My D is a PhD candidate and TA. She receives $24K from the university for living expenses (stipend). She seems to do OK, but I couldn’t tell you how much she spends per week. She is in a relatively low cost area (SC), but all of the other programs she applied for offered about the same amount of $.
Wow! $-)
When I was a grad student TA in the Jurassic, I only earned 4-figures.
^$24K is about what my D will get. The rent is high. I am wondering how much I need to subsidize for her not to live on ramen noodles. Her lifestyle will be simple. She won’t have much free time. Not much dry cleaning, PhD canndidates in STEM fields don’t dress differently from undergrads. Not married. The exepnse after the rent will be groceries, personal stuff, some flying to see her friends. No car.
I know that my D keeps expenses low. It helps that all of her friends and boyfriend are also grad students. Entertainment tends to be hanging out at one another’s apartment and fixing dinner. She has started a savings account to get a dog, so she must be living within her means. I think she’s planning on picking up a tutoring job for the summer so help build up the savings. But, no, there is no saving for retirement yet, or big trips, etc. We live in London, so we buy her a plane ticket to come visit us for Christmas, so that’s her travel.
^Thank you. Do you happen to know how much she pays for rent? I could subsidize her rent a bit to bring it down to a national average. Her friends will also be grad students, no MBA types to increase her spending.
“But, no, there is no saving for retirement yet”
I was thinking about this even before I got to @megpmom’s post. If I had a child in these circumstances and the ability and inclination to help out a bit financially, I’d through a few thousand into a Roth IRA for them every year. Get the savings path started, the compounding from a younger age, and all that.
“Do you happen to know how much she pays for rent? I could subsidize her rent a bit to bring it down to a national average. Her friends will also be grad students, no MBA types to increase her spending.”
Again, what some other poster’s kid pays has nothing to do with yours in an unknown situation.
Both of my twins live in 2 bedroom apartments w roommates. One pays double what the other pays because she’s in a comparatively high COL and he’s in a low COL. What difference does a national average make? It’s a meaningless number.
Why do you not give relevant details so people can answer the questions you pose? You did this before on a thread about moving where you didn’t even answer how far the student was moving, whether they were moving personal belongings or furniture too, whether they were moving back home or into an apartment, etc. it’s really frustrating.
“If I had a child in these circumstances and the ability and inclination to help out a bit financially, I’d through a few thousand into a Roth IRA for them every year. Get the savings path started, the compounding from a younger age, and all that.”
We told our kids to max out their 401ks to the full $18k, even though their pay checks are small as a result (HR keeps asking - are you sure?) and then we match it with a transfer. This enables them to take advantage of company matching funds and starts the 401k off “solid” at a young age, but enables them to also have some money for enjoyment. They both save off there, so they’re fine.
Flying to see her friends will be a big ticket item. Plane tickets are expensive.
Maybe you can give her gift cards to Southwest as holiday and birthday presents.
Really, it would be helpful to have a general idea where she is. My NC grad school kid cost less than my Atlanta kid.
Depending on where one lives, graduate stipends (annual) can run between 12K and 25K and are expected to cover rent, food, transportation costs, and health insurance. Sometimes health insurance is included.
I’d find out what the living stipend is at your child’s university and work from there.
Do living expenses other than rent so dependent on the region?
Matching 401k is a good idea. Do grad students get to contribute to their retirement other than IRA?
My stipend is about 25k but I also work hourly (an extra few hundred a month) and receive some grant money and other reimbursements.
I spend just under 1k on my mortgage and about 500 on other bills a month. There is PLENTY left over and I’ve never been low on food and even have a pet. We live entirely on my income and use Mr R’s for his loans and savings.
YMMV
romani, Thank you. That’s the kind of info I am looking for. So about 3-500 per month after housing need is taken care of.
Yes, living expenses other than rent depend on the region. Gas prices can differ and different states have different taxes on gas. Food prices differ depending on what is grown nearby and how much competition there is for grocery stores. Other utility costs can differ as well.
And of course the need for transportation differs. Does the student need to own a car? If so, can he park on the street at home or work or does he need to pay for parking spaces? The cost of car insurance will differ too depending on the area. If not, what is the cost of public transportation? is it subsidized or are there student rates?
