Podcasts – Attainable Wealth

“It’s Not Wrong to Want More” Building Wealth Without Leaving Your Values Behind with Gertrude Nonterah

“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 and immunology to unexpectedly losing her postdoc position when her lab shut down. What followed was a difficult job search that forced her to rethink how academics present themselves outside the university system. She explains how learning to communicate her skills, build a personal brand, and transition from an academic CV to an industry resume completely changed her career trajectory.

The conversation also dives deep into money mindset in academia. Gertrude challenges the unspoken belief that pursuing money somehow makes academics “less virtuous,” arguing instead that financial stability, wealth building, and intellectual pursuits can coexist. As an immigrant who built everything from scratch, she shares why financial independence, investing, and creating opportunities for future generations matter deeply to her.

Neeka, Inga, and Gertrude also discuss:

The opportunity cost of pursuing a PhD and postdoc
Delayed earning power and investing timelines in academia
Why many academics struggle to talk about themselves professionally
The importance of starting to invest early, even with small amounts
Personal branding and LinkedIn strategies for PhDs
Entrepreneurship, lifestyle businesses, and redefining success
How wealth can create freedom, flexibility, and legacy

Gertrude also shares practical financial advice she wishes she had learned sooner, including the power of compounding, fractional investing, and overcoming the belief that “I don’t have enough money to start.”

This episode is an honest, empowering conversation for academics navigating career uncertainty, financial anxiety, or the tension between intellectual passion and financial goals.

Changing How You Think About Money: A Framework and Book Recs for Academics

“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 than focusing on earning more or optimizing investments, the conversation centers on how money behavior, psychology, and life design shape financial well being.

They introduce a three part framework for thinking about money: building simple systems that reduce friction, learning how to actually use money in alignment with personal values, and preparing intentionally for retirement or major life transitions.

The first section explores how automation and simplicity outperform constant financial optimization. The core takeaway is that most people benefit more from “good enough” systems than from complex, manually managed financial setups. Automating savings, investing, and bills reduces cognitive load and helps ensure consistency over perfection.

The second section shifts into spending and value alignment. The conversation challenges the idea of endless saving and highlights the importance of using money to reduce stress, increase freedom, and build meaningful experiences while you are able to enjoy them. It also emphasizes that spending should reflect personal values, not social comparison or inherited habits.

The final section focuses on retirement and identity. Retirement is reframed as a lifestyle transition rather than a financial milestone, with emphasis on what life looks like after work ends. The discussion also explores how subconscious beliefs about money, often formed early in life, shape long term financial behavior and can either support or limit financial wellbeing.

They close by reinforcing that financial success is not just about accumulating wealth, but about having a system, understanding your behavior, and intentionally spending on what actually matters while maintaining the energy and clarity to enjoy it.

Books mentioned as part of our framework:

I Will Teach You to Be Rich — Ramit Sethi (with a grain of salt…not an endorsement of the author!)

The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel

The Art of Spending Money — Morgan Housel

Die With Zero — Bill Perkins

How to Retire — Christine Benz

Mind Over Money — Brad Klontz and Ted Klontz

+ The Money Script Quiz Inga mentioned: https://www.bradklontz.com/moneyscriptstest

“Extra Credit” book:

Unraveling Faculty Burnout — Rebecca Pope-Ruark

+ We also interviewed Rebecca! Here’s the link to her amazing episode: https://attainablewealthfp.com/academia-wont-love-you-back-rebecca-pope-ruark-on-money-burnout-and-balance/

Academia Isn’t the Safety Net You Think, From Burnout to a Six Figure Exit with Paulina Cossette

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 academics face: limited salary growth, geographic constraints, and a workload that often spills into nights and weekends. After years of burnout, especially following the birth of her son, she made the difficult decision to leave academia in 2019.

Paulina began freelancing as an academic copy editor, eventually scaling her business to six figures by learning how to market herself and attract private clients. Along the way, her mindset around money evolved significantly, from scarcity-driven frugality to understanding the value of investing in herself, her business, and her time.

Now, she helps other academics transition into entrepreneurship through coaching and her program, Becoming an Academic Editor. She shares candid advice for those considering leaving academia, emphasizing the importance of exploring options, seeking guidance, and defining what you want your life to look like before deciding on your next career move.

This episode dives into the financial realities of academia, the emotional weight of burnout, and the practical steps to build a more flexible, fulfilling, and financially scalable career outside traditional academic paths.

Paulina created her program, Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach, because she believes that every educator deserves to have the life they were promised—one with a flexible schedule, a comfortable income, and the ability to do the work we love. You can connect with Paulina on LinkedIn or get access to her podcast at AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor.

Paulina S. Cossette, PhD

Acadia Editing Services | Schedule a call

I help academics build flexible, fulfilling businesses using their existing training and expertise.

LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Fed up with burnout? Join 100+ scholars in Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach

Curious about turning your academic skills into a profitable business? Get my free workbook, Map Your Academic Business

Financial Therapy Month: You Don’t Have a Money Problem, You Have a Nervous System Problem with Oliver Schnusenberg

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, responsible people still feel anxious about money.

Oliver breaks down three common “money stress profiles”:
• the avoider
• the over-controller
• the people-pleaser

Each represents a learned, protective response rooted in past experiences, not a lack of discipline or knowledge.

The conversation explores the neuroscience behind these behaviors, explaining how our nervous system often overrides logic when money feels tied to survival, control, or belonging.

Through a candid, real-time coaching moment with Neeka, the episode brings these concepts to life, highlighting how over-control and scarcity thinking can show up even when you’re objectively “doing everything right.”

The key takeaway: knowing what to do with money isn’t the same as being able to do it.

