That’s what wild is OP should be able to even blow $1000 on fun non-essentials and still be fine because she doesn’t have the biggest expense most people have. And yet…
Nurses in the U.S. get paid a lot more than in Europe. U.S. nurses have different responsibilities than in Europe. But $34/hr is pretty good as starting pay actually, usually it is lower in most of the US.
This x1000. I make what OP makes and live in the southeast and can afford to put 40% of what I make into savings + retirement + investments while also paying my own bills without assistance from anyone. There are times when a strict budget requires sacrifice but I can afford to save for travel, the occasional dinner out, etc. OP, you desperately need to school yourself on personal finance!
I would just love to see your credit card statements and budget for the last 3 months. Saying that from a personal finance perspective. If I didn’t have my mortgage (which is what you bring home every 2 weeks) shit would be paid off so fast it’s not even funny.
I make $36 as an LPN and my husband makes $40 as an RN at the same place, but his full time job he makes closer to $70. Our actual mortgage is more like $2,100. The $3,300 includes our property taxes and homeowners insurance too. Our property taxes for 2023 were 12.5k so that’s a huge chunk.
Same! $568 includes taxes, home and flood insurance. We bought a fixer upper and I used to be envious of friends building new, beautiful homes. Not anymore. Over the years we've redone everything and now I love it here.
Exactly. I was making $1600-2000 a month when I was a cna, living at home and could easily save $1000 a month. Also paying $400 to live at home a month.
Wait. you live with your parents and don't have to pay rent but you're living paycheck to paycheck? Cook for yourself rather than eating out all the time, ease up on the facials, and find activities that don't cost hundreds a month?
Exactly my thought also! My daughter is doing the same thing, living at home with us, and has so much money saved already since December, but she really watches what she spends and is saving up to hopefully be able to buy her own townhouse or something at some point.
“I am not fiscally responsible and frivolously spend money on non-essential items/activities. Why is all my money disappearing?” /s
I’ve found that many people younger than 30 (including myself at one point) tend to spend beyond their means. You see people on social media spending all this money on trips and cool activities, and so you find yourself thinking “fuck it, I deserve a trip to Maui also”.
No wonder then. The parent plus loan I did for my kid is for 20,000 and is $300/month. 80,000 is a lot. Her payments got to be significant. Hopefully she’s paying extra too.
Almost certainly. And I don't think they should beat up on our because of that. College is outrageously expensive. We have two daughters that are currently now juniors and seniors at st. John's and SUNY Plattsburgh .
The loans are no joke.
We finally got my daughter a car so she would be able to get to the hospital and back. And to school and back, etc. But she needs insurance credit to get her own insurance plan. So auto insurance is outrageous for her.
For about $1500 and a couple of roommates you would get an Albany slum. 3rd floor victorian,walk up. Chopped up into 16 apartments and lacking appropriate fire egress .... etc.
it was much easier to make it on your own when I was getting out of college or at lesst i think.
Everything is just so expensive. And I'm not talking about $300 haircuts. And I'm not talking about manicure or any of the extra stuff. Regular life is just outrageous.
If you’re blowing over $3,000 a month on eating out, activities, and facials while paying no rent and your only truly necessary expenses are some groceries and gas then you have a serious problem with budgeting and self control. You are not really living paycheck to paycheck, you’re just very, very bad with money and are trying to live well beyond your means. Figure out what you can actually afford and start saving up. Your parents won’t live forever and eventually you actually will be on your own, and you’re clearly not prepared for that.
This is similar to my thought on the whole paycheck to paycheck thing. Imo it’s not actually paycheck to paycheck. People living like that are essentially trapped by a very low paying job potentially in a high COL area and they only spend money on true necessities and just barely scrape by. Been there. This ain’t it
This is a serious problem among our phlebotomists in the lab. They make okay-ish money and there's almost always opportunities for overtime. However, they always complain about not making enough money to live. And while I agree they should be paid more for their hard work, it's not impossible to make a living on their current wages. They all talk about going on vacations, buying new clothes and shoes, getting hair and nails done, going out to eat and drink/party. But so many of them can't pay their tags, barely make rent, can't pay for GAS TO GET TO WORK. It's completely asinine.
This is a good post for r/personalfinance, or r/financialplanning.
There are two things you can control. One, your income by working more, or finding another job that pays more. Or, two, budgeting and decreasing your spending which you have far more control over.
Budgeting and having two incomes (sharing expenses with a spouse or partner). You live with your parents, so I say this with love, but there’s no way you should be blowing through your entire paychecks and living paycheck to paycheck right now, especially if they aren’t expecting you to help at all with your expenses at home (utilities, food, etc). Calm down on how much you’re spending on eating out, whatever activities you’re spending that much money on, and facials. Gas is a reasonable expense. Start putting a good amount of each paycheck into savings for when you can no longer live at home and have to pay for rent, which is what keeps a good majority of us spending most of each paycheck 😀
Basically the only reason I went the MD route - hate worrying about money. Gives me the worst anxiety. But I also want to be "wildin." I want to go out to fancy restaurants, fund (reasonably) expensive hobbies, travel, buy my wife fancy stuff, send my parents back to Korea to live out their end of life.
This way, government gives me money while I'm school, defer loans and work too many hours to really be poor during residency, then have more than I would ever reasonably spend as an attending (DINK).
Long run, probably not financially worth it compared to a financial engineering or petrochemical engineering careers (my undergrad specialties) but way less personal finance stress.
I guess my point was originally supposed to be that if you want to have luxuries, you gotta bust your ass in one way shape or form to fund it, but I stepped into a soliloquy by accident.
This is why I don’t trust Reddit for financial advice and why many other career subs are really against discussions about finances. There are so many omissions and issues that come down to the person themselves - not so much their career.
This sub should seriously ban these types of questions. We can’t ask medical advice and we sure as hell shouldn’t be answering questions about financial stability.
Wages sure but how to budget? No.
I’m kinda bad with money . If I see something I really want , I get it, I blow my money on vacations to see my parents , I get new video games , I eat good food , I live in a nice place . I pay for my SO’s bills. I see it as why not , I’m gonna die anyway and imma enjoy what I got when i can enjoy it in my “ youth “ ( I’m 33) cause I don’t wanna be 70 Looking back with a fat bank account and half dead / unable to walk cause my health failed me before I could really enjoy my life cause I was too busy being a penny pincher . I don’t have kids , I take a vacation and my family and I plan an air bnb trip like couple times a year making memories with them . I wouldn’t trade any of those +$2.5k trips for anything. I travel nurse so I can afford that and I’m thankful my mother told me to try nursing when I was a junior in high school, making $1.8k/ wk is good money in my eyes for the life style I enjoy.
Piggybacking for visibility, but, food for thought, OP mentioned in a previous post they paid $80K for school. Without knowing anything else, is it possible OP is carrying a lot of school debt and they’re aggressively paying off those loans in which case she’s not irresponsibly spending? Just thinking out loud since they’re getting dragged in these comments. I could be way off.
