Nurses as sole breadwinners

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Are any of you RN's the sole breadwinner in your family. I am just curious, and wonder how manageable it is. Currently, my husband is a physical therapist and makes double my salary. He has always wanted to go to med school, but has never thought it was possible. Recently my parents made a very generous offer to let us stay in there old house that is paid off while he attends school, which would really help. And we are trying to practice "skimming down" and pay off credit cards and small bills. Want to get some money in savings.

I'm just really nervous about living off of my paycheck. We're not wealthy by any means, but we are very comfortable with our combined income. Guess basically, I'm just looking for some reassurance that it can be done. Most of the RN's I work with are in the same position as I, and they are a supplemental income.

BTY, yes I have discussed my concerns with him. We talk very openly about our feelings with each other.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

A little sacrifice for the good of the family's future might be in order.

I've always been single and can't help you. But I say swallow your fears, walk through them and go for it. Good luck.

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Specializes in Clinical Risk Management.

I qualified for a home loan & cared for my DD as a single mom/nurse. The budget wasn't a lot of fun (paying for daycare, etc.) but it was workable. Since marrying, I've even been the sole provider when my DH was without employment for a month or two. Spending habits have to be curbed when living off of one income but it can be done.

How great is it that you have the offer of a free place to live if he does go to medical school! That's one less burden to bear!

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Specializes in Nursing Ed, Ob/GYN, AD, LTC, Rehab.

I think this is a matter of running the numbers. Figure out what you need a month to survive and then what you need to cover "worse case" situations. Do you have that in savings. Can the one income cover the bills and have a little money on the side for other things? (clothes movie dinner out now and then). I know me and my fiance had to do this before we both went back to school and two years later it is still working. It can be done you just have to plan plan plan and then stick to that plan.

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilities, LTC.

I kinda think I know what you're asking. I remember your last thread & wanted to reply, but I was a little intimidated by some of the responses you got.

I'm not a nurse yet. But I had to take a very realistic look at my finances when my mother offered to pay my way through nursing school & here's what I came up with.

I'll break some stuff down in a minute, but bottom line, I figured out that I was able to live fairly comfortably on $1000/month. That is how much it cost to pay my rent, eat & "entertain" myself. These were my regular bills:

-rent $600/month

-phone $60/month

-netflix $20/month

-ymca $30/month

-my drinking (which, at the time, was part of my "entertainment"): $80/month

I suppose the rest went to food & my dog. My car was paid for, I didn't have any student loan payments yet & I have never had cable, so those were 3 bills that I did not have that you may.

Something else that might be helpful: I worked as a CNA for 2 years & I remember my income being around $30,000/year ($10.00/hour, 40+ hours/week) & I was able to survive just fine on that with the same bills that I listed above.

I remember another poster in the other thread you had pointed out that it's different for everybody & that it all depends on your situation, which is absolutely true. This is just an idea of how much I know it takes me to survive, by myself, all alone. Things will be different for me now, because I have student loan payments to add to my list of bills. I would think the 2 of you would be fine, especially considering almost all your bills can be cut right down the middle, which was different from my situation. I remember one of the things I had to do without was my weekly shopping trip to Target. You learn to sacrifice & after awhile, you don't even miss what you gave up anymore.

Hope this helps a little.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I kinda think I know what you're asking. I remember your last thread & wanted to reply, but I was a little intimidated by some of the responses you got.

Which thread are you referring to? I don't recall posting another thread similar to this. Just curious.

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

i am a lvn and support 6 kids and a husband on my salary. however, my house and all my cars are paid for. so i am just dealing with...

cable - $160

insurance - $ 65

internet - $86

cell phone - $175

house phone - $30

.electric - $500

the real monster is when i feed all these goblins that is my biggest expense ..right at $800-1000 month....

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My husband makes more money than I do and we basically live off all of his salary alone. My salary goes into savings for the most part (and my therapy- shopping). If the roles were reversed, we could live off my salary alone, but things would be a lot tighter. If this is something that your husband really wants to do, you can make it work. Especially since your family is offering the house. That should help a lot.

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilities, LTC.
Which thread are you referring to? I don't recall posting another thread similar to this. Just curious.

Whoops :smackingf- wrong poster, I guess. There was a similar thread posted just a few days ago, basically asking the same question. Young married couple, wanted to know if both could live off one salary...actually, no. Now that I think about it, I believe it was young woman wanting to know if others thought she could survive on part time nursing salary.

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Yes... it can be done! I am a single Mom with 2 boys. I have a mortgage, a car, and we live comfortably, but by no means rich. I've been divorced 8 years, and have done it all myself for a little longer than that.

Keep your chin up, and go for it! :nurse:

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Specializes in midwifery, NICU.

We could not do this right now, as our mortgage is ginormous, as are our outgoings, basically with three teens, we keep five adults going. However, I work with some women who do manage this, they are sole breadwinners for a variety of reasons.

If you have the opportunity of a mortgage/rent free house, that will go a long way to helping your hubs work towards his dream. The biggest part of my salary goes out to pay the mortgage, that wont change for years yet.

Good luck to your family, hope it all works out for you all!

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In this scenario, you will not have to pay for housing. That alone will save you a lot of money.

I have never been a sole breadwinner as a nurse, but when I cut back my hours drastically after my first child was born, our family income dropped nearly in half. Moneywise, things have gotten easier for us, but it helped to be prepared.

Start by saving, saving and saving some more. If you can have some of your paycheck automatically deposited in a savings account. You will not see the money, and it will accumulate. That way when the car breaks down, the dental work needs doing, you can cover most unexpected expenses.

Pay off your credit card bills, car payments and any outstanding debt before the drop in income.

Be mentally and emotionally prepared for the stress that comes with scaling down.

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