Pay for open access publication from private money I am working on a paper together with people from another university. In one of our meetings, after I have mentioned that I do not have any funding from the university for open access, they suggested that we can pay the publication fee from private money.
This puzzled me, as I have never heard that somebody is doing this.
Is it common to pay a publication fee in an open access journal from private money?
People would rather avoid doing this, but, yes, it is possible. I can't say how common. Most academics will try to pay such fees (and other publication fees) out of grant funds. Some university departments will provide funds if asked.
But there is no prohibition about paying as a private person. Independent researchers have few options otherwise.