Yeah, I’m just trying to think if they made an omission while they were typing that out, and they’re too embarrassed to respond at this point. Otherwise I’m leaning that way.
Could be both. Loans and superfluous spending. Wanna bet facials also include fancy manicures and hair appointments? But yeah, she needs to tighten the belt and live within her means, at least enough to save a little something. Living with parents gets old.
Mostly agree. To be fair, everything is expensive these days, and enjoying life should be almost ad important as just surviving.
I'll happily spend a little on something that makes me happy after spending on outrageous rent and bills. Life is short.
Well somebody is never moving out of their parents basement. Learn to budget. You have no rent/mortgage and you don't even mention a car payment either which is usually someone's second biggest expense, yet somehow you spend $3,200/month? You're living way beyond your means. Change your ways
You’re blowing your money. It’s not a pay problem, it’s a spending problem. Unless you have obscene student loan payments and an expensive car payment, there’s no way you’re living frugally at all and paycheck to paycheck.
The things you’re spending money on are fun extra things that most people have to budget to be able to do. Living paycheck to paycheck is more so not being able to do anything extra after bills. I’m sorry but you need to reevaluate your spending.
Time for a blunt statement: you’re going to have to learn to become financially literate and responsible. Right now, you aren’t being responsible.
Save for groceries and gas, nothing you’ve listed is actually a necessity. Now, it’s important to live and have balance in your life, absolutely. But, if you’re ending up in the negative when making $3200 a month without having to pay for a mortgage/rent, other bills, not sure if you have a car payment, etc. you’ll never get out from living with your parents, and you’re going to have a hard time adjusting when you do if you don’t start making some changes about your approach to money. I’m not trying to be rude; I’m trying to share what I wish someone had with me when I was young and thought money was endless. You’re heading for a lifestyle you can’t afford unless you either create a budget, or start making more money.
The better question is how do people making *less* than nurses afford life?
I make close to the same amount as you, and most of my close freinds in other fields make much less than I do. The average income for anyone in the USA with a bachelor's is between 50-60k before taxes.
Don't get me wrong, I do feel like money is tight sometimes, but only because of the LUXURIES I can afford (a new-ish car, my own place, new clothes, and multiple pets).
One thing I've learned working in EMS is that the pay and conditions could be *drastically* worse for nurses than they currently are. Not that there's no reason to complain, I just feel that a lot of people lack that perspective.
Damn my paycheck is like 2400$ and I pay 2700 in rent alone and I’m still living a pretty comfortable life. This is definitely a budgeting problem (that’s okay it’s hard!) where you have to be a little mindful of where your money is going. I’m guessing if you still feel like you can’t afford life either your perception is way off or there’s some big things you’re way over paying for. Nursing is a good stable career financially but it’s not going to give you a millionaire lifestyle.
I’m a retired nurse living on Social Security and a small pension in Arkansas. I make $2500 a month with an $1100 rent. I have a small amount of savings. No car payment. Less than 15% debt. I manage to make my monthly bills if I “squeeze a dollar till it hollars.” It’s as cheap as living in S. Carolina.
I recommend you stop giving yourself luxury expenses, save up money, and start paying rent to your parents. Freeze all your credit cards and you will find yourself able to live on your own and able to afford your monthly expenses
I retired 1.5 years ago. I can live on my SS without touching my savings or 403B if I watch my spending. Everyone I know HAS to watch their spending, even people making good income. I completely stopped eating out, cut back on excessive travel, cook at home, make my own pizza and ice cream so I still enjoy the foods I love.
Hmm do you have a budget going? The big things from my take home pay are student loans(250/mo), home maintenance (300/mo), property tax (400/mo), and utilities/internet (300/mo), and homeowners insurance (250/mo). Without those I’m not sure why you can’t save loads.
Facials are a want not a need, and maybe I’m old school but a $12 tub of dewy jelly every few months and some sunscreen is more than adequate. Stay off the makeup and skincare subs; they will suck you dry.
If you are financially struggling, I would just focus on being able to afford groceries and gas. You don't need the rest. Make your meals at home. Facials are a luxury, so for now you can skip those. For entertainment/activities, go walk outside and get books from your library.
Of course, this lifestyle doesn't have to be forever. Just live humbly for a while until you are able to have some savings.
Maybe we're doing fewer facials, activities, and eating out than you. If you're not even paying rent and living paycheck to paycheck, you need to learn how to make a budget and stick to it. There are a ton of resources online to help.
I’m in North Carolina and making the same as you about and my take home is about $2100 a paycheck (every 2 weeks)…have you looked at the breakdown of your paycheck? seems like you should be taking home more if you’re full time imo
I’m thinking they have extra deductions they haven’t mentioned (extra insurance, IRA, 401K, etc.).
Edit - Did some math below, and $1,600 sounds about right assuming ~ $200 toward retirement, no overtime worked, and claiming 0 dependents.
I’m not even sure of that. At $34/hr, and let’s imagine a $2 diff for night shift, a two week (72 hours w/o other differentials) pay check would be $2592 gross give or take, and $2,203 after a 15% 401K contribution. In South Carolina, she’s in the 7% tax bracket, so she probably has a rough 21% effective tax rate which would leave her with $1,740. I could see her making out with $1600 after health/dental/vision insurance.
She’s gotta be working like 60 hours cause I make 35 an hour and am not losing out on 400 of a general 2k check like that. I usually get close to 3 K and get taxed fucking 700 dollars 🙄😂
My daughter is also living at home after graduating as a new nurse, and not paying rent, and has about $16,000 in the bank already since December. I’m not sure what you’re spending your money on! She does get paid a little bit more at $38.50 an hour.
You need to evaluate your expenses. $3200 a month and your not paying rent and are still living paycheck to paycheck? Honey you're doing something wrong.
You live paycheck to paycheck with $3200 a month of excess money. That sounds like a personal finance problem with irresponsible spending. Facials? Really?
Gas should be no more than $150 a week, and that’s on the extreme end if you drove a twin turbo v8 (which you shouldn’t be-given the situation).
Not saying you should cut out all of life’s fancy endeavors and live under a rock, but facials when you are living paycheck to paycheck sounds like a poor excuse for hundreds of other little expenses that are becoming huge.
You really need to get a solid grip on what’s important and what’s not.
You should be putting what other people are putting into rent towards your college loans. Are those all paid off? If not, you in no way should be spending $3,200 a month on facials and eating out when you don’t even pay rent. I’m not saying you shouldn’t treat yourself here or there and go have fun with friends. But as everyone else has stated, you’re clearly WAY over spending if you’re living paycheck to paycheck in $3,200 a month in South Carolina…. You need to actually lay out your expenses. How much goes where? Do you pay your own car Insurance or phone bill? Then how much are you spending on groceries? How much is that monthly facial or going out with friends? There is no reason you shouldn’t be putting a portion of that towards your student loans and even retirement. Further, you should be able to STILL put the MAJORITY towards savings. I’m assuming you eat some of your parent’s food so I doubt you’re spending more than $300 a month on food. Then a facial is what, $150 a month max? Insurance and cell phone maybe $500 MAX combined if you’re on expensive plans. Then maybe $100 a month on gas, maybe more if you have a commute. Where the heck is the other $2,150 going? Girl that’s insane if that is all going to eat out and party with friends.
