psychotic about saving electricity (esp. on heating bills-- weatherstripping saved us hundreds of dollars last winter). I'm picky about indulgences: I also don't buy meat or expensive frozen meals, I don't eat out more than an uber-cheap meal once a week, I almost never go to bars, and my clothing budget has been hovering around $100 annually for the last five years. I buy my books second-hand, I never go to the theatre or concerts, I never buy DVDs or CDs; we pay $10 a month for Netflix and $50/yr for the Xbox Live that allows us to stream ungodly amounts of movies through our Netflix subscription, and hulu.com has rendered cable unnecessary.

Once we move to the new city, I'll be either walking, biking or taking public transit to school/work. I'm not gadget-crazy, so my tech budget is low except for the hopefully one-time purchases of a new laptop and an external hard drive. I foresee my book and paper budget increasing back to or above undergrad levels, and I will be making the move up to some slightly nicer clothes in order to play the part.

I'm also thinking about getting pet insurance, which runs between $15 and $30 a month for the less expensive but still impressive plans. I had to drop over a grand on my cat last December, and I'd like to avoid future free-for-alls at the vet.

[TheSquirrel]

Well, I'm gonna revive this thread, I guess, instead of starting a new one...

Lately I've been very stressed about my financial situation.

My funding package is $19,000/year over 3 years. My tuition fees ($17,000/year) are not waived. I accepted the offer (the only acceptance out of 6 unis I had applied to) because I thought I could make do with some extra RA work, some additional scholarships in my 2nd semester, my savings ($13,500 in total), and a very tight budget.

I rent an apartment near campus, which costs $735 (including utilities, no internet and phone).I pay about $75 / month for a cellphone and internet.

After my first semester, I got about $4,000 in extra RA money, plus $1,000 in tuition deduction for 1 semester, and about $7,500 off the tuition for the other two semesters. Overall, I paid about $8,000 or so in tuition instead of $17,000. I also got about $900 from my grandparents, and so far, about $450 in tax returns.

I had *assumed* that my expenses would be such that I would at least not take out of my savings ($13,500). But so far, I have taken out about $1,500 , despite all that money coming in from RAships, scholarships, grandparents, etc. I shudder to think what would've happened if I had NOT received those.

I had set aside about $350/month for food. I end up spending much more. I don't go to restaurants, obviously -- I only eat sandwiches when I eat out. But even that is expensive $5-6/sandwich. I love cooking and am quite good at it , and it would probably cost me muchhhhhhh less if I cooked, but I rarely if ever have the time to cook. Heck, I often don't even have the time to sleep.

I never even went to pubs during the fall/winter semesters, though I did go to bars just about every day in May, once I was done with my courses. But had one drink / day, about $5, and instead ate once a day (no breakfast or dinner), at home (mac n cheese, or something along those lines). I frankly needed that, though.

I haven't spent any money on traveling home. I've been to the cinema only twice in a year , and made sure to go there on the day the tickets are half-priced.

But for this coming semester, I've promised myself I will cook more, eat out less, drink less beer (and coffee from coffee shops) and stop myself from spending money on just about anything else. Actually, if you think about it, coffee at coffee shops is super-expensive, even though it might not seem like it . I can buy 1 kg of Maxwell coffee for $6 (sale price), and it would last me about 3 months if not more. That's about 3 cups of coffee from the coffee shop. Whoa.

But it's easier said than done. I just feel like the money keeps disappearing, even though I haven't done anything out of the ordinary. It's *so* stressful*. I have to pay $6,000 in tuition by September, and by that time, I will not have received more than $2,000 in fellowship/TAship money (both are part of my funding package). I will have to take that out of my savings, which means I'll have an even scarier looking bank balance in about a month's time.

I have 3 RAships lined up (2 of which are pretty much guaranteed, one for short term, paying about $3,500, the other more long-term, though not sure how much it will add up to) , and hopefully that will make things easier, but even so, I'm still super-stressed about this. Just ranting..

Edited July 30, 2011 by TheSquirrel

[wtncffts]

Wow, that's rough, theSquirrel. Is tuition really that much at Concordia? At UWO, where I'll be going this fall, it's $2087 per term, $2836 including mandatory other fees. I can't remember exactly what it was at McGill, but it was around the same.

Actually, I'm confused because I just checked the Concordia site (specifically, http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/tuition-and-fees/graduate/calculator/), and it gives a figure nowhere near $17,000. Am I missing something??

[TheSquirrel]

If you're not a Canadian citizen, yes, it's about $5,000-$6,000 per term. And they make you pay fall, winter, and summer. The tuition for the PhD program is spread over 3 years (they changed this -- it used to be over 4 years), and then you just pay continuing student fees. I've so far paid one year's worth of tuition (though it was reduced for the first year).

