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Thinking about doing masters after undergrad - managing money

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Newbie
Jul 28, 2015
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Toronto, ON

Thinking about doing masters after undergrad - managing money

I'm in my last year of my undergrad at UofT and I have about 50k saved up, tuition paid off, no outstanding loans (but no car or any assets really). I'm thinking about doing Master's after I graduate. I currently have this 50k sitting in EQ for a measly 2.3%/yr interest.

Should I park the money in a TFSA (and buy ETFs/mutual funds/stocks) and invest a little in cryptocurrencies? I feel like keeping my money at EQ is a waste and will just put me behind everyone.
Last edited by torvalds on Dec 22nd, 2017 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dec 20, 2004
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Don’t - complete waste of time and money.
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Aug 9, 2010
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torvalds wrote: I'm in my last year of my undergrad at UofT and I have about 50k saved up, tuition paid off, no outstanding loans (but no car or any assets really). I'm thinking about doing Master's after I graduate. I currently have this 50k sitting in EQ for a measly 2.3%/yr interest.

Should I park the money in a TFSA (and buy ETFs/mutual funds/stocks) and invest a little in cryptocurrencies? I feel like keeping my money at EQ is a waste and will just put me behind everyone.

I'm anticipating needing to pay about 12-14k/yr on tuition + living costs (I took into account that I will be working as a teaching assistant at the university).
1) Congrats on graduating debt-free with so much in the bank; you’re way ahead of the game.

2) What are you considering studying and what are your plans post-Masters? You’re in a great position right now - do you NEED to spend the extra money and time to do more education? Where does it get you that you won’t get to with an undergrad and a few years of job experience?

In my opinion, further higher education is only worth it when you want to stay in academia (which if you do, fantastic!), unless you go to a Harvard or some top tier place where you can network your way up.

3) I can’t offer investment advice, but my thought is that you would want to keep your money liquid so that you can pay your tuition as needed. TFSA is meant as a container to hold investments for at least a few years, so you should look to storing money longer term in there.

Crypto is volatile and you should do a lot of research before buying in - maybe throw a few hundred in for play money but do NOT expect huge or consistent gains; in fact, any money you put in should be considered gone forever.

What kind of gains do you want/expect over and above the 2.3% you get with EQ?

Just some thoughts for you, hope it helps.
Last edited by PressureBoom on Dec 23rd, 2017 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
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Don't bother with doing anything else with the money since you need it pretty soon.
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Feb 26, 2008
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gei wrote: Don’t - complete waste of time and money.

Don't do what? Don't go to grad school, or don't invest in crypto currencies and mutual funds?

On the first question about going to grad school, OP should be very thoughtful about whether it will yield economic benefits. Some grad programs significantly increase your earnings potential, while others don't really do much for you. If you are an economics major, then grad school is a real benefit if you want to work for government. If you are a psychology major, then grad school is almost essential to getting a non-barista job. If your idea of grad school is an MBA, then it will likely pay off. On the other hand, an advanced degree in underwater basket-weaving probably will not provide any financial return.

For the second question on investment, my suggestion would be to leave the money in a savings account. A war-chest of $50k is just about right to complete two years of grad school. Assuming that OP is motivated and doesn't intend to do the five-year masters, his investment time horizon is only two years. Given that he needs virtually all of his money in the next two years, it is unwise to invest it in risky assets because even a temporary decline in asset prices would result in insufficient funds. OP's objective in this case should not be a high return on capital, but rather certainty of a complete return of capital. With a longer time horizon, risky assets would be a better idea...

Happy holidays to all.
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Feb 9, 2009
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Masters is a waste of time after undergrad unless you want to get into teachers college.

Get some experience and then the masters will be more useful ...
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Dec 8, 2007
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Masters in what and where?

Why grad school and why now?
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Sanyo wrote: Masters is a waste of time after undergrad unless you want to get into teachers college.

Get some experience and then the masters will be more useful ...

That comment is too broad. The value of an advanced degree is field specific and employer specific. There are definitely some fields where a masters offers little or no value, but there are other fields where grad school is almost essential. As examples, a Bachelor of Applied Science provides many well-paid employment opportunities, and a masters degree probably won't do much for you, and conversely, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology will likely be insufficient to find employment in the field of psychology and a masters degree (or in Ontario, a PhD) is essential just to get your foot in the door.

