new very last and up to date poll!!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. the newest poll!! What is your income situation?

    • 49
      I am the only income producer in my household
    • 26
      I am the primary income producer in my household
    • 45
      I am an equal income producer in my household and we could not live without my income
    • 19
      I am a secondary income producer in my household and we could not live without it
    • 3
      I only work to pay for the little extras
    • 7
      I really do not have to work because my spouse or significant other makes enough for both of us

149 members have participated

Some of us are in the position of making the only income in the household. Some of us are single without dependents. Some of us are divorced, separated, or widowed with one or more dependents to support. Some have a good child support to help out and yet others do not.

Some of us are the fortunate enough to have another spouse or live in which helps with the bills. In these cases some are the primary wage earners while some are not.

The big myth or possible reality is that the majority of nurses are women who are secondary income earners who work on the side to help pay for the little extras in life and there for do not have the need to earn as much as another profession.

Lets actually see what the reality truly is.:)

I have no husband, so I need every penny I make. :)

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Gee Wild, you need one more choice--My husband is the primary and my working part-time does provide extras but I wouldn't call them "little". Nor would I say that we couldn't survive without my income. We did it for years while the kids were little and I was FT mom. My working PT makes the difference between pinching every penny and praying nothing major breaks down before payday and living a moderately comfortable lifestyle with a tiny cushion in the bank.

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My hubby is a FF/EMT, and I am now six months into my career as an RN, and I make about $5000 a year more than he does. I just started the night shift, so I will be making even more than that. My goal is to work full-time for a year, then go agency or PRN so I can work less and be with my family. Right now I work the days my hubby is home. Great for kids, bad for marriage. I just keep telling myself to hold on for a year so I can cut back on my hours. But hey, I'm no dummy. I know we are going to depend on my full-time salary. I will probably never get to go pool! But at least I can dream.........

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Sounds like quite a few nurses work because they have to, but have a goal to be at home more with the family. It's no wonder nurses don't organize! For many it is a job, but our soul is elsewhere. Is it that nursing is more of a career for men? What do you think ladies? (I do know there are many of you for whom it is really a rewarding career, so please do not take offense. I'm just speculating on why we, as a whole, do not proactively rise up to improve the working situation.)

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

0 None of the above.

Until September of this year, I had NO income since Nov. of 1999.

I went from 50k realm to Zero.

Now I get Social security.....not much security there. :(

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I DO love being a nurse! But I have two children aged 5 and 3, and I want more of a balance between work and home. When my kids are older and more independent, I have every intention of throwing myself wholeheartedly into my career. I love the flexibility of nursing, as long as you are in the position financially to dictate the hours you work.

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My husband is a police officer and I make more hourly then he does but he generally makes more with overtime, court time, and double time for holidays. He has much better benefits and a good pension plan. We would struggle on just his income though and he's been a cop for over 26yrs.

Combined we do ok.

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My income and my husband's income are within $50 of each other, but it has taken my husband 15 years to get to what he makes now--restaurant manager--and me 8 months to get to my salary. We 'made it' just fine while I was in school and a part time waitress, but with our combined salaries it is easier to get the little extras.

Hate my husband's job, he works his a$$ off. Tuesday may be their last day in business.....which means a lump sum of $700 x # yrs worked for company, plus 1 year of unemployment. Damn good excuse to get out of that type of work, huh?!.....sorry totally different subject :rolleyes: :D

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We accumulated debt while I was in school, but we made it on my husband's salary...and could probably do it again if we had to and hoping no medical emergencies or vehicle breakdowns occurred. We are doing our best to continue to live on his and use mine to get out of the hole.

I do not feel I am the norm however... I work and went to school with single moms...single dads raising kids on their own and couples with children who very much depend on both incomes. I believe this is the majority of the nurses I have known.

Lisa

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Specializes in CV-ICU.

My husband and I are equal bread winners in our family at this time, but for the first 5 years of our marriage I was the primary breadwinner. With his MS, we can't count on him being the main income earner in the future. I get so tired of people who think that we (females) earn secondary incomes or don't need decent incomes because we have husbands who are the ones who support us.

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From the response here, even though this is a small sample, we have proved the old myth is false. Yet the reality is much different when you compare wages to other male dominated, sorry guys, professions to ours. A lot of these profession/trades with less responsibilities and knowledge base do as well or better.

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

My husband and I have been married over 2 years now. I had accumulated a lot of debt prior to our marriage--you know the usual stuff--school loans, car payments, car insurance--credit card debt aquired from 5 years at college.

I work to pay my bills and have plenty of money left over each two weeks when I get paid. We split the utilities 50/50. There is no mortgage payment as we live with his mother and this house that we live in will eventually be ours. I buy stuff like Clinique cosmetics, a lot of magazines, books, etc. I feel no need to justify my purchases to my spouse as I pay for them all myself. I do not rely on his income whatsoever. Sure, we could have a mortgage payment but don't and even if we did, I'd be able to afford it.

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