Listeners will walk away with practical tools to reduce reactivity, including grounding techniques, small-step exposure strategies, and a powerful reframe:
Instead of asking, “What should I do with my money?”, ask, “What do I want this money to support about the kind of person I want to be?”

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever felt behind, anxious, or stuck in their financial habits, even when the numbers say they’re doing just fine.

Episode referenced by Inga and Neeka:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/less-hustle-more-intention/id1824876017?i=1000747695500

Oliver’s website:
https://www.equilibriaevolution.com

Financial Therapy Month: Building a Healthier Financial Life, Practical Tools for Money & Emotions with Nate Astle

“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, family dynamics, and cultural influences shape the way we think about spending, saving, and financial security. The conversation focuses especially on relationships, where many financial conflicts are actually about deeper issues like autonomy, respect, and feeling heard.

They also discuss the powerful role shame plays in financial decision making, and why replacing judgment with curiosity can help people make healthier financial choices.

Finally, Nate shares practical tools couples can use to communicate about money, reduce conflict, and build a more collaborative approach to managing finances.

How to Choose a PhD Program That Actually Pays Off: A Practical Framework for Fit, Funding, and Future Jobs

“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 evaluate:

Advisor relationship (your day to day experience and career positioning)
Department culture (supportive environment vs survival mentality)
Funding model (guaranteed, transparent financial support)
Labor market outcomes (actual job placement after graduation)

Before evaluating programs, she urges listeners to clarify their primary goal for pursuing a PhD, whether that is becoming a research professor, gaining deep industry expertise, or pursuing personal fulfillment. Misalignment between goals and program choice is a major source of regret.

The episode walks through practical ways to assess advisor fit, identify red flags in program culture, evaluate training quality, and analyze real placement data instead of relying on rankings. Timmerman also explains how expectations differ across major types of PhD programs, including lab based sciences, writing heavy humanities, quantitative fields, and professionally oriented doctorates.

A major theme throughout the episode is financial realism. Listeners are guided through how to evaluate compensation packages, cost of living, funding reliability, and opportunity cost, along with the long term return on investment of a PhD. She also challenges the common assumption that prestige should drive decision making, arguing that program fit and funding often matter far more for long term success and wellbeing.

The episode closes with clear red flags and green flags to help applicants identify programs where they are most likely to thrive, finish on time, and achieve the career outcomes they actually want.

How PhDs Can Earn Fifty to Seventy Five Percent More: Elena Hoffer’s Not-So-Academic Story

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 her early discomfort around money, why academics often undervalue themselves, and how she rebuilt her mindset by recognizing the real outcomes her work creates. She now co runs a job accelerator program helping PhDs, postdocs, and professors transition into industry roles. Their model centers on an initiation fee plus a success fee, and she talks candidly about why charging for expertise felt strange at first and how she grew into it once she saw the impact.

We talk about the enormous salary gap between what academics expect and what their skills are actually worth in industry. Elena explains how many clients end up earning roughly fifty percent more than they thought possible and why raising your income can be the most powerful financial strategy.

Elena also discusses money habits she wishes she had adopted earlier, especially investing small amounts consistently. Coming from a conservative financial culture, she had to overcome fears around ETFs and long term investing, and she encourages younger academics to start early to build the habit.

Finally, Elena walks us through what academic training and career placement look like across Europe and how social systems, salaries, and cost structures differ from the United States. She shares openly about the loneliness she felt in the lab, the limited stability she observed in postdoc paths, and the conscious choice she made to build a more fulfilling and financially stable career outside academia.

Side Hustles, Stashes, and Salary Truths: The Academic Life of Nik Volkov

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 versus expenses, and why he believes academics often underestimate their capacity to earn. The discussion dives deep into academic pay stagnation, side-income opportunities, and career strategy for young PhDs, including why loyalty in academia doesn’t pay and how to protect your financial growth without sacrificing purpose.

Nik also opens up about his thriving expert witness practice, the economics of academia, and his belief that professors are fairly compensated but often fail to fully capitalize on their freedom and flexibility. He closes with candid reflections on merit-based pay, financial independence, and the joy he still finds in the classroom.

A conversation packed with practical insights, humor, and hard-earned wisdom for anyone navigating the academic money maze.

‘It’s Like Dealing with Kindergartners’: Pieter De Jong on the Realities of Academic Life

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 security.

He discusses what money has meant to him (“freedom, not happiness”), the lessons he learned about investing, and what shocked him most about academia. From navigating politics and inefficiency in faculty meetings to learning how to negotiate for research resources instead of salary, Pieter’s insights are both blunt and refreshingly candid.

The conversation also dives into emotional realities: retirement, identity, and what truly matters beyond professional success. As Pieter puts it, the goal isn’t to be remembered as a great professor but as “a good father and a good husband.”

You Can’t Pay Rent with Passion: Why Ashley Ruba Left Academia

“Clarity often follows action. You don’t really know what you like until you try it.” — Ashley Ruba

In this episode of Academics and Their Money, hosts Inga Timmerman and Neeka Miremadi talk with Ashley Ruba. After getting a PhD in developmental psychology, she left academia to pursue a career in user experience (UX) research and now works full time at Meta while running her own consulting business for those wanting to transition out of academia.

Ashley shares her candid journey from PhD student to postdoc to industry researcher, reflecting on the financial and personal opportunity costs of academia, including years of lost investing potential and unlivable stipends. She discusses the moment she realized she was “done” with academia, the toxicity she witnessed, and the freedom she has found in industry and entrepreneurship, both financially and personally.

The conversation dives deep into career transitions, financial realities, and risk tolerance, especially for academics debating whether to move to industry or start their own business. Ashley offers practical advice on pivoting intentionally, networking strategically, and managing the financial ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Her story highlights that leaving academia is not “giving up,” it is often a way to reclaim control, flexibility, and financial stability.

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