Until OP reveals his field of study, nobody can really say whether grad school will offer economic benefits.
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Jul 28, 2015
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Thanks for all the responses so far.
Last edited by torvalds on Dec 23rd, 2017 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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torvalds wrote: Thanks for all the responses so far. I would be doing a Master's in Computer Science at UofT. I want to keep academia open and also stay more competitive in the industry.
CS? Again, my opinion, but you should revisit the Masters in a few years after you get some work experience under your belt. Academia will always be open to you and once you’ve been in the industry for a while (2 years) you’ll have a much stronger sense of what you like, where you want to direct your career, and frankly have a better work ethic as well (not saying that you don’t already).

If you’re graduating now I assume you’re around 22-23; 25ish is a great time to explore further education and you have so much time to build your practical skill set and references which will make you incredibly powerful in the near future.

FWIW I’m 25 going on 26 and loving work; I’m at a software company and all the devs are having a blast. None of them miss a Masters degree.
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torvalds wrote: Thanks for all the responses so far. I would be doing a Master's in Computer Science at UofT. I want to keep academia open and also stay more competitive in the industry.
Is your undergrad in CS?

Will this make you more competitive in the CS work force, if you decide to go that route?

Is a Masters in CS structured in such a way that assumes you'll be pursuing academia afterwards?
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Jul 27, 2017
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OP, if its a Masters that you really really want to do...then do it.

Crypto is 'sink or swim'. If you are going 'crypto, my suggestion would be 50/50 in each of LTC & ETH

Should the investment double over time, my suggestion would be to take out your initial investment & let the other ride till it doubles again, the rinse & repeat.

For those against doing a Masters... there is no such thing as 'dont do it because its a waste of time', I found the Masters beneficial & definitely helped my career as well as increased my income over my co-workers.

Each to there own personal choices in whatever they do.

Good luck OP
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Jun 10, 2013
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In healthcare there is an increasing demand for a masters degree. I kinda wish I had done mine after 9 years in the workforce, I might actually go back and do one. In other sectors, unknown. I think it's more government affiliated sectors that have progressive credentialism. The tech industry itself is more meritocratic.

50k isn't a whole lot of money, park it at EQ until your masters is done then jam it into a equity index fund when you're out or if you see a major crash. Living expenses & school in Toronto will chop up half of that amount in 1 year.

Maximize scholarships for your masters so you reduce your own spending...TAships will definitely help in providing a reference, experience, and cash.
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An MBA will always be worth something regardless. It's worth more to *you* after a few years of work experience. As you'll learn more from the process after seeing the real world and day to day. It's the only masters program I'd recommend that is broadly applicable.

Higher education (masters) is becoming the new norm for good or great jobs, and even if you plan on working for yourself, nothing will benefit you quite as well as a MBA for that.

Always diversify your investments, some higher risk stuff as a small component of your portfolio is OK. Weed or crypto ETFs maybe. Both segments are going to continue to grow.

Good luck, and you'll always need to invest in yourself with education to stay ahead. The party doesn't end with a masters.
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Depends on what kind of masters you want to do. If you’re not planning a career in academia, you may wnat to wait. Most people will get more out of their masters witha few years of work experience. If you’ve been doing co-op durng undergrad then it may be suitable to do a grad program after. If you wait to do yor masters, you may even get your employer to pay for it (all or partial). On the other hand, it really is tough to get back into studying if you stop for a few years. And finally some masters programs, like MBA, requires that you have some work experience.

Many intermediate and senior level jobs lists a masters degree as a requirement these days. That’s not to say you couldn’t apply for it anyways without a masters, but it’s harder to get pass automated screening without one. You might consider what your dream job is an dthen look at what the requirements are listed. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have everything. Usually job postings ask for more than what’s really needed.
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Nov 20, 2011
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50k is A LOT of money for a fresh undergraduate. Great job, you certainly have some idea about savings (or got lucky on an inheritance lol).

Most importantly, I would:

1) Work a few years to figure out what you really want to do for a career. Most people don't after graduation or have vague idea but changed their mind later. Education is investment on yourself and is almost NEVER a waste. Timing is important as these degree worth differently in different stages of your career. But generally, you don't want to invest in a Master degree and then figure out you want to do something else with your career. Hence, a few years on the job is important to give yourself perspective before going back to academia.
2) Set aside 6-12 months emergency cash. Park that in a savings account (not a non-cashable GIC).
3) Invest responsibly, S&P 500 is pretty conservative provide you with diversity (most money managers can't beat the index and most traders just lose money). Anything volatile (like crypto), you can assume it will go to 0 so don't put any money that you are not willing to lose.

There's a lot of things to learn about investing and you could go down the rabbit hole. I recommend start learning about it as it's an important part of anyone's success in their personal finance.

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