Evolving Personal Finance » Archive
DECREASE IN PAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I received an email last week that gave me a bit of a scare! The subject line included my name and “Pay Decrease.” When I opened the email, the attachment was titled “DECREASE IN PAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.” I kind of freaked out until I read the body of the email, but even after that reassurance I was pissed at the manner they let me know about this change! Even my advisor agreed that it was “unfortunately … Read entire article »
Filed under: grad school, income
Does Less Exposure to Commercials Translate to Fewer Wants?
Like many other Americans, I stopped watching TV commercials about ten years ago. Between giving TV up for years on end (college, early grad school) to DVRs to Netflix and Hulu, we were no longer forced to endure traditional TV spot commercials. Of course advertisers still want eyeballs, so our honeymoon from commercials only lasted a few years. Advertisers increased their efforts in other areas, most noticeably injecting commercials before and in between online video content. … Read entire article »
Filed under: spending
Favorite Posts, Mentions, and Top Comments Week of18August2013
I kept up my intense work schedule all this week but I am taking this weekend almost completely off! I’m just going in to take some quick timepoints and feed my cells. I’m going to scale back to a much more normal schedule for a while because I really ran my body down by not resting and sleeping enough. Other than that, not much is going on! Kyle went to a bachelor party on Saturday so … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
Have You Even Been without Health Insurance?
Earlier this week NPR did a Q&A for clarifications on the ACA and there were a couple regarding college and graduate students, which caught my ear for sure. Apparently, it has been confirmed that university-provided student health insurance counts as having health insurance for the ACA – I didn’t know that was a question at all, but it’s good to know. I also found out that if you earn so little money that you don’t … Read entire article »
Filed under: grad school, insurance
Don’t Use Gifts to Avoid Joint Finances
I’m always surprised when married couples use gift-giving secrecy as a reason for having partially or completely separate finances. My opinion is that married couples should have joint finances (perhaps with “allowances”), although if a couple agrees to practice partial pooling or have separate finances I recognize it’s none of my business. I really think it’s silly when couples say that gifts are the reason that they don’t have completely joint finances. To be fair, I’ve … Read entire article »
Financially Surviving Your First Month as a PhD Student
First month’s rent up front plus a security deposit. A parking permit. Textbooks. Furnishing your new place. In the first few weeks of grad school you’re hit by one expense after another. On top of that, your department expects you to start orientation (followed by classes and research) five to six weeks before getting your first paycheck! How are you supposed to swing this? The best position to be in at the time you enter grad … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, credit cards, food, frugality, grad school, housing, income, spending, taxes
Favorite Posts, Mentions, and Top Comments Week of 11August2013
As I anticipated, this week has been consumed by work work and more work. As often happens in these stressful times, something piled on top – Kyle came down with a cold and then gave it to me! Being in lab all day Saturday with an achey chest and stuffed nose is no fun! I’m falling behind schedule on meeting my deadlines so I need to push even harder this upcoming week to get it all done. 🙁 The one bright spot in my week (which Kyle unfortunately missed because of his cold) was the potluck we had in place of our normal church small group meeting. I got to eat a ton of delicious food (mmmm crab dip) and ended the evening sitting around a bonfire talking about life’s big … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
Blog Statistics Update July-August 2013
The big news for EPF this month happened just in the last week or so! Trent from The Simple Dollar linked to two of my posts, which brought a huge influx of traffic! Maybe a couple new commenters, too. Analytics Data from July 16 to August 15, 2013 People who listen to us, as of August 15, 2013: RSS subscribers: 157 (-22) (I think this is part of the fluctuations that always seem to be going on!) Twitter followers: … Read entire article »
Filed under: blogging, month in review
Left to Unwellness
Our health insurance rolled over at the start of this month, taking with it the wellness program I’ve participated in for the last year and a half. The wellness program paid me $1.00 for every week that I ate five servings of fruits and vegetables five or more days and $0.37 per 30-minute workout, up to once per day. There were other program options, such as smoking cessation, but the food and workouts ones and … Read entire article »
Filed under: insurance
Would Someone Date You After Seeing Your Taxes?
The inspiration for today’s post came from a very random place. I recently added a new podcast that answers listener questions, usually about relationships. One question was whether it is appropriate to ask someone out on a date in her place of work (like your waitress at a restaurant, for example). The hosts tried to think of various service relationships that come up in everyday life and how the customer might go about asking out … Read entire article »
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