How did you make it work?

gottagetmyrn · Apr 24, 2012

I am interested in hearing about this as well! I am hoping to start the nursing program fall 2013. I have to work now, as we rely on both our incomes! But I know there will be no way I will be able to continue working like I am, once school starts. Not only will we be down one income, but I will have to pay for childcare for me to be able to go to school. I have just told myself I will cross that bridge when I get there! No sense in worrying about it until I at least know I have been accepted to a program lol! But it is in the back of my mind for sure!!! I believe that if it is meant to be, I will find a way to make it work!!! One of the things I have thought about is getting my CNA and at least working a few 12 hr shifts when I can, if possible. If I don't figure out something, I know we will obtain a huge amount of debt in the process. Good luck to you!! Hopefully someone will give you some helpful advice!!! Best wishes!

gottagetmyrn · Apr 24, 2012

Another thought though, some community colleges offer night programs. I know it would not be great for you having a baby/family...but it may be something you can look into if you absolutely can't give up your day job. ????

UVA Grad Nursing · Apr 24, 2012

I agree with gottagetmyrn. In my areas, there are several community colleges that offer a night/weekend ADN program. Many of these students are working as CNAs or hold other positions, and many of the students are working mothers who need to keep their jobs to support their families. Classes meet 2 nights a week and all day Saturdays and the program can be completed in 3 years.

njgreen1 · Apr 24, 2012

Im just taking a chance and at the end of the day, as long as I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and a goal in sight there is nothing that will stop me from achieving my goal to become a Nurse Practitioner!

LifeIsGood76 · Apr 24, 2012

I'm in the same boat as you! I am married with 4 children, and although I only work part time, I will have to quit my job to go to nursing school because the school near me only has day classes, and my work schedule doesn't allow for me to go to school during the day. It will be hard to do it, but I hope we can make it work. I think having a support team and not givng up will help you. I'm sure you will have moments when it becomes very hard, but stick with it! Good luck :)

chinadoll88 · Apr 24, 2012

I too am in this same predicament, I give myself headaches worrying how will I ever get it done?? I work during the day, and in my area, they only offer day classes, which is when I work. I am so determined to get my RN though that im just gonna exhaust every available option because i NEED to work right now. gottagetmyrn, did you work full time while completing your pre-reqs?

leenak · Apr 24, 2012

I don't have any kids and both my husband and myself have good paying jobs. We also live well below our means currently. I haven't quit work yet but as soon as I decided I wanted to go to nursing school, I started a mass savings plan. I cut back our expenses and started saving a sizeable amount on a monthly basis. I also figured a budget to live on my husband's income completely. So by the time I start school, I will have enough money for tuition/books/whatever as well as fitting our living expenses within my husband's income. Some expenses will go down such as taxes (less income, less taxes) so you can figure that into some of it.

If you can start saving/cutting expenses, I say do it as quickly as possible. Save what you can, budget, budget, budget. There are also options such as loans or night time/weekend programs or part time programs.

OnMyWay23 · Apr 24, 2012

I quit working to go to school. We sat down and looked at necessity vs. want. We made a lot of cuts in a lot of places. There is no more eating out, drive ins, new video games every month. We cut back to the cheapest plan on cell phones we could get and when our contract was up we switched to a prepaid phone. We do keep the internet active for school purposes and for a house phone we went with Magic Jack to save that phone money every month.

The biggest part of it all is budget, budget, budget. My hubby made an excel spreadsheet and all of our bills are planned out. They get paid first and foremost when the money comes in, then we pay something for the following week if we have extra. We have had a couple occasions over the last year that we were able to go and enjoy a dinner with the kids, at the buffet!

It is not easy, but if you can budget and stay afloat with the bare minimum, it is worth it. You are also going to want to save any extra if you can in case of those emergencies that always seem to come at the worst time. Regardless of whether you decide to try, the best of luck to you!

3rdgenRN2B · Apr 25, 2012

This is what I'm looking at as well. My plan is to just save as much as possible and try not to worry just yet. As a pp said, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!

gottagetmyrn · Apr 25, 2012

chinadoll88, I completed all but a few of my pre reqs years ago, when I didn't have to work. Then later I did some more of them while working full time, but never a full load. I started out to pursue nursing what seems like forever ago...and things just kept getting in my way of going to school. I finally feel like now is the time! Hopefully!! LOL! Good luck to everyone...

There are a lot of good suggestions here!

LobotRN, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2012

I don't think I've seen it yet in this thread, but sit down and take a long, long, hard look at your budget. I mean be brutal. When I went to nursing school, we cut our household income in half and had to come up with more money for health insurance. But, I made sure in the six months before I quit:

1) Did everyone have clothes to wear and grow into for the next 2.5 years? Get to know your Goodwill or other thrift stores. To this day I cringe at paying $45 for a pair of jeans when I can pick up Eddie Bauer, Levis, Chicco, etc for $4-5 a pair that are in great condition at the local thrift. Let other families know that you are in the market for handmedowns for the young ones. I didn't buy any clothes for my youngest during those years, and barely bought any for my oldest, who was 10 when I finished school.

2) What major expenses did I foresee in the next 2.5 years? Is the car on the way out, fridge about to die, that leak getting worse? Get those things in line before. Deferred repairs only get worse, not better. And decide what you can do and do without. Maybe it means taking public transportation to the community college. Sure, takes longer to get there, but you will have built in reading time to and from classes. And if you use that time very very well, then you will have some time for family.

3) Assess how you relax, and look at how much money you spend doing that. I chose Netflix over going out to movies, and buying some expensive food items for a fancy dinner at home now and then rather than going out. I looked at cookbooks and frugal websites to figure out how to feed the family on the cheap. Do not fall victim to "I'm too tired to cook." Make a plan, perhaps husband cooks, or kids can heat things up, but don't fall for convenience foods, you'll feel horrible about your family's diet and worse about your bank account. I learned that I can feed a family of 4 for $50 a week using the bulk section at my store, trying store brands, and making simple meals. Good nutrition at low cost.

4) Put away a little money, even if it is only $20 a week, until you start, and continue while in school (even if then it drops to $10 or whatever). The habit of paying yourself first will serve you well once you find a job on the other side. And if that takes a while to find a job, you will have a little something.

5) Think about what you can swap rather than pay for. I had a child care "co-op" with my friends where we could either swap hours of child care or I could trade a simple freezer casserole for some child care time or vice versa. Are there other families with similar situations that you can trade with? Maybe the parents aren't in nursing school, but maybe they have odd schedules and need some overnight care at times. Ask around, you'll be surprised to hear, "Oh yea, my friend Marci works swing and sometimes needs someone to watch her kids when her mom can't." When you put the word out, the solutions have a better chance of coming to find you.

6) Practice finding ways to do things less expensively in general. Laundry? Do I have to use Tide? Or does actually sticking a little cheap dish soap on stains right when they happen and then using the store brand work just as well, or good enough for now? Can I make a latte at home? (YES! Go get an aero whip on amazon and a bialletti stove top espresso maker). Can I group all my trips together to save gas? Do I have to go get that right now, or can I make just 1 or 2 days a week "Driving" days? Do the kids really need to be in all those activities? Perhaps not, or just one.

Make a plan, you'll feel more confident for it and it is good practice. Nursing is a lot of planning, executing, reviewing, and adjusting. Did we worry about money? Of course, but when I could say, "well, we might be eating pasta and pancakes for a while til the next paycheck...." I didn't feel so bad. I could feed my family because I had a plan, and my expectations were realistic. BTW, my kids still love the homemade cheapo cakes better than the Bisquick ones!