Ok check this out, i have a plan to retire by the age of 30:
I'm 21 yrs old and about to graduate a ADN program
i will spend 1 year gaining experience in the ICU, then i will spend the next 8 years as a per-diem or traveling nurse, working no less then 60 hrs a week, 11 months a year.
so heres the math:
40hrs X $43hr = $6880 month
20hrs X $65 hr = $5200 month
total (net income) $8100 month
$2500 month living expenses so $5600 month to invest
Starting with $5,000 and depositing $5,600 monthly over 8 years (at a rate of return 12%, compounded monthly and taxed at your marginal rate of 28%), you will save $769,593.Initial balance:$5,000Total deposits:$537,600Total interest earned:$315,268Total taxes paid:$88,275Total Saved: $769,593
Now i understand that 769K will be different due to inflation 8 yrs from now, so we will say 669k so at 10% a year $66,000 a year!
Now for 8yrs i will work my ass off and be traveling and have little social life, but at age 30 i will never have to work again, and i will probably never want to in nursing cause i will be burnt out, but i think it would be worth it, what do you think?
9 years of hell to be able to make 50-60k/year (with inflation will probably be the equivilent to 43k/year now) isn't exactly "total freedom". Also, remember that he's planning that everything has to go exactly perfect. If he misses an average of 6 days/year because he's sick, and has say 12 days a year he doesn't work because he's between contracts (which I think is VERY liberal), and 12 days a year that he doesn't work for "other" reasons, that's 28 days a year he doesn't get paid that he's planning on getting paid. That's 8500 dollars he's not going to get. In ten years with interest that's over 90k!!!!
Well, there is another option here. It could work for more than 9 years. 5 extra years of work would more than double his money.
Instead of his goal being to retire in 9 years, his goal should be to retire as soon as possible. Work as much as possible without burning out or endangering your patients, be as frugal as possible, and choose the best investments possible.
You mean those guys that are gone for 2 years and come back disabled with PTSD? 9 years of working 70 hours a week in an ICU...I don't think it's a far stretch to get there.
As much as nursing sucks, I don't think anything compares to being shot at.
Also, there are easier nursing jobs than ICU nursing. I used to work night shift in the operating room. We worked an average of 2 hours a night and spent the rest of the night sleeping or surfing the net. Yet I earned more because of the night differential!
Well, there is another option here. It could work for more than 9 years. 5 extra years of work would more than double his money.
Instead of his goal being to retire in 9 years, his goal should be to retire as soon as possible. Work as much as possible without burning out or endangering your patients, be as frugal as possible, and choose the best investments possible.
And I think that's a fine adjustment to his original plan. I suggested earlier getting his BSN, entering the military, and in the interests of frugality, he could invest 50% of his pay for 20 years, retire at 43, get his retirement benefits at 48 (which is 50% of his retirement pay, which would most likely be over 50k, if not 60k a year at that point) and still have his money working for him. Also not having to work 60 hours a week every week, getting 30 days PAID vacation every year, and paid education so that if he does decide to work after retirement, he could go into teach (less stress) or Advanced nursing (more money).
Good heavens, people! A young person posts an optimistic plan, and so many jump all over him! Frankly, if I was the OP I don't think I'd ever frequent these forums again.
I'm sure the OP with modify his plans as he goes along. We aren't helping with some of the vitriol that's being tossed around here.
And as to those of you who have been positive, GOOD FOR YOU! Not enough of it in nursing.
yes i feel like the OP is being unrealistic and i was the first to say so. but after reading some responses after me, i agree it is commendable for a 21 year old to be thinking about retirement and to start with a loosely sketched plan. i sure didn't have a clue at 21.
i just wanted to add that there is so much more to life than retiring early. i've only been nursing 18 months and there have been so many moments i've had with patients that were funny, touching, sad, etc. moments that i probably would've missed or not appreciated were i working 60 hour weeks because i was stressed or angry or rushing.
not only that, but to me living is also about the vacations, fine food, and yes the occasional splurge on material things. i dont feel like the OP's plan accounts for these things either during the working years or in the retirement years. what would you do with all that down time if you couldn't afford to spend much on going away, having some sushi, or buying gifts for yourself or others? not that having money is the only determinant for being happy, but it really really would help.
You mean those guys that are gone for 2 years and come back disabled with PTSD? 9 years of working 70 hours a week in an ICU...I don't think it's a far stretch to get there.
Comparing nursing to a soldier in Iraq is quite insulting. And not everyone comes back with PTSD, though none are the same after even one tour.
To the OP: Good Luck with your plan! I, too, commend you for even thinking about saving for the future now.
I thought I'd be able to work a lot of OT when I started nursing school too. Then I graduated, started working, and two in a row was all I could stomach. Three in a row almost killed me! So things can change for you once you see what the job really entails, but by all means, if you have the energy, ROCK ON!
There's a difference between being pessimistic and being realistic.
Pessimists never call themselves pessimists. Instead, they smugly label themselves "realistic."
But they are not realists. A realist is someone who realizes that the world is pretty open-ended, that there are wonderful possibilities there, and that they, too, can do wonderful things.
I like reading stories about people who have failed. Not because I want people to fail -- far from it -- but because people who fail usually pick themselves up and keep going and still do wonderful things.
Will the OP fail? I hope not. But even if she does, I bet she'll have a lot more fun and get further and do more than if she never dreamed.
Well, retirement that early sounds nice, but I think I'd be bored without something to do.
Nothing personal, but why do people always assume that retired means doing nothing? Retired means doing whatever you WANT to do each day instead of what you HAVE to do.
I can think of hundreds of better activities than nursing. Nursing is physically unhealthy, hazardous, and often a hostile work environment.
Three in a row almost killed me!
So things can change for you once you see what the job really entails, but by all means, if you have the energy, ROCK ON!
mikethern
358 Posts
Well, there is another option here. It could work for more than 9 years. 5 extra years of work would more than double his money.
Instead of his goal being to retire in 9 years, his goal should be to retire as soon as possible. Work as much as possible without burning out or endangering your patients, be as frugal as possible, and choose the best investments possible.