We had planned / promised our kids cars upon graduation. It was a necessity for son moving to a small city without public transportation. It would be more hassle than it’s worth for my daughter in a big urban area where parking is at a premium and she has great public transportation available, so we didn’t get her one. Do you not see how the answer to the question differs by individual situations? There’s no one size fits all.
Goodness, even sales tax differs county to county. You knew that already, right? If I go buy clothing or whatever downtown, it costs me more than at my local shops.
Why don’t you do this bottom up rather than top down?
What expenses do you assume the student will have, after rent / utilities? A car - car insurance, gas, parking, money set aside for oil changes? Public transportation - if so, what’s the monthly cost for a pass? A bike? Will her schedule be such that she can cook / bring food with her during the day, or will she buy lunch? If so, is she going to have access to a full grocery store, or not? Where my S went to school, the closest grocery store (without a car) was Whole Foods. Where he lives now, he can go to Sam’s Club and stock up. Do you think there is a difference between shopping at those two places? How often do you anticipate her going out to eat with friends? Does she eat fast food or will those be sit-down restaurants? Does she drink?
Honestly I don’t get why you’re trying to grab numbers from other people vs figure out her own situation.
I know. I don’t know if I could stand it either if it were my kids. I truly think knowing it was temporary and necessary for what kind of career H wanted to have, was what saved us. I don’t think we told either of our parents about WIC, although they certainly knew we were poor. We did not go out to eat and rarely traveled anywhere - but most of H’s peers in the program didn’t either, so we didn’t feel like we were missing anything. Our entertainment was all ‘free’ - we’d go to a park, or the zoo, or long walks along the lake. Actually the one thing I still to this day miss that was a huge piece of most weeks in the summer was the massive farmer’s market they have in Madison on Saturdays. My fondest memories of our time in Madison are of things we did that cost nothing.
I did work the first 2-3 years, but stopped before I got pregnant. At that point I did do some in-home babysitting part-time and sold Discovery Toys, so things I could do without having to put D in day care. Amongst our friends, it was almost a rite of passage to live at poverty level while in grad school. We all struggled with the same thing.
Right…it took us a couple of months to actually figure out the budget. Before the move…our kid contacted the Internet folks, and electric company to get estimates of their costs. We looked at gas prices, insurance costs and the like. We took a guess on the food costs. We then gave a little more than we thought we needed. And we adjusted.
We did the same process when our kids lived off campus in undergrad school.
Unlike romani, I am not a current graduate student so I will defer to her. But honestly, this seems quite low.
My understanding is that $16,000 per 12-month year (not including rent/taxes) is considered a quite reasonable amount for a single graduate student with no kids or car to live on. No exotic vacations or retirement savings of course.
A few points -
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Remember that stipends are taxable. I’m sure that tuition is covered, but make sure there aren’t some fees that have to be paid out of pocket. Also, your daughter should see if she has to purchase the student health insurance plan on her own.
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When looking at budgets, check to see whether a 12 month calendar year or a 9/10 month academic year is being referred to. Also, the 24K stipend might just be for a 9/10 month academic year. After they join a research group, STEM Ph.D. students often receive an additional summer stipend from research funds, which could be an additional 4K or 5K. Also, grad school is a 12-month gig, so she will need to support herself / pay rent for 12 months.
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Every school usually has a “normal” path for Ph.D. funding. Things might change in years 2, 3, .etc.; for example, it might be customary for students to TA for a year or two. The TA stipend might be higher or lower than a fellowship stipend; there may also be a chance to earn some additional teaching money too.
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I’d have her contact the grad office, the graduate student association, or look online. There may already be some school-specific budget estimates that your daughter can refer to.
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Still, most grad students are self-supporting, so you’d expect that the “normal” funding amount will be sufficient for them to survive without too much parental help.
^Thank you! Wonderfully detailed. I looked into taxes. It’s not too much. I’ve paying her taxes so far. I can continue to do so. Health insurance will cost more. We can keep her on our plan for a few more years.
“…a single graduate student with no kids or car to live on. No exotic vacations or retirement savings of course.” - That will be my D. 16,000 + rent. I could help with rent. I’d like to set a fixed amount at the beginning so that she learns to budget instead of adjusting the amount as her needs change.
Are you saying she has $16,000 and you will subsidize rent and health insurance? If so, she should be able to pay the other costs with the $16,000.