I was nominated for an award that's worth $5,000, but I have not received it yet, and I might not... If I do, it will be a huge relief, though I'll still have a ton of tuition to pay for winter and summer terms...

[wtncffts]

If you're not a Canadian citizen, yes, it's about $5,000-$6,000 per term. And they make you pay fall, winter, and summer. The tuition for the PhD program is spread over 3 years (they changed this -- it used to be over 4 years), and then you just pay continuing student fees. I've so far paid one year's worth of tuition (though it was reduced for the first year).

I was nominated for an award that's worth $5,000, but I have not received it yet, and I might not... If I do, it will be a huge relief, though I'll still have a ton of tuition to pay for winter and summer terms...

Ah, I see. For some reason I simply assumed you were Canadian. Yeah, that international student tuition is ridiculous. Are you sure you can't qualify for in-province rates after a certain period of time living in Montreal? I'm almost certain that a number of international grad students I knew at McGill did just that, after their first year, I think. Perhaps something to look into.

[StrangeLight]

i am getting a fellowship this year that will increase my monthly stipend by about $5000, but shockingly, that won't make much of a difference to how i live. for my rent, utilities, tv, phone, and internet, i pay $825/month. this past year, i lived off of $300/month for everything else and dipped into my savings. in a year, i probably spent an extra $7000, but that included paying off a $3000 credit card debt, taking yoga classes, traveling 3000 miles to see friends, buying books, attending conferences, etc.

so now i'll have about $800 in spending money each month, but all that will translate to is putting a couple hundred back into savings instead of taking a couple hundred out.

[TheSquirrel]

Ah, I see. For some reason I simply assumed you were Canadian. Yeah, that international student tuition is ridiculous. Are you sure you can't qualify for in-province rates after a certain period of time living in Montreal? I'm almost certain that a number of international grad students I knew at McGill did just that, after their first year, I think. Perhaps something to look into.

Yeah, I actually checked. The term Quebec residency is kinda misleading. Not every long-term resident of Quebec qualifies for that status. Unless you apply for and get the CSQ (Certificat de Selection du Quebec) -- which is the first step in the fast-tracked immigration process for students -- you can't apply for Quebec residency. You can't apply for CSQ before you've finished the courses (that's at least a year and a half right there), and for some majors (like computer science), students are required to have passed the comps in order to apply for the CSQ. My friend actually had to get a paper from school saying that she had passed her comps, in order to apply for the CSQ...

It's looking more and more likely that I will not be getting the $5,000 award I was nominated for. I got an award that's $500/term, for which I had not even applied, and I still have not heard back from them about the award I was nominated for. At this point I'm just assuming that they gave me that small one instead of the big one. If I get that big one, all the better, but I'm assuming I won't. It's better to be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed.

Edited August 3, 2011 by TheSquirrel

[ktel]

Here is what my budgeting looks like:

Stipend: $29,500 for first 12 months, at least $10,000 for the last 8 months - luckily in Canada this is ALL TAX FREE! Woohoo

Tuition: $16,000 ($8,000 per year)

Subtracting other lump expenses such as books ($1000), travel ($2000), gifts ($700) and moving expenses ($500), I'm left with just under $1500 a month. If I get a TA position I can expect to make at least another $2000, giving me an extra $100 a month. This is the breakdown:

Rent: $500 (the rent on our place is $1200, my boyfriend is subsidizing me somewhat)

Food/Eating Out: $300

Cable/Internet: $50

Cell Phone: $50

Transit: $100

Entertainment: $100

Clothing: $80

Personal Care: $100

Savings: The rest

I've kept pretty detailed records of my spending habits for the last 4 years, so this is based on that. Luckily I don't drink coffee and I am still covered under my parent's medical insurance. My boyfriend just bought a car and will be paying all the expenses on that, so I will have access to a car without having to pay much for it. Reading how some of the students on here live makes me think I'm living a cushy lifestyle. Quite frankly I wouldn't be willing to sacrifice some of these comforts just for grad school.

[eco_env]

Grad students are supposed to save money by living with roommates (could save me $3.5K per year), eating free food at events (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=39) , and getting free clothing from lab equipment companies. Sadly, I can't do any of that stuff, so I'm trying to find a cheap apartment and hoping that my stipend in future years won't be much lower than my first year, because even the cheapest rent is almost half of my stipend.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I see a lot of people on this thread saying that they don't have time to cook...

People, there's this thing called a freezer. Make huge batches of stuff on the weekend, then freeze it. I make breakfast burritos, quiche, stew, etc...

Also, I'm terrible about remembering to bring lunch to school. So I keep a big box of whole-grain crackers (from Costco) in my office, along with toppings: usually peanut butter or almond butter, plus occasional pouches of tuna or salmon. Not the cheapest lunches to bring, but considerably cheaper than eating out every day. (I figure I spend less than $15/month on lunch stuff this way.)

