Losing money being a nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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Raise notices just come out today. I realized that for every year I am a nurse, I am actually going backwards on the pay scale making less money than the year before. For example:

(Base hourly wage + Raise)- (insurance rates + premium increases) - cost of living increases = 8% less than what I was making last year.

Is this happening everywhere else or do I need to find a new job?

Specializes in too many to remember.

I don't think its just nursing that is having problems. Its a global problem.

Even though my job can get frustrating at times, I am blessed and thankful to have a job and healthy enough to work. And I am blessed to have a husband who is healthy and able to work too. There was a time when that was not the case. He was 30 years old and they were looking at the possibility of non Hodgkins Lymphoma with him. Thank God that it wasn't.

No, I don't live in a big beautiful house, and no, I don't drive a brand new car, and no, I don't buy designer anything. But my perspective is that my rewards are not here on Earth. I am merely passing through.

Life is good.

Harleygirl

Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Over half of the employees at my local Starbucks are former manager-executive types who were laid off in 2001. They chat with the customers who sit there, some who have been laid off also. They are primarily 40-55ish.

Fact is there are plenty of jobs available. But most of the jobs now pay so much less than the previous jobs, it's hard to support yourself on them. (Talking about outside nursing.)

I have a relative who works for a large HMO. She tracks psychiatric facility admits. She says in the past few years there has been a marked increase in the number of suicide attempts listing job loss as a stressor. Obviously that's not a reliable study...but good lord...

So lets look at the topic once again. Are we losing money being a nurse? It is a question that parallels the thought of "is the glass half empty or half full?" Depending on which side of the US do we live in, east, west, south, north, northwest, northeast, southwest,or the southeast, each part of the US pays their nurses differently based on location, specialities, years of experience, type of nursing(outpatient, inpatient, rehab, etc) all these factor into a person's compensation. If one is not suitable or unfair, is there a process to attempt to ask for a higher rate? I can only go by my personal experience and my experience is different from the next person. If life is so miserable being paid as a nurse, what else is there? There are retail administrative personnels and executive directors for non-profit organizations who are earning less than RNs in my area.

Nursing is a respected profession. Most people trust a nurse over a physician. No matter how terrible working conditions may be, isn't it worth fighting for better conditions, isn't it worth voicing your opinion? Even if it isn't a victory now, it opens the door for further dialogue between admin and staff which can be a tiny step to a possible victory. Maybe admininstration isn't aware of the feelings of the employee who can express the important issues in a diplomatic and profession manner. I will defend being a nurse and I will hold pride in the work I have done in the past and the many lives I have influenced. Having worked in psychiatric nursing, med/surg, clinical nursing, home health and now school nursing, I don't believe we lose money...we work hard for our money. We are given a rate of pay and what we do with that money is within our control and what we choose to spend it on.

One could earn triple the salary rate, would one be content or would one take that amount and exercise pure consumption/spending. Would one truly save that extra amount in pay or would one buy bigger and more expensive toys after paying for the health insurance?

Specializes in MICU, neuro, orthotrauma.

No one is being paid what they are worth these days. Bottom line. Nurses are faring better than most. Count your blessings.

Interesting thread...I agree with most of you that have stated we consume more than we need to. I question the people who drive those SUV and complain about the high cost of gas which living in the west coast, there is a high demand for the hybrids or total electrical cars.

For people who say you shouldn't buy SUV's because of gas .... I understand but if you live in southern California like I do you also have to consider safety.

This weekend we were rear ended for the fifth time in the last three years and if we had been in a smaller car versus the forerunner we have now, we would have been injured or worse. A few years ago my husband was also hit by a truck that put him out of work for nearly a year.

None of these accidents were our fault. It was all careless drivers who hit us because they were either drunk, speeding or not paying attention.

I have gone back and forth on the hybrids because I really do want to save money on the gas but, when you've been hit as many times as we have ... you realize they are probably still too small to be safe. Three people from my nursing school who were driving smaller cars were killed in car accidents.

So all of this has convinced me that our next car is going to be a forerunner or, even, bigger with steel reinforced safety guards because if you live in southern California you are going to get hit by some crazy driver, probably more than once. It's not always just about consumption: where I live you also have to consider safety.