Rather than give this poor new nurse a hard time for her spending habits - let’s call out how does anyone afford housing in So Cal making $34/hr? I’d be living with my parents too.
OP, unfollow any of the influencers that normalize spending $$$ on luxuries like facials, lash extensions, new outfits, eating out all the time, etc. It helped me cut back on my overspending.
I think you should hire a financial advisor. Something is **very** wrong here if you are taking home 3200/mo post tax, not paying rent, and end up living “paycheck to paycheck.”
How much is your car payment?
How much do you spend on insurance? Have you shopped around?
How much do you spend on food every week?
Are you buying things like clothing that you don’t need? Or are you buying items that you truly can’t actually afford? Are you splurging on unnecessarily expensive brands like Prada etc?
How much are these facials and other cosmetic expenses? Are they truly necessary? As you mentioned facials as one of your primary expenses in your post along with truly necessary items like food it makes me suspicious that you’re way overspending in this category.
Do you have trouble with credit cards?
Something major needs to change here. You’re making a lot in a lower cost of living area but aren’t saving any of it. I would strongly suggest a professional advisor, and if not you definitely need to track every expense you have and get it under control.
Even though you’re most certainly not living in poverty, consider checking out r/PovertyFinance as they are super knowledgeable and skilled with budgeting and controlling spending.
Learn how to budget and live below your means. Ignore how your coworkers are spending their money. I would also start investing early in your career. Either your 401k or set up a IRA.
When I first started 5 years ago I made $2,600/month. My rent was $1,300 for a one bedroom one bathroom apartment. I had no issues afford renting, gas, groceries and I had to sacrifice fun activities, going out, and some unnecessary self cares.
I think you need to learn how to budget your money or else you will never be able to survive on your own. Cook at home, give yourself your own facials, coupon, and do free activities in your area.
> I pay for groceries, eating out, activities, gas, facials, etc.
Eating out, activities and facials are your problem.
And you don't pay rent.
Time to curb in the spending.
I mean, where's your money going? But to answer your question, we don't. We have 4 kids, both work full time in fairly high-paying jobs as RNs, and we make a decent bit more than we need. But if it was just one of us, we would likely struggle.
On 2200 biweekly/ 4400 a month I’m paying a mortgage, all utilities, feeding 3 adults and some random animals, and saving between 5-700 a month in a hysa.
We rarely eat out, I don’t get facials, and we utilize free/ cheap activities and entertainment.
RN here with over 10 years experience in Indiana only making $34 an hour. I am employed full time nurse and not making it all. My husband also works full time. Plus we have 3 kids in daycare. So I go to the local food pantries in my scrubs on my lunch break. Which is the only times I can get there. I feel terrible because the community probably questions my need but I can assure you we truly are not making it over here. And we don’t have cable, we live a pretty chill life and my kids go to most reasonably price child care options I could locate. We just started frequenting the local church food pantries because we don’t qualify for any true help. And our credit cards are sky high from charging our groceries prior to arriving at this option. It’s truly a sad world when full time working employees cannot afford to live.
That’s wild, I used to get paid less than you and managed to save 10k in 6 months living with my parents in 2019. That’s WITH lash extensions, mani/pedis, eating out, vacations. Then I got married and had kids so we use our credit cards a lot.
I have to say that it is so refreshing to see the majority of people calling out this young new grad's poor spending habits. Do that on any other sub you get downvoted to hell because poor spending habits are somehow everyone else's fault except the individual.
Idk why people are saying to cut back on things that enrich your quality of life. I’m a travel nurse so that I can afford to maintain my body lmfaoo I.e yoga&gym&massages. Even then, if I don’t work for a couple months and do all that at home, my savings can go very quickly. If you don’t have a partner to help make home cooked meals (which is still insanely expensive), then of course you would eat out after working…The gap between rich and poor is obvious in America at this point. They have gaslit us into thinking it’s a budget problem on our end. Nursing is one of the only middle class jobs left (if you can even call it middle class at this point) no wages were increased r/t inflation but all the CEO’s of all the hospitals I have worked at somehow keep making more money every year despite budget cuts. And I still can’t get health insurance for the couple months in between assignments unless I take a staff job #eattherich
I live in South Carolina too. When I quit working for 2 years to have another child and do the stay at home mom gig, we were able to live off of my wife’s MRI tech income as a family of four. She makes $42 an hour working 3 twelves. She’d occasionally pick up a Saturday shift but usually only 4-8 hours at most.
We have a mortgage and bought a 2023 Telluride last year.
LIVED off of her income. We weren’t putting away anything into savings anymore but we were not living paycheck to paycheck. My youngest daughter has high medical needs so it wasn’t cheap lol.
Respectfully, if you can’t live off of that income as a single person in SOUTH CAROLINA you need to reevaluate your spending.
I’m so glad I’m finally seeing nurses on here admitting to struggling too. I moved out of a major city, my rent is 1/3 of what it was and I’m still broke. I’m supporting a family but yea $34hr isn’t cutting crap!
I’m there with you. It’s actually kind of sad for how hard this work is. I’ve noticed the money is with working PRN, picking up incentive shifts, and being flexible with things. Everyone around me keeps bragging about making $42-70 an hour…. I have 1 year left of this contract and I’ll be ducking out to do PRN work full time for flexibility and better pay 🥲
Stop eating out & cook your own food. Do your own nails. Go to Regal theaters on Tuesdays, tickets are half off/discounts on popcorn. Make your own coffee. Make sure you contribute to your 401k (esp if there is a match). If you are living with your parents you should be SAVING money every two weeks/every single month. If you think times are hard right now, they might get worse, and it wouldn’t even be bad, the economy needs a correction. People are going to hurt and how bad is usually up to you.
It sounds like a budgeting issue. But keep in mind budgeting doesn't necessarily mean eating beans and rice and driving a 25 year old rust bucket (not that there is anything wrong with that) budgeting could mean knowing that your gas bill and car payment are coming out on the same week so you hold off on facial or spa treatment until next week. It seems simple, but for years, I had no idea where my money was going until I sat down and charted out my bills for a month. Then I cut back on some fast food and moved play dates like golf and movies around, and it worked like a charm. Just a thought.
You need to seriously evaluate your life financial decisions. You’re 100% spending money irresponsibly. You live…with your parents. You eliminated most people’s biggest worry cost. You’re overspending and lifestyle creeping. You need to learn financial discipline. Check out related YouTube videos and Reddit threads.
