Living poor to living middle class!

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Jul 6, 2007

hi,
I just graduated, passed my boards, and will start work... The first thing on my list of things to buy is a condo, does anyone think this is a bad move???? I have fairly good credit, only debt is my student loan from nursing school, have a car payment, insurance, and cell phone for bills... Should I go for it??? My first time buying such a large item.
Any advise from you wiser folks with more living experience?
Swtooth EMT-P, RN

Congrats on passing boards!

Do you have a down payment saved up or an emergency fund? Good luck!

melinda lee · Jul 7, 2007

hey im tellen you im an lpn moven to texas have kids and i know im still not gonna make enough i think sometimes is it really worth all the trouble i went threw with shool?they tell me the wages are as high as i expeccted.:angryfire

peds4now, RN · Jul 18, 2007

Living poor means living in fear: fear of not being able to buy food, pay the rent, do the laundry. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is being able to not live in fear.

As new grads with rising incomes, we have the amazing chance to face our finances head on and have hope. I recommend to any and all new grads that between passing the NCLEX and starting your new job you go to the library (i.e., FREE) and check out all the self-help financial planning books you can find. Read a bunch and you will hit on the real, true advice and be able to pick out the crap with your awesome critical thinking skills! You can now choose to make good choices with your money. You can walk past sales or car dealer billboards and decide that YES, you have the money, but NO, that is not what you choose to do with it. Spend your time tweaking your budget in excel. Here's some of my plans:

max out on the 403(b)

max out on flex plans (I have 6 kids)

opened a new account for irregular but predictable expenses (car registration, kids summer camp, clothing, school supplies, etc.), where I will deposit monthly the total I expect to pay on these things a year/12

Aim to spend 70% or less of my gross income on committed expenses, things I can't cut back on no matter what (rent, utilities, daycare and school tuitions, tax withholdings, student loans)

Unfortunatlely I have debt to pay off and lots of expenses because I chose a large family, but next year the savings for a house will start.

Good luck everybody!!!!! Empower yourself to make good decisions with your newfound wealth! We also have a great profession in that oftentimes we can choose to pick up an extra shift in a pay period to boost our income just for fun!

NursingAgainstdaOdds · Jul 19, 2007

I think it actually helps me to know my family is totally dependent on me "making it" in nursing. First of all, quitting just isn't an option. I really have to dedicate myself to making this work, mostly by changing negative thought patterns and managing stress effectively.

I was totally in the same boat in nursing school. We were so poor we regularly got shut-off notices, eviction notices, etc. I recall on my first day of nursing school our electricity got shut off. It also got shut off on the day I graduated. :lol2: We are still working really hard to dig ourselves out of the hole we're in, every paycheck disappears as soon as I get it (which by the way totally SUCKS!). However, we're getting caught-up (something we could never do before), and we are estimating that in another month we'll be totally caught-up and maybe be able to move to a nicer apartment.

Mommy TeleRN, RN · Jul 19, 2007

daOdds - I feel the same as you. I've been getting gorgeous checks and I feel I should be rich lol. But we are paying off big amounts of things we've been behind on..heck last check we paid off $1000 ... considering before we were in the HOLE every month that is pretty good. We are also now putting $400/month into hubby's ESPP and about $150 into my 401k. So that is more money we are saving..just doesn't feel like it ya know? But at the end of the year maybe we'll finally start having a POSITIVE net worth lol.

We are also able to budget our "blow" money now. I get $10 (I'm frugal) Hubby gets $20, $20 for family misc, and $25 for eating out. That is $300 a month right there we were probably spending before just wasn't budgeted out like that..hence we kept getting behind!

I'm like you..I think in another 1-2 months things will finally be stable and I can have a little more spending/saving cash. While our income has practically tripled, we have a lot of mess to clean up so it's going to take a bit of that new income to really feel like we have a new income. I don't think I realized how bad of shape we'd been in.

When I come off orientation I can pick up a little OT which really adds up at my per diem base rate... and I can really attack and get all this dang debt out of my life once and for all!

keishahu · Jul 20, 2007

Im so glad many of ous can relate to one another. I have been there with my fair share of cut-off notices, reposition threats and it is miserable. I think it was by Gods grace alone that we were able to get through nursing school with all the stress most of ous had to deal with. I always asked God if everything else was taken from me for example my car to atleast let me continue school. I sometimes dont know how I made it. My parents would give my daughter five dollars just so she could have a little change for chips at the store and things like that and I would have to ask her if I could borrow it she is only 8. Im still struggling ( i have not taken NClex as yet) but now I can touch my dream. Graduation was the happiest day of my life because I made it through with trials and tribulations. I never would have thought that I would go through such a struggle but I really wanted this no matter what stood in the way. I just worry about my credit so much because that, is the only way Ill get an apartment. I knew when it got rough I had to make a decision to either worry about bills or follow my dreams. Needless to say I followed my dream. Congratulations to all of you who made through

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

I guess, my question is, is it really that bad that you would want to give up your dream career because of the stress that you will probably experience from any other job?

