Can a registered nurse live comfortably with their salary?

I live in California. I'm not talking mansion with nice cars and buying anything I want. Just some middle class apartment and a car like a mini cooper or something. I'm just wondering. I'm working to get my BSN right now, and I know I shouldn't be thinking too far into the future, but I just want to know that when/if I eventually get a job, will I be able to live comfortably? I'm single, no kids, just me and a friend being room mates. (she's also working towards her BSN). We wouldn't care for vacations or anything like that, just hanging out around the city is all I can think of as relaxing. Nothing big.

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

Yes, you can live comfortably. You can't live extravagently. You have to choose what's important to spend your money on. I've been a nurse for 35 years. I've always had a nice place to live -- not grand, but not miserable either. And a dependable car.

Exactly where and what country?

I'm in California

Specializes in Oncology.

I'm not in California, and do not care to say where I do live (not a very expensive area). I own my own home, live by myself in a fairly nice suburb. I drive a Civic. I live a very comfortable middle class life on my salary. I do agree with avoiding pitfuls, like debt.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

I never said there was anything wrong with wanting a Mini Cooper. What I said is she needs to prioritize. My guess is there are student loans to pay off. Unless she is independently wealthy, and it doesn't sound like it, paying of the student loans is more important than driving an expensive car. So is establishing a retirement fund and starting a savings account. The mini can come when she has a solid financial footing but not before. That's how people get into trouble.

Specializes in SDU, Tele.

this is a great thread for us youngin's lol.

Specializes in Oncology.

Funny thing about California: the salaries do not necessarily coincide with the cost of living. In Sacramento, cost of living is much less than Southern California, yet nurses there start an average of about $10 more an hour than nurses down south. I never could figure that out. When I worked near Los Angeles as a new grad, I lived paycheck to paycheck. Sacramento pays much better and rent is also lower. Bay area nurses make MUCH higher salaries, but cost of living there is outrageously high. So, given that you could get a job in California's saturated market, choose location wisely.

I live in West Hollywood and quite comfortably as well. I live within my means. You can do it quite easily and listen to what everyone is saying. Making $100K a year here as a nurse is comfy living like most said not living in a mansion but definitely nothing to worry about as long as you have no bills or monetary obligations.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.
I was wondering the same thing. I just graduated from a BSN program in Alabama, and I would really like to purchase a new or slightly used Acura TSX. I start my new job on the Cardiothoracic ICU in September, so I was planning on buying one in November/December.

For p.m. shift new grads here in Alabama, the after-tax take home pay is roughly $2300 per month. My rent, groceries, cable, power, gas, insurances, etc. all adds up to about $1400, leaving me $900 each month to play with. After the down payment and my trade-in, the monthly note for the Acura is going to be around $275.

So, even after the new/used car payment, I can still save $600ish each month. And that's without any PRN shifts on another unit, or overtime.

My only concern is that I am going back to CRNA school in 3 years (the nurse manager at the CICU asks that his employees dedicate 2 years of service to him before he will write a letter of rec. Meaning I wouldn't start the program until I've worked for 3 years). Anyways, I would either have to use my savings to pay off the car before I begin the CRNA program, or continue making the payments during the program. I've had my current car since I turned 16, which was 7 years ago. So I would really like to reward myself for my academic accomplishments.

Thoughts??

I sure as heck hope that your budget includes 10% of every paycheck going into savings or a retirement account.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm not expecting to be able to get any overtime until I've been working for a few months. And I'm also going to get a PRN job! :-)

Yeah I'm certainly leaning towards a certified 2012. And Acuras are very reliable, so I'm pretty comfortable with purchasing a used one. Even with buying a certified 2012, the price drops by about 3-4K.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

The dealer models are the best. My husband bought one of his cars that way. A "year old" car that had less than 200miles was used to test drives only

+ Join the Discussion