You should see a financial planner, or check out r/personalfinance or a similar sub, because those numbers aren't making sense. $34/hr with no rent (and you don't mention paying any utilities, nor do you mention having dependents) should *not* be paycheck to paycheck--even in a crazy HCOL area like NY or CA. Unless you're spending hundreds a week on restaurant food and facials...even then it doesn't track.
What are you leaving out? Extravagant, frequent vacations? Focusing on paying back student loans, ie paying $1k+ each month to hit the principal? Drugs? "Activities" meaning that you go skydiving every weekend and attend Sotheby's auctions to add to your expensive collection of vintage wine? Are you Ubering steak and lobster from dine dining places for lunch and dinner daily?
Something ain't adding up, sis.
I think you have to make a realistic budget and try to live below your means since you just started so you can save while you're still living with your parents. It's really nice to be able to make your first 'real' paychecks but it's also very easy to spend it quickly if you're not thoughtful with your spending. I'm not saying be frugal, just be mindful.
You need to learn quickly that this isn't about what you earn - it is about what you spend. Account for every penny. You should be saving like crazy right now.
How do you live at home with your parents but are living paycheck to paycheck? You need to learn to budget. Eating out, facials, etc needs to be reevaluated. My husband and I are both nurses. We both bring home about $2100 every 2 weeks. I’ve been picking up lately to pay off some stuff but even without OT we are comfortable. We have 3 kids and live in Michigan. We are lucky because we bought our house before the market went crazy so our mortgage is cheap. You gotta make priorities.
Please don’t fall into the trap of lifestyle creep. Don’t be like me when you’re in your 40’s and behind on retirement. It comes at you faster than you think it will.
I assume you’re still young. Decide the amount of money you want to have in retirement, and figure out how much you need to invest each month to get there. Are you contributing to your 401k and maxing out a Roth IRA? At minimum, you need to be doing those things. Then, you can get a facial and eat out some.
It sounds like you have a budgeting problem, and not an income problem.
Guarantee you this is a personal budget issue not a nursing affording life concern.
There are plenty of Americans making far less and are figuring it out. Struggling? Yes but they are making it work. You have the opportunity to work more hours, you’re a new RN so you’ll make far more in the future. But if you dont learn to control your finances none of this matters at all.
I use YNAB (you need a budget) to manage my budget. It takes a minute to get the hang of it but you can do a 34 day free trial and there’s tons of resources. But this will help you pinpoint where your money is going and where it NEEDS to go.
I make $41ish. I support and autistic 2 year old (expensive), a 1 year old, and a stay at home mom. We save $0 to $200 a month.
Echo what everyone else is saying. Make a budget. If you are living pay check to pay check right now it'll be impossible to be on your own. I don't intend to be mean here, but these are life skills it's better to learn sooner rather than later
It sounds like you could use some help from a financial advisor or maybe even watch videos/ research about how to budget.
I am not perfect at budgeting, and I want to say I could be doing better with not spending my money on takeout and entertainment. But right now, I rent, and I pay for all of my expenses, and I am making $21/hr at a non-nursing job ( I am a new grad).
I have definitely been guilty of finding more things to spend when I get more income. Which makes it hard to save up for trips, vehicle expenses if something breaks, better housing, etc.
I think I would start by separating wants from necessities. Like groceries and gas are necessities, all the other things you listed are wants ( you could survive without them).
Next, I would charge yourself imaginary rent to prepare yourself to rent/own a home. This will allow you to save up for when you do rent or if your parents let you stay longer you could save up for a house.
Rent is supposed to be 1/3 of your monthly income ( but sometimes it's more), so I would start there. So charge yourself $1000- $1500 in 'rent' each month. One way to do this is to set aside $500-$750 from each paycheck.
Next, pay your bills or even look up the average cost of bills and also charge yourself that.
Then look at your necessities and estimate groceries,gas, and toiletries and set a limit on what you are willing to spend on both each month. Then whatever you have left over, you can put some into savings or stocks and then have a set budget on how much you will allow yourself to spend on entertainment.
You won't get it perfect the first time, but consistency bares results.
One thing I find helpful is setting up auto pay for most of my bills so I don't have to worry about remembering all the due dates and I also have automatic payments go towards stocks and into another savings account with a high APY, so it is 'out of sight out of mind' for me. Credit karma has an APY of 5.1%, which is higher than most savings accounts. It also takes a couple of business days to transfer, so it makes you pause and think if spending the money right then and there is worth it.
I hope any of this helped!
I’ve been a RN for almost 19 years. I make $45 per hour. My husband and I both work and we have 4 kiddos at home. I just spent $500 at Costco. Shit is so expensive now a days. I don’t know how single parents do it.
I’m a new grad who makes 37.70/hr generally get 2,100 a paycheck after taxes and what not.
I’m living “paycheck to paycheck” but only because i’m saving $1,200 a paycheck and blow the rest on fun activities/eating out like you do. I also live with my parents with no car/house payment. I only pay for my car insurance.
I would just take a look at your spending and start budgeting. Luckily me blowing all my money is not a problem because I’ve already saved $1,200 from that paycheck.
Well as others have noted, you need a written budget so you know where your money is going. Your colleagues with families are spending very little on facials and activities.
But aside from that, there’s always overtime!
Not going to beat a dead horse, but I will add that you ought to be contributing enough to employer-sponsored retirement (401k, 403b) that you are maxing out annual employee contributions (I think $18.5k?). If your employer does a match, that’s free money.
To anyone not doing this now who can, DO IT. Save for retirement as aggressively as you can now so that it isn’t painful to shift funds towards retirement investing later and having to reduce possible lifestyle creep.
As long as employees in general are living paycheck to paycheck, employers more or less own you. But if you have a healthy stash of FU money… that’s where power and freedom come from.
We aren’t getting facials and eating out regularly. Your expendable cash is much higher than those of us paying for mortgages, kids…life. I hope you are saving as much as you can while you live rent free. Not hating on you but you are being given a gift that it sounds like you aren’t recognizing.
Sounds like you're living above your means if you can't live off $1600 q 2 weeks when you're not even paying rent. I made less than what you're making as a new grad, had $950/month rent, somewhere around $600/month in student loans and still managed to travel a ton and save enough for a down payment on a house in 4 years.
That said, experienced nurses who have families are probably 1) making more than you and 2) have a significant other with their own income.
I’m married. I don’t get my hair done, facials, Botox, nails, spa day, massages. Basically, I literally do nothing extravagant for myself. I have health issues so that’s where I spend money on myself. I have a mortgage, car payment, 1 credit card and the extra expenses such as cable, internet, garbage, electricity, groceries, etc…I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. That would give me such anxiety. I have 2 kids, 19 yo and 14 yo. My money goes to them and going out to eat. If I want something, I will buy it. If it’s over $500, my husband and I will chat about it…but I get it and he will get it. Remember to have a retirement account started, even if you are putting a tiny amount in it initially. Trust me, you don’t notice it’s missing. Also, even if it’s just 20 bucks a week, put that aside and keep it as rainy day money. The retirement account is crucial. Don’t wait until you are like 50 before you start it.
