About this episode

Emily interviews Richard Coca, a PhD student who discusses his budgeting and social spending in Boston.

In this episode, Emily interviews Richard Coca, a 3rd-year PhD student at Boston University. Richard breaks down his budget, detailing his top five largest expenses: rent, groceries, eating out, hobbies, and social spending. He rents a bedroom and private bathroom in a shared home convenient to public transit in East Cambridge, and the higher rent is offset because he does not own a car. Richard has developed two intensive hobbies since starting grad school: running and stand-up comedy. To participate in those hobbies, he spends on race entry fees, shoes, and drinks and meals at venues. Richard used to overwork and be much more frugal; he now spends more on his hobbies, eating out, and friends, but he's still reaching his goal of maxing out his Roth IRA every year. He feels mentally and physically healthy and is happy with his work-life balance.

People in this episode

Host: Emily Roberts

Guest: Richard Coca

Topics covered

• budgeting
• graduate student life
• social spending
• hobbies
• work-life balance

Keywords

• PhD student
• budget
• social spending
• hobbies
• Roth IRA

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boston University

Places: East Cambridge, Boston

More episodes of Personal Finance for PhDs

• This Grad Student Fellow's Frugal Lifestyle Enables a High Savings Rate · June 29, 2026
• How to Save Money as a Funded Graduate Student · June 15, 2026 · 39 min
• How This PhD Solopreneur Manages Her Time and Money · May 18, 2026 · 43 min

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