My Finances as a PhD Student and OnlyFans Creator
One month’s breakdown—income, taxes, expenses, and investments
Before I left my PhD program to focus on STEM content creation full time, people were often curious about how I managed my finances. The chart I shared on LinkedIn represents one typical month of income and spending while I was still in grad school.
I’ll walk through what each part of that chart actually means—from how I earned money to how I spent and invested it. It’s not a universal roadmap, but it’s a snapshot of what worked for me during that phase of my life.
💸 Total Income: $39,555
That month, my income came from three sources:
OnlyFans: $35,655
Graduate Student Stipend: $3,400
Other (YouTube, Pornhub, etc.): $500
OnlyFans
The bulk of my earnings came from OnlyFans. Around 60–70% of this income came from subscriptions, with the rest from tips, custom content, and pay-per-view messages. It’s worth noting that OnlyFans takes a 20% cut of the gross revenue. The month shown in the diagram above was during my graduate studies, when I was still doing OnlyFans part time, so the numbers were on the lower end compared to what I made after dropping out and going full time.
Graduate Student Stipend
PhD students in the U.S. are typically funded as either Teaching Assistants (TAs) or Research Assistants (RAs). I did both—teaching undergraduate courses in some semesters and conducting funded research in others. At $3,400/month, the stipend was manageable.
Other Platforms
I earned $500 that month from other content platforms like YouTube and Pornhub where I publish the same STEM videos. This isn’t a major revenue stream for me, but it can be enough to help cover smaller monthly costs like subscriptions or insurance premiums.
🧾 Taxes: $11,866
I pay about 30% of my income in taxes annually. For this particular month, that meant $11,866 went to taxes.
💰 Post-Tax Income: $27,689
After taxes, I was left with $27,689 to spend, save, and invest. Here’s how that broke down.
🏠 Living Expenses
Rent & Utilities: $1,600
I lived in an apartment where utilities were included in the rent. It was a simple setup, nothing fancy.
Groceries: $900
I almost always cook at home. Takeout is a rare treat—maybe once every couple of months. I learned to cook through recipes I found online or those suggested to me by my fans, and I genuinely enjoy it. This cost covers food and other grocery store essentials.
Insurance (Health, Car, etc.): $700
At the time, I was covered under my university’s student health plan, but I still had to cover some out-of-pocket premiums, co-pays, and my car insurance.
Bills & Subscriptions: $250
I try to keep my recurring subscriptions minimal. I use:
Amazon Prime (includes Prime Video)
ChatGPT Plus, which helps me with writing, and brainstorming
Adobe Creative Cloud, especially Lightroom for photo color grading and Premiere for video editing
📸 Business Expenses: $1,000
These are costs directly related to creating content for OnlyFans. They can vary a lot month to month. In this case, they included:
• Camera equipment
• Outfits and props for photo/video sets
• Location or studio rentals
Some months it’s just a few hundred; others it’s several thousand.
📈 Investments: $23,239
The remainder—$23,239—went toward savings and investments. My strategy is fairly simple:
• I put money into ETFs (exchange-traded funds)
• I also keep some funds in a high-yield savings account for emergencies
Final Thoughts
This breakdown reflects one month during a very specific period in my life. After leaving my PhD and focusing full time on STEM and creative content, my income grew significantly. My best month so far exceeded $250,000.
That said, I want to stress that this isn’t meant to represent what most creators earn. Some creators make significantly less, and a few make millions. This is just my experience.
If you’re curious to see more charts or insights like this, let me know. I’m happy to keep sharing.
Note: This article reflects my personal experience and financial situation. None of this should be considered financial advice.