Can nurses live a luxurious life?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello,

I live in NY and I plan on being a RN and getting a bachelors degree. The majority of answers I've seen on this topic is "it's not about the money" etc. I would never take a job for the money bc I know I'd end up hating and regretting it. However, is it possible as a nurse to live a luxurious life where you can afford nice things? Thanks in advance for the answers.

I can remember being so broke going through school and thinking "I will be so set when I can do two things-buy all new underwear a couple of times a year AND replace my bed pillow at the same time." Welp I have arrived at that point in life ;)

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After reading the comments, this is my opinion. I am a nursing student and my mom has been an RN for over thirty years. My mom has been able to mortgage two homes in the suburbs, put two children through college, travel at least twice a year, owns a few designer purses and always drove a Mercedes. Not bragging, just saying that as an RN you can live the best life on your income based on your outlook on money. Money is not the root of evil as people like to perceive it and as an RN there are many opportunities to make a good salary. Some nurses are workaholics and will take on as many opportunities as they can to get overtime whereas some are comfortable working 3 times a week making the lower end in salary. When you become a nurse and have that awesome position out of school, you will be able to determine which hours and pay work best for you. The best thing about this profession is that we all get to do what we are passionate about which is to help people! And I must say, from what I've seen, the compensation is pretty nice considering there are some experienced RNs who make six figures a year!

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Specializes in Pedi.

I don't consider my life luxurious- I work full time, I make a good salary in the high five figures, I have owned my 3 bedroom house since I was 27 years old and I air travel 1-2x/month. I have a feeling my sister-in-law, who chose to marry a deadbeat who was trying to scam the system and get on permanent disability for back pain and spends more time trying to win $10 in a radio contest than figuring out how to better her life, thinks I'm a snob who lives a life of luxury though. It's all relative. Luxury to me would mean a million dollar house and not having to work.

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Depends on your definition of luxury and the general cost of living in your area.

I'd say comfortable would be a better overall expectation. Decent house, decent car, and food on the table. To some families, this would be an absolute luxury.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

Sure -- you can afford nice things. You just cannot have every shiney new object you covet.

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Absolutely, without a doubt. Just marry a surgeon.

My aunt did this and she is indeed living luxuriously .

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I do. But I'm also married to an engineer, childless, and debt-free. It is possible if you play your cards right.

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My husband makes more money than I do, and I make pretty good money for a fairly new bedside RN. Whether or not our lives are "luxurious" depends up on your point of comparison. We're not wealthy if you compare us to Oprah or Bill Gates, but we're doing better than average. We eat out, take vacations, drive reliable vehicles, and live in an area with good public schools.

We've reached the point in our lives where we can have just about anything we want...but we can't have everything we want. So if we really wanted to go on safari in Africa or take a South Pole cruise to see penguins or drive a luxury vehicle, we could. But those are all "or" scenarios. By prioritizing what we really care about, we can save and plan and make it happen.

We could do even more of these things if we didn't have children...or didn't have three of them. Between daycare for the littlest and before/aftercare for the oldest two, we're shelling out nearly $20K per year on childcare. Once littlest is in school, we'll have about 5 years before we start making college tuition payments for the oldest. But having children and providing well for them is my highest priority. Next week, we're doing a southwest road trip to national parks with them for spring break - maybe not the most "luxurious" vacation, but the Grand Canyon is breathtaking, and having more money doesn't make it more beautiful to behold.

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Like others have pointed out, it depends on how you define "Luxurious." It is my experience that as long as I don't overspend, watch my budget, and save up for things I want, I can live quite "luxuriously" indeed. In my case, I have a new house, a new car, and we are going on a big vacation overseas as a family of 5. It's all a matter of priorities. If I didn't have a husband and kids, the money I make would be allocated differently, and I might have a fancier car, but a smaller house or apartment.

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Specializes in LTC.

I live in one of the poorer areas of NY and I make enough to provide for my family and put away for retirement. It's not necessarily what you make, but how you use it.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

Nurses make decent money, but not enough to live a "luxurious" life by most people's standards. Nurses also break their backs for the money. IMO, it's not worth going into if you are in it for the money. There are so many other comfortable professions that pay more with less stress.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

It depends on what your definition of a "luxurious" life is. If you mean a celebrity lifestyle with an expensive sports car, designer clothes, only fly first class to the hottest vacation spots in the world, front row seats at all the events you choose to attend, basically the red carpet treatment wherever you go then the answer is decidedly no. Only way this might be possible is if you land a job as a private nurse that tags along with your super rich celebrity boss everywhere and even then that lifestyle will only last as long as the job.

Now if by luxurious you mean can you live a life where you don't need to worry about a place to live, where your next meal is coming from, if you can pay your utility or phone bill before it gets turned off, if you can afford enough gas to get back and forth from work until payday then yes you certainly can live a luxurious lifestyle on a nurses salary.

The reality of the usual lifestyle of a nurse is somewhere between those two. For most of us not rich by any means, but also not worried about losing everything when faced with a shorter than usual paycheck.

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