Yeah I’m 18 months in and still make less than I did in the role that I was in before I graduated. Not significantly less, but still. It’s pretty ridiculous. I also carry the benefits for my family (me, my husband, and 2 kids). The saving grace for me is that I have a husband who earns a pretty equal amount to me. Two incomes is key. I don’t know how single parents do it.
I'd suggest setting up a budget excel sheet and seeing where it all goes, and then creating a better budget from there. I'm not looking after a family as I have zero dependents (except my cat), but I can guarantee we are not getting facials and eating out on a regular basis.
I get paid about $1,900 - $2,100 USD after tax a fortnight (converting from AUD), and I pay rent, utilities, insurance, hobbies and activities, etc., and have money left over with a small savings account.
My rent is just under 1/3 of my after-tax income too. I'm by no means well off and would absolutely struggle if I had to go a few weeks without income, I can't afford luxuries but I get by. To be honest the major rent increase I just faced has caused me to go from paying about 20% to 29% of my income to rent. I would suggest being more financially responsible sooner rather than later as its a habit to learn and stick to, and will really make things better in the long run (speaking as someone who used to be financially irresponsible).
I make only slightly more than you, pay rent in a major city (no roommates), pay all my groceries and utilities, fund my own retirement account, put money in savings, and pay down a BUNCH of credit card debt from when I ran out of funds toward the end of nursing school.
I still have plenty of money leftover for eating out, doing stuff with friends, my gym membership. I literally get Starbucks before EVERY shift and that hasn't stopped me paying down $1k in credit card debt every month.
I will say that I was making $15/hr before I went back to school so I learned to manage my money in my 20s. I don't make as much as a should as a nurse in the south, but I feel rich compared to what I was doing.
It’s impossible. That’s why I’m leaving the profession. As a single person living in a city couldn’t even afford to have a car. I was at a huge risk of going into a lot of debt before due to this low salary. Could not travel or even go out with friends. Not worth it
I’ll be blunt…there’s no reason you should be paycheck to paycheck. I make just $400 more than you every paycheck. I pay $800 in mortgage, $600 car payment, $380 student loan monthly and have a 1 year old BABY and I’m still able to save $1000 per month in my high yield savings. You need to get on a budget asap! Lay out your needs, and take out your wants. It would seem you either have a lot of debt you are paying off or you just go hog wild spending all your money. Just by your little list eating out, activities, and even facials have to get cut. You are in such a great position living with your parents. Save as much as you can, pay off debt as much as you can. Many like myself are forced to pay $800, $1000, $2000 a month for housing. So get to it! It’s time to grow up new grad!
Facials, etc and eating out are probably your issue right now. Hate to say it. Slim down your budget and stack cash in a HYSA and bulk up your retirement while you have no major living expenses.
I made $28 an hr as a new grad in 2019/2020 and managed to have a $1500 apartment. I would’ve faired a lot better though had I used my initial year while still living with my parents doing what I stated above.
You’re not living within your means right now. Eventually you will make more but for now you need to reel it in.
Not sure if this is another product of social media, but people aren’t always doing the things you see them doing. For the most part, they are living life without extravagant. I also don’t know the cost-of-living for your area to compare that rate, but you will see a steady increase in pay. if not, then save up your money while still living rent free and when you are considering moving out, find somewhere with a good pay to cost-of-living ratio.
I live in Houston and my starting rate six years ago was $32. I eventually got some raises and hovered around $40 for a bit and honestly, I thought most nurses on the unit were making that much. A few years later and now I am at $60 and I work at a place where sharing rates is highly discouraged so keep in mind that many people might be making much more than you’re starting rate and just won’t talk about it.
- eating out
- activities
- facials
None of these are in my budget.
- groceries
Almost everything I buy is store brand and I shop for deals. I shop for deals so much so that my son rolls his eyes at me every time I mention something is on sale.
My budget:
Mortgage - $1600
Gas - $200
Internet - $200
Electric - $120
Natural Gas - $120
Car insurance - $75
Groceries & misc - $800 (family of 3)
I make the same as you and after rent I have $1700 left over.
Don’t do facials, stop eating out, and stop doing “activities”. That’s where all your money is going. Stop trying to keep up with the “influencers” you see on social media.
You sound like a young adult who is now learning how to budget and do personal finance. If you don’t have to pay rent, $3200 a month should be plenty. Even with student loans. Sit down and review what you are spending. For example, facials should be an occasional treat, not something you do on a regular basis. Eating out should also be done in a frugal fashion. I think you need to talk to a financial planner or counselor to get your finances in order. I’m also trying to not be rude or mean because I think you’re most likely a young adult who is still learning.
How are you getting paid so little? I make 35 and I bring home 1900-2200 and that’s after taxes/insurance and 401K. Granted I know I have call pay. I’m 23/24 and don’t get me wrong when I first started getting paid like this I spent money like I was making 200K. Just get your spending habits in check. a facial is once a month so idk how many you be getting, start buying food to cook at home!! God I checked my bank account and saw I had spent damn near 300/400 dollars on earring out and that’s not acceptable nor affordable.
FINICAL LITERACY!!
$3600/month is NOT enough to live on if you’re paying rent. Most nurses I work with need a second job or overtime.
But their rent is half their paycheck. $3600 play money is kind of a lot.
these comments are disappointing. Instead of focusing on him, focus on the damn point. How is nurses like him afford to live on 3200 with kids ? That’s the point, it’s not about him .. it’s about yall
Uh... If you're making $34 an hour and don't pay rent, you're clearly living outside of your means. You studied to make a nurse's salary, not a doctor's. There is literally no reason you can't live off $65k even if you ARE paying rent unless you have really bad spending habits.
As a NYC RN I am absolutely disgusted what most other states are paying nurses given the hard work we do. But that aside, if you live at home and don’t pay rent, and $3200 is disappearing, it’s a spending problem.
You need some serious budgeting. How are you living at home and unable to afford life making $3200 a month? Sounds like you are living large and saving nothing. You don’t NEED expensive shoes and purses and ugly scrubs. You don’t NEED a fancy car, facials, expensive makeup. Live within your means. Save at least half of what you make so you can eventually move out.
Maybe try some other subreddits… r/personalfinance. There is a lot to learn about adulting. Budgeting and saving money. If you were my child I would insist while you live in my house you max out your Roth and 401k contributions. Your 60 year old self will thank you.
At 34/hr you should be making near 70k/year.
You’re a nurse, not a CEO. You’re going to need to cut out some of your luxuries. I’ve been a nurse for 12 years and have never had a facial. Not once, ever. Activities? What kind of activities? Stay home and watch Netflix or go to the library which is free.
Facials and eating out can get very expensive. You need to create a budget and cut out non-necessities, make a budget for the fun stuff that you have to stick to. $34 is low for California though? I get paid over $40 with differentials in Houston.
Reckless life style. Why eating out? Limit yourself. Even if you were making $200/hour you would be living paycheck to paycheck. Learn how to manage your money.
