How to begin financial planning

When you have little money to spare, it can be easy to ignore your financial wellbeing. But Vincent Esposito, a fifth-year PhD student in computational chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, says you must still be savvy about your finances. ‘You never know what’s going to happen. There could be a pandemic, or you could have a medical emergency. So, it’s always good to have some emergency funds,’ says Esposito. ‘Even if it’s not a lot, at least it’s something, and it gets you into good habits of saving.’

Here are some suggestions to get your money matters in order as you navigate PhD or postdoc life.