Prior to entering nursing, I was a factory worker for 3 years. As a factory worker, I had no worries about being targeted for a lawsuit. I never had to deal with rude, sarcastic physicians. I never had to deal with abusive family members or demanding patients. While I experienced stress and a wide range of emotions in the factory, I could leave my work life behind as soon as I punched out for the day. As a factory worker, I was responsible for my own actions (and no one else's).

In nursing, I deal with people who threaten to sue, smug doctors who think that nurses are inferior because they have less education, disgusting family members, and patients who are under the impression that you're a waitress. It all leaves me with a feeling of dread...

smk1, LPN · Jul 20, 2007

I might give myself six months to save up an emergency fund, but otherwise it sounds like a good idea.

WHat will your monthly HOA or maintenance fees be and what will the top out at and how much per year can they increase them? I personally like the idea of condos because of the maintenance free idea (to some degree) but in my area it is incredibly hard to re-sell them and I am only 30. Detached traditional housing almost always appreciates faster and is easier to sell so make sure you get a good deal and enjoy!

MrsMommaRN · Jul 23, 2007

i am a new grad with my first job and waiting for that first paycheck. i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am.

all my kids have ever known is momma going to school. now it is just exciting to think of having two incomes as of this thursday. i don't want to go nuts just to be able to by socks and underware when we need them. when the kids need field trip money we aren't looking under the sofa cushions.

i do have to confess. i did not have a car at all and we did splurge and buy a new vehicle for me. yippeee!

Indy, LPN, LVN · Jul 24, 2007

I didn't jump for too much, financially speaking, after graduation. But I'm all giddy now, because after two years of the grind, I'm finally gonna buy a house! Weeeeeeeeeeee... now I really won't have any extra money for the next 30 years!

kcalohagirl · Sep 8, 2007

I didn't make any huge purchases. When I was in my 20s, I got myself into a huge credit card mess when I had a good job, racked up some debt, and then that job went completely to heck. (The lesson here is be cautious when you are working on a commission-based job.) :lol2:

Luckily, my folks helped me work my way out of that mess, and I learned a very valuable lesson. I STILL don't have any credit cards. If I don't have the cash for it, I don't buy it. I have been thinking about getting one for gas, etc, but that is ALL it will get used for. It was a tough and humbling lesson.

My husband (also a nurse) got into credit card debt while he was in school. Until we got married, he was paying the minimum. Since the wedding 6 months ago, he has got 2 of the 3 completely paid off, and the last one will be gone in another month or so! And while that was going on, we still managed to put almost $6000 in our savings account!

We are really lucky, I'll admit. We don't have children, after we got married and consolidated households, our living expenses went DOWN.

We are still living fairly conservatively. We don't eat out a lot, but when we do, we go to nice restaurants. Neither of us drives a new car, but they are serviceable. My husbands has over 200000 miles on it, so he is getting ready to buy a new to him (but still used) car. We still rent an apartment since we are thinking about relocating in another year or so, and we are living in a far less expensive place than we could technically afford, but we both decided we would rather make due with a less expensive place (though still in a good area) and continue to save obscene amounts of money.

Our big splurge item? Since we are both night-shift nurses and our sleep time is sacred?? We got a nice big cushy pillow-top mattress!! (It gets delivered tomorrow!!!)

So in short, I think the secret of our financial success (so far) is to not make any big changes. Don't take on any huge debt, especially that first year. I've seen it take some people who graduated the same time I did awhile to find their "niche". Your first job may not work out.

Put something into saving every month, but if you have high-interest credit cards, get them paid off as soon as you feasibly can. Interest rates will cripple you! Once you have 2-3 months living expenses in an account you can raid if you need to, look at putting money into accounts where your rate of return is higher.

For me, having graduated and having a decent-paying job means having the security of having a savings account for the first time in years. . . . .

Oh yeah, and buying cute clothes and shoes once in awhile is completely allowed!!!!!

Candyheart · Oct 3, 2008

I know its terrible to be so broke you have to worry about paying bills and even buying the essentials. When I got my first pay check, I wanted to jump for joy! But instead, I gave it to my landlord. I think the hardest thing to stay away from is fast food or eating out, especially if you have kids because, lets face it, you're exhausted from being on your feet all day and dealing with patients, supervisors, NP and MDs, family members, CNAs, etc. Because you work HARD for your money. I try to think of my health and cook at home. I do love my job though, I think it's because I can't resist a challenge. Good luck to you!