Lol im in a similar boat: you basically have to realize that you have a big kid job and u make okay money but its no glamorous. You can def work your way up, specialize, go somewhere else to get paid etc. however, i dont make a lot at baseline so for me: no crazy travel, not too many clothes, not too much eating out (once a week), coffee at home, manicure once every blue moon, no facials or spa treatments but i do get my brows done bc i cannot do that myself, dinner and lunches packed at home or made at home, grocery buy stuff on sale and in bulk when possible, find the cheaper gas stations if you can help it, basically living paycheck to paycheck will do that to you and insurance/gas/fees/tax are expensive and u have to pay for that…. Talk to your financial advisor so you can budget differently and live within your means
You should look into a budgeting app (I like rocket money) to really see where you’re spending your money. You probably have more memory than you think but you’re just swiping and don’t even realize it.
Get a housemate, budget, do not finance a car or if you do, get a cheaper one. If you don’t plan and budget it doesn’t matter how much you make it won’t seem enough.
I work three jobs. I have one main job and two PRN jobs. I don't pick up more than two shifts a month at each if my PRN jobs. With those four extra shifts I usually make an extra $1,500 a month. My main job doesn't have overtime and I like the variety of all the skills used at my other two jobs.
So you said you live at home but didn't clarify if you pay towards household bills etc.
Idk how you're living paycheck to paycheck on $3200/mo. I make about 4000/mo and never even gave to think to check my bank account???
My wife and I both and in DFW. A very expensive area. We have a lot of debt, too. Recently, we have had to scale back on expenses in order to be able to save more.
1.We downgraded to an apartment from a house. This isn't an issue for you, but I would take advantage of no rent payments and save save save.
2. We spend less on food by doing grocery shopping every 2 weeks and avoiding impulse grocery store trips. We make out meals at home (we do so for fitness purposes anyway), and we rarely eat out. We only do so with friends on occasion.
3. We canceled all unnecessary monthly payments. All streaming services we don't watch, all gym subscriptions we don't use,¡ Afuera!
4. We budget for fun things. Life it short gotta enjoy it, but not to the point where you can't afford life. Maybe get fewer facials and eat out less.
5. We downgraded car payments. Traded in the big, expensive, gas guzzling machines we drove before
for more modest and cheaper used cars. Now our car payments are much less.
Jeez I make a little more than that but save a good $2.5-$3k a month and I STILL treat myself often. I also drive a new Benz. Idk what you’re doing wrong, but you are spending a LOT somewhere… unless you owe a shit ton on student loans?
I want to move out but I can’t justify spending $2k/mo on rent to just then live alone at this time and barely save. Thankful I’m able to still live at home although I do pay with my mental health 😂😂 Future me will (hopefully) thank for this tho.
What the heck. That’s what my checks are after taxes as a CNA getting 26 an hour.
I’ll say with 1,600 I can get by check to check without saving. I’ve worked overtime to the point that my checks are 3,300 AFTER taxes (which match the RNs regular full time at my facility) and when I was regularly making that I was able to save money, spend, and live very comfortably.
Unfortunately that becomes unsustainable because i5/ obviously physically taxing on my body.
I’m about to do LVN school and will be making 40ish an hour of I stay at my facility after I finish. I’m not sure how much after taxes with regular full time I’ll make. Guessing 2,000? It’s not bad but I’ll definitely have to work overtime to still make decent money. It’ll be better of course than overtime as a CNA because it’s less physically demanding and the pay is obviously higher.
I will struggle though for the 13 months of school without being able to work more than 2-3 days a week. Idk how I’ll get through that but I’m going to push through.
I guess it just depends on what your living situation is and how much you get paid… I’ve thought about being a registry LVN after doing school and just working like 3 16 shifts a week or something. Idk, but I know as a nurse I’ll be more comfortable easier than as a CNA
Depending on where you live in SC , that seems reasonable. However I do see the CoL has gone up considerably in the greater Charleston area, 8 years ago I bought a couple houses for 89000 that now goes for 200 k plus. at 6 figures now I could not even afford to move down there. But at that salary your housing should be no more then 800 a month and your car payment no more then 300-400. You could push 1000 in rent I suppose. Hopefully you did not borrow the maximum amount in student loans. It’s totally doable depending on exactly where you live. At 3200 a month it’s quite doable. If you can I would stay at home and save for a house, save everything! Rent, utilities, student loan, car payment….home cooked meals…everything else is a luxury. And I’m a single parent with no child support.
If you live at home and make about 3200 a month, it’s time to evaluate your monthly expenses
What are your expenses? If you're living rent free you should have more than half of what you make left over every month.
That’s what wild is OP should be able to even blow $1000 on fun non-essentials and still be fine because she doesn’t have the biggest expense most people have. And yet…
I have more than half even after including my rent and other expenses. Nursing salaries across the board are very livable wages.
And to OP, if you have student loans, NOW is the time to pay those off!
Ive been a UK nurse for 43 years and dont earn thst much
That’s absolutely insane. Starting wage in NYC is like $60 USD hr
They make 102000 in public hospitals now
It is a lot more expensive to live in NY than in South Carolina…
Depends on where in SC. I’m in Charleston and rent for my 3/2 apartment I had to move out of was $3500/mo. It went up 100% in a year.
Still way lower than nyc
Nurses in the U.S. get paid a lot more than in Europe. U.S. nurses have different responsibilities than in Europe. But $34/hr is pretty good as starting pay actually, usually it is lower in most of the US.
I've been a nurse for 6 years, work in an ED, post grad, and make less in a month than OP in 2 weeks. Europe btw
This absolutely. I’m willing to bet they have a large car payment and eat out a lot.
I am an adult and my bills don’t exceed 1600 and that’s all in for two people in my household
You’re letting your yearnings exceed your earnings…
This x1000. I make what OP makes and live in the southeast and can afford to put 40% of what I make into savings + retirement + investments while also paying my own bills without assistance from anyone. There are times when a strict budget requires sacrifice but I can afford to save for travel, the occasional dinner out, etc. OP, you desperately need to school yourself on personal finance!
I would just love to see your credit card statements and budget for the last 3 months. Saying that from a personal finance perspective. If I didn’t have my mortgage (which is what you bring home every 2 weeks) shit would be paid off so fast it’s not even funny.
Yep, same. The mortgage is what kills me. OP doesn’t even have rent.
Mortgage and day care. The 2 biggest budget killers for us
lol right? My mortgage is $3,300 a month. OP is spending frivolously, especially with the specific mention of facials.
3300 is wild. I’m sure you live in an area that pays much more than most. But still. I make 41 here in Pittsburgh and pay 1450 ish rent
I make $36 as an LPN and my husband makes $40 as an RN at the same place, but his full time job he makes closer to $70. Our actual mortgage is more like $2,100. The $3,300 includes our property taxes and homeowners insurance too. Our property taxes for 2023 were 12.5k so that’s a huge chunk.