Honestly, I can't live on my grad assistantship alone. But that's because I can't have roommates due to my family situation, and I'm feeding/clothing/supporting more than just myself (3 kids half-time).

[ktel]

I forgot to mention some of my cooking/grocery tips. Now I am not a very good cook or grocery shopper, but luckily my boyfriend is. He is very conscious of prices at the grocery stores, so is able to tell when things are on sale. When it comes to meat we buy it in bulk and as unprocessed as possible - that way it's cheaper. Typically buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself is better. We'll buy a whole mass of meat and then he'll cut our own steaks out of it. Now that was when we had a huge deep freeze. Now we will have a tiny apartment with potentially no deep freeze, however I think a 5 cubic foot one just came on sale and I told him to buy it! Otherwise we just buy things in bulk, go to Costco, buy no-name, etc. We still spend a fair amount on groceries for the two of us, but I seriously eat a LOT. When I'm training hard for rugby I've been known to eat 4000 calories a day.

[TheSquirrel]

My mom was visiting me, and she actually made lots of food and put it in my freezer. It should last me for about 2 months, if I eat it every now and then. Still, I find it very hard to find frozen food appetizing. I force myself to eat it, but I don't really like it. It makes me gag sometimes. I can't help it. Especially if it contains cooked meat.

It's a big problem for me. That, and the fact that I can't eat the same thing twice in a row. So if I buy something like ham and eat it once, it would take me a week to feel like eating it again, which means that I often have to throw stuff away, since I live alone and packages of ham, cheese, etc are too big for me.

Edited August 4, 2011 by TheSquirrel

[rising_star]

I'm sure I've said this before but I save money mostly by not eating out and because I don't drink coffee (so no $3 coffees in the coffee shop for me!). I use my crockpot (or slow cooker) to cook meals that have 4-6 servings and then I portion out the leftovers either for future dinners, to take with me for lunch, or I put them in the freezer for later. This saves me sooo much money (and subsidizes my fresh fruit habit). I buy grains from the bulk section of the grocery store (granola is $2.49/lb or less [way cheaper than a box of cereal], brown rice is $0.99/lb, etc.). I'll make a big batch of brown rice and then use that throughout the week to go with the crockpot meals. I also sometimes make large casseroles and freeze the leftovers for future meals.

Also, as of this past school year, I no longer have roommates. This means I spend ~$150/month more than I did when I had roommates. I found the savings by cutting back on other areas of my budget. But, I also found that since I'm not sharing a freezer, I have room for bulk-prepared meals. YMMV, obviously.

All of this is to say that I survive just fine on a stipend of ~$16,000/year before taxes and student fees.

[robot_hamster]

I have mostly only been surviving because we don't have to pay rent. Otherwise, there would be no way for me keep us both (my husband and I) afloat on my ~ $900 a month stipend. I agree with what other people have said. Keep the eating out and expensive drinks to a minimum, it really helps save some money.

[TheSquirrel]

Well, I didn't get the $5,000 award (for 1 semester) I had applied for. Instead, I got $500/semester. But I hadn't been holding my breath anyway. Oh well.

That means I have to come up with $6,000 from now until September 30, to pay for my tuition.

Edited August 5, 2011 by TheSquirrel

[gellert]

Not a grad student yet, but something I've learned from living as a poor senior undergrad:

At the beginning of each week, calculate how much you expect to spend on food, entertainment, etc. Withdraw that amount of cash from your account and keep it in your wallet. (You can even split it up by what it's supposed to be spent on using colored rubber bands or different sections in your wallet, if you like.) It helps you know just how much money you're spending on things, and if you've sectioned it off, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you truly want to use extra money allotted for food or entertainment to buy that pair of too-expensive shoes.

Something else that a grad student I know does (that I don't necessarily do myself) is break all of his large bills into ones, then pay with one dollar bills every time. He says it teaches him the value of money, and asking people to break bills for him helps him meet new people. He's a bit strange, though, so take it or leave it.

[robot_hamster]

Well, looks like I will be surviving on $60 less per month this coming semester.

[bumperharvest]

This thread is truly inspiring. There are so many great tips here, and it's heartening to know I'm not alone. Sometimes it feels like the stress of worrying about funding is eating away at me, and I get frustrated because I just want to focus all my attention to my studies. That being said, I'm better funded this year than I have ever been. I'm entering the second yr of my MA with a SSHRC, a top-up award, and a TAship, plus some summer savings. I almost didn't work when I heard I got the SSHRC, but now I'm so glad I did, even if it's just a contract job. The only difficulty is that I still owe $5000 in tuition from the previous year, and along with paying tuition for this remaining year, I should have about $13000 the school year, and from reading this forum this seems quite feasible to live on. I would like to spend as little as possible so that come May, I still have a few grand in the bank to travel or to subsist on while I take a breather.

