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February 23, 2021In this issue: Budgeting, Leadership Certificate, and more.
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Tips for Grads: Budgeting - Change to Biweekly Pay Schedule and Split Benefits DeductionsBy Lydia Gandy-Fastovich, PhD student
All UW–Madison employees, including graduate student employees, will see changes to the way they are paid in 2021. You can find more information in this article about the change in payroll and benefit deductions. Beginning in April 2021, all employees who are paid biweekly will have most deductions for benefits such as health, dental, vision, and life insurance split evenly over the first two biweekly paychecks each month. Beginning in July 2021, employees who are paid monthly will be moved to a biweekly pay schedule.
Some graduate student project assistants, like myself, were changed from monthly to biweekly pay last year. While everyone has their own financial planning processes, there are some tips from which other graduate assistants might benefit. Here are some strategies I have used to budget since moving from a monthly to biweekly pay schedule:
- Adjust any auto payments you have set for bills and other expenses. Ensure the timing of paycheck and auto payments align, so your account doesn’t overdraft.
- Use a budgeting app, like Mint, or a spreadsheet to track your rent, bills, utilities, grocery costs, loan payments, and other relevant and regular expenses. It’s helpful to see your income and expenses documented to gain a clear picture of your finances.
- Mint lets you set budgets for different categories (e.g., grocery, takeout, coffee, shopping, etc.) and will alert you when you’ve exceeded or are close to exceeding your budget.
- Look at your bank statements; are there trends in your spending? For me, I found that I was buying a lot of coffee and takeout. In an effort to save more money, I’ve moved to brewing my own coffee throughout the day, cooking at home more, and meal prepping to save time.
- Consider framing your budget by the two paychecks you receive. For example, you could use the first paycheck of the month to pay rent, utilities, groceries, and the second could go towards insurance and credit card bills.
- Note: For those with federal student loans, 0% interest has been extended through September 30. This has provided me an opportunity to begin paying my loans down before more interest has accrued.
It’s important to have a plan in place for finances. And with these payroll changes coming soon, now is a great time to take a look at your finances and adjust your budget accordingly.
GradConnections Weekly is looking for fresh perspectives on the graduate student experience.
If you have advice, counsel, or tips for UW grad students, you’re invited to write a guest column for “Tips for Grads.”
If you’re interested, check out our infographic for details and email gspd@grad.wisc.edu to let us know.
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DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Review the nine facets of professional development, complete a self-assessment, and get a customized report and recommendations.
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Upcoming Professional Development EventsAll event times and deadlines are listed in Central Standard Time (CST).
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Have you ever thought about working for yourself? Maybe you want to start your own business, or perhaps you’re thinking of being a solopreneur.
Join Beyond the Professoriate Founder L. Maren Wood, PhD, for this webinar on what every PhD should know about starting their own business or launching a career as a freelancer. After attending this webinar, you will be able to:
- Identify the difference between freelancing/solopreneurship and starting a business.
- Recognize common mistakes people make when starting a business.
- Develop strategies for launching your own successful start-up or career as a freelancer.
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You probably know that you should be investing and saving for retirement, but as a graduate student on a tight budget it can be difficult to navigate these financial decisions. In this interactive virtual workshop, learn best practices for retirement planning and prioritizing expenses, loans, savings, and investments during and after graduate school. Linda Lepe, CFP & Faculty Associate in the Personal Finance Program (SoHE) will help students develop a financial strategy to maximize limited resources while pursuing an advanced degree. Students will leave this workshop with personalized financial goals and a plan and resources to accomplish them.
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| Graduate Student Groups
Online
Note that the first meetings have already taken place, but new participants are welcome anytime.
Join the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for a webinar exploring the how-to’s of filing Wisconsin state income taxes, including information specific to residents, nonresidents, part-year residents, fellows, and tax deductions specific to graduate students.
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- MATLAB 1
- Excel 1
- InDesign
- CSS 2
- Data Wrangling with Stata (Independent Study)
- Data Wrangling in R (Independent Study)
- Python Office Hours
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Special Events & Symposia
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- Data Science for Cities – Interactive Discussion
Wednesday, Feb 24 | 1 - 2:30 pm - Data Science for Cities – Workshops
Wednesday, Feb 24 | 2:45 - 4:45 pm - Closing Session Panel
Thursday, Feb 25 | 1 - 2:15 pm
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Your feedback helps Libraries adjust services amid pandemic's impact
As we all navigate the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to make adjustments and adapt, including at the UW-Madison Libraries. Throughout the last year, we’ve developed solutions to ease the burden of the pandemic on our community’s academic endeavors. Thanks to an extensive survey conducted by the Graduate School, we have been able to better understand how the campus community is being impacted, and more specifically, what graduate students are saying about what worked and what didn’t – allowing us to address the issues raised and uncover opportunities for more communication. Recognizing the importance of supporting our graduate student community, we appreciate the time dedicated to this survey. Here’s a look at what we’re doing to address your needs.
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Help prevent the spread of COVID-19
With your help, we can limit the spread of COVID-19 by following health protocols, such as maintaining at least six feet of distance from people you don’t live with and wearing face coverings. In addition, take advantage of no-cost campus testing to get tested for the virus if you have symptoms, have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, or plan to come to campus. If you have questions about COVID-19 testing and safety measures in the spring semester, check out these top FAQs.
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UHS services available remotelyUniversity Health Services is committed to supporting you. Many medical, counseling, and wellness services are available by phone and accessible online. Find out more on the UHS Remote Health and Connection webpage.
Mental Health Resources for Grad StudentsAccording to the 2019 Healthy Minds Survey, 93% of UW–Madison graduate students do not think any less of a peer who seeks mental health care, and 89% of UW–Madison graduate students who used mental health care found it helpful.
- YOU@WISC. This portal has tools and information to help you be well, with modules on stress management, self-care, social support, suicidal thoughts, mindfulness, academic wellness, and more.
- Individual Counseling. University Health Services offers individual counseling conducted remotely over phone or video, with bilingual mental health providers available in Mandarin or Spanish. Counseling topics can be any issue that causes distress – emotional, psychological, interpersonal, or academic.
- Let's Talk. Let’s Talk provides no-cost, informal, confidential consultations around campus. Going to Let’s Talk can help you gain insight, support, and information about other resources.
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The Dean of Students Office provides resources to students struggling with a variety of issues, and can be your go-to spot for assistance as a graduate student. To contact the Graduate and Professional Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz-Berman directly, email egoetz2@wisc.edu.
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Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.
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Dissertators in the arts, humanities and humanistic social sciences in the College of Letters & Science can apply for the Mellon-Wisconsin Summer 2021 Fellowship and Chancellor’s Summer 2021 Fellowship. Awardees receive a stipend over the 2021 summer term in addition to having all tuition and required fees covered. Applicants must be enrolled in a PhD, MFA, or DMA program in the College of Letters and Science and be in the final stages of writing your dissertation (fellowship recipients are expected to complete their dissertations by the end of Summer 2022).
The Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program seek postdoctoral and post-master’s candidates interested in tackling science and policy challenges related to increasing coastal community resilience across the Great Lakes region. This Fellow position will provide a unique educational and career opportunity for a recent graduate interested both in aquatic resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources in Wisconsin. This program places a recent master’s or doctoral graduate within a state agency full-time for one year, with the Fellow bringing technical skills to benefit water issues while receiving valuable real-world science-policy experience from the resource professionals who will serve as mentors.
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