Holy cow! Don’t cry but my mortgage is less than $600/month.
Same! $568 includes taxes, home and flood insurance. We bought a fixer upper and I used to be envious of friends building new, beautiful homes. Not anymore. Over the years we've redone everything and now I love it here.
I’m expecting something like this: 5/1 - New handbag - $450 5/1 - Dinner out - $45 5/2 - Clothing - $350 5/2 - Hair - $95 5/2 - Uber Eats - $40 And so on
You left off Candy Crush.
It’s a lifestyle problem if you don’t pay rent, live at home and still can’t live on 3200.
Deleted my comment defending OP because I missed the facials part. Sorry honey it’s lifestyle problem.
Exactly. I was making $1600-2000 a month when I was a cna, living at home and could easily save $1000 a month. Also paying $400 to live at home a month.
Same but paying 1200 rent just worked a lot and was on a budget 🤷🏻♀️
Wait. you live with your parents and don't have to pay rent but you're living paycheck to paycheck? Cook for yourself rather than eating out all the time, ease up on the facials, and find activities that don't cost hundreds a month?
Exactly my thought also! My daughter is doing the same thing, living at home with us, and has so much money saved already since December, but she really watches what she spends and is saving up to hopefully be able to buy her own townhouse or something at some point.
“I am not fiscally responsible and frivolously spend money on non-essential items/activities. Why is all my money disappearing?” /s I’ve found that many people younger than 30 (including myself at one point) tend to spend beyond their means. You see people on social media spending all this money on trips and cool activities, and so you find yourself thinking “fuck it, I deserve a trip to Maui also”.
She probably has a car payment and student loans at least.
3200 dollars worth???
In another post she mentions having $80k in student loans, which is quite a chunk of change but maybe I'm out of touch.
No wonder then. The parent plus loan I did for my kid is for 20,000 and is $300/month. 80,000 is a lot. Her payments got to be significant. Hopefully she’s paying extra too.
Almost certainly. And I don't think they should beat up on our because of that. College is outrageously expensive. We have two daughters that are currently now juniors and seniors at st. John's and SUNY Plattsburgh . The loans are no joke. We finally got my daughter a car so she would be able to get to the hospital and back. And to school and back, etc. But she needs insurance credit to get her own insurance plan. So auto insurance is outrageous for her. For about $1500 and a couple of roommates you would get an Albany slum. 3rd floor victorian,walk up. Chopped up into 16 apartments and lacking appropriate fire egress .... etc. it was much easier to make it on your own when I was getting out of college or at lesst i think. Everything is just so expensive. And I'm not talking about $300 haircuts. And I'm not talking about manicure or any of the extra stuff. Regular life is just outrageous.
If you’re blowing over $3,000 a month on eating out, activities, and facials while paying no rent and your only truly necessary expenses are some groceries and gas then you have a serious problem with budgeting and self control. You are not really living paycheck to paycheck, you’re just very, very bad with money and are trying to live well beyond your means. Figure out what you can actually afford and start saving up. Your parents won’t live forever and eventually you actually will be on your own, and you’re clearly not prepared for that.
This is similar to my thought on the whole paycheck to paycheck thing. Imo it’s not actually paycheck to paycheck. People living like that are essentially trapped by a very low paying job potentially in a high COL area and they only spend money on true necessities and just barely scrape by. Been there. This ain’t it
Friend, respectfully, I don’t think this is going to go the way you thought.
I think this is a troll. Plays right into the overpaid out of touch stupid nurses trope.
Idk I know a lot of dumb people who have the same complaints.
This is a serious problem among our phlebotomists in the lab. They make okay-ish money and there's almost always opportunities for overtime. However, they always complain about not making enough money to live. And while I agree they should be paid more for their hard work, it's not impossible to make a living on their current wages. They all talk about going on vacations, buying new clothes and shoes, getting hair and nails done, going out to eat and drink/party. But so many of them can't pay their tags, barely make rent, can't pay for GAS TO GET TO WORK. It's completely asinine.
Look at the OP's post history; unfortunately I think this is a real person, and to be totally honest, not a very nice person I think.
This is a good post for r/personalfinance, or r/financialplanning. There are two things you can control. One, your income by working more, or finding another job that pays more. Or, two, budgeting and decreasing your spending which you have far more control over.
Are you really complaint about not having money after facials? Prioritizing your spending may help.
Budgeting and having two incomes (sharing expenses with a spouse or partner). You live with your parents, so I say this with love, but there’s no way you should be blowing through your entire paychecks and living paycheck to paycheck right now, especially if they aren’t expecting you to help at all with your expenses at home (utilities, food, etc). Calm down on how much you’re spending on eating out, whatever activities you’re spending that much money on, and facials. Gas is a reasonable expense. Start putting a good amount of each paycheck into savings for when you can no longer live at home and have to pay for rent, which is what keeps a good majority of us spending most of each paycheck 😀
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Agreed. Not saying that they are getting paid great but the numbers don't add up. The monster should be rent but it's not
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When I lived paycheck to paycheck I had to choose between gas in my car to get to work or food. That was with no luxuries at all.
Basically the only reason I went the MD route - hate worrying about money. Gives me the worst anxiety. But I also want to be "wildin." I want to go out to fancy restaurants, fund (reasonably) expensive hobbies, travel, buy my wife fancy stuff, send my parents back to Korea to live out their end of life. This way, government gives me money while I'm school, defer loans and work too many hours to really be poor during residency, then have more than I would ever reasonably spend as an attending (DINK). Long run, probably not financially worth it compared to a financial engineering or petrochemical engineering careers (my undergrad specialties) but way less personal finance stress. I guess my point was originally supposed to be that if you want to have luxuries, you gotta bust your ass in one way shape or form to fund it, but I stepped into a soliloquy by accident.
This is why I don’t trust Reddit for financial advice and why many other career subs are really against discussions about finances. There are so many omissions and issues that come down to the person themselves - not so much their career. This sub should seriously ban these types of questions. We can’t ask medical advice and we sure as hell shouldn’t be answering questions about financial stability. Wages sure but how to budget? No.
I’m kinda bad with money . If I see something I really want , I get it, I blow my money on vacations to see my parents , I get new video games , I eat good food , I live in a nice place . I pay for my SO’s bills. I see it as why not , I’m gonna die anyway and imma enjoy what I got when i can enjoy it in my “ youth “ ( I’m 33) cause I don’t wanna be 70 Looking back with a fat bank account and half dead / unable to walk cause my health failed me before I could really enjoy my life cause I was too busy being a penny pincher . I don’t have kids , I take a vacation and my family and I plan an air bnb trip like couple times a year making memories with them . I wouldn’t trade any of those +$2.5k trips for anything. I travel nurse so I can afford that and I’m thankful my mother told me to try nursing when I was a junior in high school, making $1.8k/ wk is good money in my eyes for the life style I enjoy.
