Academics and Their Money

Send us Fan Mail “Tenure used to be a treasury bond.” For decades, tenure offered academics something rare: a highly predictable source of income that could be treated almost like a financial asset. But as post tenure review expands, budgets tighten, and tenured faculty face layoffs, that assumption is becoming harder to justify. In this episode, Inga Timmerman looks at tenure through a financial...

Send us Fan Mail “Money is definitely up there in some of the top reasons that relationships experience conflict. And it's rarely about the dollar amount.”  Talking about money with a partner can be uncomfortable, especially when two people bring different values, habits, incomes, and experiences to a relationship. In this episode, Inga and Neeka explore why financial disagreements are often...

Send us Fan Mail “I could definitely be making more outside of academia.” What does it really mean to make good financial decisions as a nurse and an academic? In this episode, Sandra Shapiro, a nursing professor and former travel nurse and nurse practitioner, shares how her career shaped the way she thinks about money, from investing early and taking advantage of employer benefits to resisting li...

Send us Fan Mail Finishing a PhD and moving into a postdoc, faculty position, or industry job can feel like a huge financial transition. After years of living on a stipend, your first real paycheck can suddenly make your income feel enormous, but that does not necessarily mean it is time to upgrade your entire lifestyle. In this episode, Neeka walks through the financial basics academics should co...

Send us Fan Mail What can you actually do with a humanities or social science PhD outside of academia? In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman talk with Larry McGrath, a former academic who went from a PhD in the history and anthropology of science to working in tech, and now serves as a senior user researcher at Amazon working on Alexa Plus. Larry offers a...

Send us Fan Mail Academics spend years becoming experts in their fields, but many reach midcareer realizing they were never taught the fundamentals of personal finance. In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with former entomologist turned academic coach Ana Pineda to discuss her journey from a decade of postdoctoral research to building a success...

Send us Fan Mail What if the skills you've spent years developing in academia are worth far more than you've been led to believe? In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi sits down with Matt Goren, former psychology professor and current Chief Strategy Officer at Danko Education, to talk about the financial realities of academia, career transitions, and why academics...

Send us Fan Mail Many academics dream about turning their expertise into something more, whether that means consulting, coaching, writing, speaking, creating courses, tutoring, or building a private practice. But moving from professor to business owner comes with a lot of financial questions: Do I actually have a business? Do I need an LLC? How do taxes work? What retirement accounts are available...

Send us Fan Mail What if your sabbatical wasn’t about accomplishing more, but about creating the space you actually need to recover, reflect, and reconnect with your work? In this episode of Academics and Their Money , we sit down with Bethany Wilinski , professor, researcher, and sabbatical coach, to talk about burnout, money mindset, and how academics can design sabbaticals that truly support th...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a historian realizes the traditional academic path is no longer the right fit? In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman speak with career coach and entrepreneur Jennifer Polk about her journey from a “pre-K to PhD” academic path to building a business dedicated to helping PhDs find meaningful work beyond academia. Jennifer...

Send us Fan Mail “It’s not wrong to want more.” - Gertrude Nonterah In this episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Gertrude Nonterah, founder of The Bold PhD , to talk about career pivots, personal branding, wealth building, and the complicated relationship academia has with money. Gertrude shares her journey from earning a PhD in microbiology...

Send us Fan Mail “Most academics don't actually have a money problem. they either have a system problem, a behavioral problem, or a burnout problem.” In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Inga Timmerman and Neeka Miremadi break down a curated set of personal finance ideas designed specifically for academics who are financially stable but still feel like something is missing. Rather t...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you follow your academic dream… without thinking about the financial reality? In this episode, Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with former professor turned entrepreneur Philippe Barr to unpack the hidden financial truths of pursuing a PhD and building a career in academia. Philippe shares his journey from studying literature in Montreal to earning his...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Paulina Cossette shares her journey from political science professor to successful business owner and coach for academics seeking life beyond academia. Raised by a single mother with financial instability, Paulina pursued higher education believing academia would provide long-term security. Instead, she discovered a reality many acade...

Send us Fan Mail Money stress isn’t always loud or obvious. More often, it shows up as a constant, quiet hum in the background of our daily lives. In this Financial Therapy Month episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with returning guest Oliver Schnusenberg to unpack what money stress actually looks like, and why even financially stable, responsibl...

Send us Fan Mail “Shame is the enemy of change. We can’t shame ourselves into better financial behavior.” — Nate Astle In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman talk with financial therapist Nate Astle about the emotional side of personal finance and why our financial habits are often shaped long before adulthood. Nate explains how childhood experiences, fami...

Send us Fan Mail “You do not go for a PhD unless they pay you for it.” In this solo episode of Academics and Their Money, Inga Timmerman shares a comprehensive decision framework for choosing a PhD program, emphasizing that applicants are not just choosing a school, but a long term mentorship, lifestyle, and career trajectory. She outlines four core pillars every prospective PhD student should eva...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka flips the script and interviews co-host Inga about her journey from Eastern Europe to academia, financial planning, and entrepreneurship. Inga shares how growing up in a financially stressful household shaped her lifelong relationship with money, pushing her toward control, structure, and eventually a career helping others manag...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Izidin El Kalak, associate professor of finance at Al Faisal University in Riyadh, for a deeply insightful conversation about money, academia, and global career mobility. Izidin shares his non linear journey into academia, from growing up between Bulgaria and Syria, to working in Qatar t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Oliver Schnusenberg, Professor of Finance at the University of North Florida, to explore a career path that has taken more turns than most academic CVs could handle. Oliver shares how a German upbringing, an early interest in hospitality, and a family full of accountants somehow le...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Roxy Pebdani to explore what it really looks like to build an academic career across borders, systems, and life stages, while keeping money, equity, and values in view. Roxy shares her personal and professional journey as the child of Iranian immigrants, growing up as a third culture kid...

Send us Fan Mail In this international edition of Academics and Their Money, Inga Timmerman and Neeka Miremadi sit down with Elena Hoffer, a German scientist living in Sweden who completed her PhD in immunology at the Karolinska Institute. Elena shares her journey from academic research to entrepreneurship and explains why she ultimately stepped away from the professor track. Elena opens up about...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Philip Gibson professor of finance, associate dean at Winthrop University, and founder of ElationWealth LLC to explore money mindsets, academic career strategy, and teaching the next generation about finances. Philip begins by sharing how his early experiences in Jamaica shaped a s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman sit down with Nik Volkov , Associate Professor of Finance at Mercer University, to trace his path into academia and the money lessons learned along the way. Nik shares how a frugal upbringing shaped his financial discipline, the mindset shift that came from a single conversation about income ver...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Academics and Their Money , hosts Neeka Miremadi and Inga Timmerman talk with Pieter De Jong , who shares his unconventional journey from physical therapist to finance professor. Pieter reflects on growing up poor in the Netherlands, moving to the U.S. with nothing, and pursuing an MBA and PhD while raising a family, all driven by a deep desire for freedom and s...