:smokin:

Specializes in OB, lactation.

I thinkg the "losing money" feeling goes for everyone... it's the same way for us and my husband is a pilot. Home prices in my area have fully tripled in the last 2 years (we got our house for $63k and it would sell for $200k now -which I know is cheap compared to a lot of places but the income level is very low around here as well - RN's start at $17 per hour, for example), & of course gas, utilities, and insurance are much higher, etc. Dh's work throws in for most of our health insurance (about 75% of the premiums) but the premiums, co-pays, and deductibles all went up last year. Most nurses that I know make more than dh.

At the same time, I agree with what everyone is saying about financial lifestyles ... as a society we live at a way higher standard than our parents and grandparents did we and spend a lot when we don't need to.

I get ahead every year, partly because I change jobs fairly often. I do live within my means (one bedroom apartment, small car- never been hit and less likely to roll and I'm in SoCal too-, etc) and I do notice that my friends who complain about not being able to save any money all live like they think they're rich (*big, expensive cars, trips every 3 months, brand name clothes, etc).

i think the middle class has to take at least some of the blame for the current sitution. i'm not saying it's their fault, but they certainly aren't doing anything to help the matter.

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the average size of a middle class home has gone from 1700 to 2200 square feet in the last fifteen years. more square feet, more gas consumed, more market pressure, higher prices, bigger bills. my house was built in 1999 and all of the orginal appliances (frig, dishwasher, hot water heater, furnace) are complete energy hogs. why? because they were the cheapest ones the builder could find and the orginal owner didn't care or didn't know any better.

i live in a middle class sub-division about 30 minutes from columbus, ohio. 90% of the residents have at least one large suv and many have an suv and a full-size pickup as their vehicles. since we're a small community in what was a farming area almost everyone commutes 30+ miles for work. i hear complaints all the time about high gas prices, but i sure see a lot of people with new vehicles that get 15 mpg.

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one of my neighbors works for delphi and may be losing his job. i certainly feel bad for him, but he was making $70,000 a year with good benefits and a high school education. he's not a manager or anything, just a worker. is this realistic?

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blame the baby boomers and their buying power. i know several retirees that have a house in ohio for the summer months and one in arizona or florida for the winter. as more boomers retire i expect the markets in the sunny states to get worse instead of better.

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i hear this from friends all the time, but when i visit their houses they have the latest and greatest widescreen hdtv, cable or direct tv and all of the premium channels, and an extensive dvd collection. one friend gave me 20+ brand new vhs tapes because he had replaced them with dvd's (he later told me they are a month behind on their mortgage payment). all of their kids have cell phones and the latest xbox games, toys, etc. my father-in-law was out of work for over a year, but that didn't stop them from eating out 3-4 times a week and my mother-in-law never missed her weekly nail appointment ($35 a pop) because she "needed it during this stressful time".

more people should read the great book "shattering the two-income myth".

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we are the fatest, least physically fit, most demanding health care consumers on the planet. one of my relatives had been on blood pressure and cholesterol medication for years. his employer changed insurance providers and his portion of the medication cost went up dramatically. he lost 50 pounds and made some diet changes and guess what, he doesn't need either medication any more. i argue with my wife all the time about taking the kids to the doctor. she makes an appointment everytime one of the kids coughs or has a 99 degree temp. when i was a kid if i wasn't puking blood or running a fever of 104 my parents gave me an aspirin and sent me to bed.

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it should have been obvious this is the #1 agenda item for the current administration and republican controlled congress. however, in the election of 2004 bush and republicans received strong support from middle class families and nascar moms.

i could not agree with this more. i was raised in a one income home. we didn't have all the fancy stuff that some of my friends from two income homes had, but we were not poor. too many people are focused on getting the latest high tech toy and then wonder where all their money went.

It might feel good to get on a high horse about living within means but people who have trouble paying bills aren't necessarily frittering their money away on fancy cars or electronic equipment.

My case is purely anectdotal but then so is everyone else's on here.