My rent is only $500 a month and I live with roommates. We don't cook communally but someone always makes homemade treats which adds variety. Like some of you here I do get bored with eating the same thing more than 2-3 meals; I get around this by freezing what I don't eat, or making two big batches of food and mixing it up, or adding fresh veggies. There is also a neighborhood corner store I've dubbed "the place where veggies go to die", seriously, it's like they get all the fruit and vegetables that have somehow fallen off a truck or just about to go bad. When I've been really tight with money, I've bought up baskets of tomatoes and eggplant, etc that are just a little bruised, grilled them or made sauce, and had enough for pasta or sandwiches or salads for a week. So good!

Other tips I have is not to live in a neighborhood with a lot of trendy stores; out of sight is out of mind. How many clothes can one person have? I love clothing so this is a weak point, I have convinced myself that marketers target women in order to brainwash us so that we won't care about social issues. This may not be necessarily true but it has helped stave the shopping cravings. Also, growing up my family also had quite a tight budget and I learnt to sew and knit from my mom, totally invaluable tools. It is really satisfying thing to do, particularly as a writing/reading break to make your own clothes or accessories. Lots of websites such as craftster give instructions for simple projects.

Also, start a garden, even a small container garden. Or sign up for a fresh food box, this can save time and ensure that you eat enough veggies in the winter months. Also, my roommate and I made some homebrew wine; we went to a "U-Brew" type of facility and for less than $30 each we got 25 bottles of decent red wine which we take to bbq's, or make sangria with. Corks, bottles and other supplies may initially set you back about $30, or you can collect bottles or borrow a friends' corker.

Coffee, like many of you, is a habit- I buy the best quality beans I can for about $10 a pound, and with little grinder and a bodum I've learnt to make an amazing cup of brew. Or carry around your own travel mug and most coffeeshops do give a discount. Ask for giftcards to your favourite cafes or grocery stores for christmas and save them for when you are really broke.

I'll be thinking of all of you as I embark on a new school year! living on such a tight budget may hurt at first, but the plus side is that we are learning financial skills which some people never do, and we appreciate every small luxury we have!

[bumperharvest]

Oh, and if you have any kind of writing or artistic skill at all you should remember to enter university-wide writing or art contests and to submit your work to magazines. My lack of funds has really motivated me to do this and sometimes it results in unexpected windfalls that are so helpful. Also, look to see if any departments like science or psych are conducting surveys that pay students to be test subjects. These can also be pretty entertaining.

[theregalrenegade]

Just wanted to chime in and say "great posts" to everyone! This has been quite the inspiring thread.

When I finally get out there and have to live frugally on whatever stipend/fellowship/loan/etc I can get I'll be sure to use some of these tips.

@bumperharvest - You're so lucky that you learned how to sew. I love clothes as well and I worry about taking some of my "nicer" things due to not being able to dry clean, launder, or mend. But I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of delicate sink washing and ironing. I'm also a vegetarian, so wherever I end up, I hope they have a co-op where I can get a fresh veggie box. Good luck to you on your upcoming year and keep us posted.

Keep the suggestions rolling in everyone!

[n31290]

Also wanted to say thank you to everyone for the ideas. My biggest vices are eating out and buying clothes. I have soooo many clothes, though, so I will try not to buy any until January. I will buy new winter boots though. Also, I'll be buying a mini fridge to keep my groceries organized and separate from my roomates (save for the communal freezer), which I know will encourage me to use everything up. I'm planning to cook in batches and freeze. I can make a ground beef curry in an hour and it'll yield about 6 meals - things like that. I'm also in the habit of freezing individual chicken breasts which encourages me to cook them.

Also I hang most of my clothes to dry, so I bought a drying rack for $15 for my dorm. That way I will be able to hang all my clothes instead of just most.

Edited August 9, 2011 by n31290

[ktel]

How do you live on a grad. assistantship? Not well! And even worse if you've got dependents! Harsh as this is, the first thing that caught my eye was the "eating out" bit, as well as $100 for entertainment. Now you do need to eat - but graduate school is not a time for luxury! It is intellectual boot-camp, and if you treat it like that, you'll have a better overall experience of the hardships.

I personally am not willing to give up certain luxuries for grad school. Eating out, going out, and certain personal care items are things that are important to include in my budget. The most important aspect of a budget is that it be realistic. I don't think cutting down on social outings (which is what the eating out/entertainment budget is for) is realistic for me. Besides, my budget balances, and I'm saving the recommended 10% per month. I also have about $10,000 in savings tucked away.

I am also in the wonderful position where my partner is working full time and making much more money than I am. While I still want to be somewhat independent financially, I don't doubt he'll be taking me out to dinner occasionally.