I live in a 1200 SF house that is mostly paid for. It's also falling apart and the roof leaks and it needs major renovations. We were quoted $7,000 for a new roof. You would think that with my income of $3500-4000 a month we could save for this fairly quickly. After all, I get paid every Friday, but there is ALWAYS a large bill (insurance bills eat me alive) or something comes up that eats our lunch. I have a disabled husband and three kids.

My teeth are rotting out of my head and I can't afford to get them fixed. With the exception of buying the kids a new outfit once in awhile, my husband and I have been wearing the same clothes for years (and they were Wal-Mart clothes at that).

I understand how people just lose it. It seems you can't win.

Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.

It might feel good to get on a high horse about living within means but people who have trouble paying bills aren't necessarily frittering their money away on fancy cars or electronic equipment.

No one said everyone frittering money away, but quite a few do. One nurse I work with is having to file bankruptcy because of her 'needs'-even though most of us know 3x a year trips to Vegas, a new motor home, and a new house with all high end decorations are NOT necessities. She can't figure out why the bank being so mean and taking all these things she 'deserves' :uhoh3: . Another states that her daughter has to have cheerleading and dance lessons or her life will be ruined-the girl is 4 years old-all because mom never had this growing up! We ALL have to admit that we spend money on non-necessities: there is no crime in that whatsoever-but, knowing when you are beyond your means is a totally different story, and I get a little tired of hearing people I work with complain that they can't buy groceries this week, but they had to get that new XBOX setup or game (or whatever gadget they got). Some folks just need to learn to prioritize. Someone who is actually having problems due to circumstances beyond their control will NEVER hear a complaint from me

It might feel good to get on a high horse about living within means but people who have trouble paying bills aren't necessarily frittering their money away on fancy cars or electronic equipment.

No one said everyone frittering money away, but quite a few do. One nurse I work with is having to file bankruptcy because of her 'needs'-even though most of us know 3x a year trips to Vegas, a new motor home, and a new house with all high end decorations are NOT necessities. She can't figure out why the bank being so mean and taking all these things she 'deserves' :uhoh3: . Another states that her daughter has to have cheerleading and dance lessons or her life will be ruined-the girl is 4 years old-all because mom never had this growing up! We ALL have to admit that we spend money on non-necessities: there is no crime in that whatsoever-but, knowing when you are beyond your means is a totally different story, and I get a little tired of hearing people I work with complain that they can't buy groceries this week, but they had to get that new XBOX setup or game (or whatever gadget they got). Some folks just need to learn to prioritize. Someone who is actually having problems due to circumstances beyond their control will NEVER hear a complaint from me

Well, yea, I have to admit I see what you mean. This makes me think of a coworker I know who recently had her phone turned off because she ran the bill up to $800 so now she is using a Trac fone and she owes me over $100 but this Wednesday she has decided to spend $200 on hair extentions...though this woman is seriously bipolar and is not even stable enough to stay on medication that is prescribed to her...

It might feel good to get on a high horse about living within means but people who have trouble paying bills aren't necessarily frittering their money away on fancy cars or electronic equipment.

My case is purely anectdotal but then so is everyone else's on here.

I live in a 1200 SF house that is mostly paid for. It's also falling apart and the roof leaks and it needs major renovations. We were quoted $7,000 for a new roof. You would think that with my income of $3500-4000 a month we could save for this fairly quickly. After all, I get paid every Friday, but there is ALWAYS a large bill (insurance bills eat me alive) or something comes up that eats our lunch. I have a disabled husband and three kids.

My teeth are rotting out of my head and I can't afford to get them fixed. With the exception of buying the kids a new outfit once in awhile, my husband and I have been wearing the same clothes for years (and they were Wal-Mart clothes at that).

I understand how people just lose it. It seems you can't win.

I'm certainly not talking about people in situations like yours. I do however see a lot of people with things they clearly don't need complaining about having no money. I have yet to meet a person in Southern California that doesn't have a cell phone (and no, they don't just use it for emergencies). They all seem to think it's a necessity, but I lived without one. I also see a lot of my coworkers with very nice jewelry and name brand clothes. Those aren't necessities either.

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