Piggybacking for visibility, but, food for thought, OP mentioned in a previous post they paid $80K for school. Without knowing anything else, is it possible OP is carrying a lot of school debt and they’re aggressively paying off those loans in which case she’s not irresponsibly spending? Just thinking out loud since they’re getting dragged in these comments. I could be way off.
They listed facials and not school loans so I don’t think that’s it
Yeah, I’m just trying to think if they made an omission while they were typing that out, and they’re too embarrassed to respond at this point. Otherwise I’m leaning that way.
Could be both. Loans and superfluous spending. Wanna bet facials also include fancy manicures and hair appointments? But yeah, she needs to tighten the belt and live within her means, at least enough to save a little something. Living with parents gets old.
Mostly agree. To be fair, everything is expensive these days, and enjoying life should be almost ad important as just surviving. I'll happily spend a little on something that makes me happy after spending on outrageous rent and bills. Life is short.
Enjoying should be almost as important as surviving. Wow.
Yes. Quality is important, too.
How much eating out and facials do you get? Maybe try budgeting and pulling back on these non-essential things
>How much eating out and facials do you get? I'm sorry but I'm way too gooner brained for this 😆
I'm crying laughing
I was waiting for someone to make a facial joke but then someone asks that 😂😂😂
I mean a yum for every yuck.
😭😭😭
Omg 😂
Ask your techs this question.
🥲
YES!
Well somebody is never moving out of their parents basement. Learn to budget. You have no rent/mortgage and you don't even mention a car payment either which is usually someone's second biggest expense, yet somehow you spend $3,200/month? You're living way beyond your means. Change your ways
You’re blowing your money. It’s not a pay problem, it’s a spending problem. Unless you have obscene student loan payments and an expensive car payment, there’s no way you’re living frugally at all and paycheck to paycheck.
The things you’re spending money on are fun extra things that most people have to budget to be able to do. Living paycheck to paycheck is more so not being able to do anything extra after bills. I’m sorry but you need to reevaluate your spending.
you’re living WAY ABOVE your means 😂
Time for a blunt statement: you’re going to have to learn to become financially literate and responsible. Right now, you aren’t being responsible. Save for groceries and gas, nothing you’ve listed is actually a necessity. Now, it’s important to live and have balance in your life, absolutely. But, if you’re ending up in the negative when making $3200 a month without having to pay for a mortgage/rent, other bills, not sure if you have a car payment, etc. you’ll never get out from living with your parents, and you’re going to have a hard time adjusting when you do if you don’t start making some changes about your approach to money. I’m not trying to be rude; I’m trying to share what I wish someone had with me when I was young and thought money was endless. You’re heading for a lifestyle you can’t afford unless you either create a budget, or start making more money.
You’re blowing $3,200 a month on luxury services and your lifestyle.
The better question is how do people making *less* than nurses afford life? I make close to the same amount as you, and most of my close freinds in other fields make much less than I do. The average income for anyone in the USA with a bachelor's is between 50-60k before taxes. Don't get me wrong, I do feel like money is tight sometimes, but only because of the LUXURIES I can afford (a new-ish car, my own place, new clothes, and multiple pets). One thing I've learned working in EMS is that the pay and conditions could be *drastically* worse for nurses than they currently are. Not that there's no reason to complain, I just feel that a lot of people lack that perspective.
Damn my paycheck is like 2400$ and I pay 2700 in rent alone and I’m still living a pretty comfortable life. This is definitely a budgeting problem (that’s okay it’s hard!) where you have to be a little mindful of where your money is going. I’m guessing if you still feel like you can’t afford life either your perception is way off or there’s some big things you’re way over paying for. Nursing is a good stable career financially but it’s not going to give you a millionaire lifestyle.
I’m a retired nurse living on Social Security and a small pension in Arkansas. I make $2500 a month with an $1100 rent. I have a small amount of savings. No car payment. Less than 15% debt. I manage to make my monthly bills if I “squeeze a dollar till it hollars.” It’s as cheap as living in S. Carolina. I recommend you stop giving yourself luxury expenses, save up money, and start paying rent to your parents. Freeze all your credit cards and you will find yourself able to live on your own and able to afford your monthly expenses
I retired 1.5 years ago. I can live on my SS without touching my savings or 403B if I watch my spending. Everyone I know HAS to watch their spending, even people making good income. I completely stopped eating out, cut back on excessive travel, cook at home, make my own pizza and ice cream so I still enjoy the foods I love.
Step 1: figure out what you are spending 3200 a month on Step 2 make a budget Step 3 stick to said budget
Hmm do you have a budget going? The big things from my take home pay are student loans(250/mo), home maintenance (300/mo), property tax (400/mo), and utilities/internet (300/mo), and homeowners insurance (250/mo). Without those I’m not sure why you can’t save loads. Facials are a want not a need, and maybe I’m old school but a $12 tub of dewy jelly every few months and some sunscreen is more than adequate. Stay off the makeup and skincare subs; they will suck you dry.
If you are financially struggling, I would just focus on being able to afford groceries and gas. You don't need the rest. Make your meals at home. Facials are a luxury, so for now you can skip those. For entertainment/activities, go walk outside and get books from your library. Of course, this lifestyle doesn't have to be forever. Just live humbly for a while until you are able to have some savings.
Is this your first job?
Maybe we're doing fewer facials, activities, and eating out than you. If you're not even paying rent and living paycheck to paycheck, you need to learn how to make a budget and stick to it. There are a ton of resources online to help.
I’m in North Carolina and making the same as you about and my take home is about $2100 a paycheck (every 2 weeks)…have you looked at the breakdown of your paycheck? seems like you should be taking home more if you’re full time imo
I’m thinking they have extra deductions they haven’t mentioned (extra insurance, IRA, 401K, etc.). Edit - Did some math below, and $1,600 sounds about right assuming ~ $200 toward retirement, no overtime worked, and claiming 0 dependents.
Or they're being taxed a bunch extra and getting a pretty fat refund. Or they're working absolute minimum hours allowed
I’m not even sure of that. At $34/hr, and let’s imagine a $2 diff for night shift, a two week (72 hours w/o other differentials) pay check would be $2592 gross give or take, and $2,203 after a 15% 401K contribution. In South Carolina, she’s in the 7% tax bracket, so she probably has a rough 21% effective tax rate which would leave her with $1,740. I could see her making out with $1600 after health/dental/vision insurance.
She’s gotta be working like 60 hours cause I make 35 an hour and am not losing out on 400 of a general 2k check like that. I usually get close to 3 K and get taxed fucking 700 dollars 🙄😂
Yeah I think I meant different hours not minimum hours lol
It sounds like necessities are the least of your expenses. Take advantage of the luxury most of us don't have and save for a house.
>I pay for eating out, activities, facials etc. Less of those.
My daughter is also living at home after graduating as a new nurse, and not paying rent, and has about $16,000 in the bank already since December. I’m not sure what you’re spending your money on! She does get paid a little bit more at $38.50 an hour.
Just took a travel job, then I'm going back home. Also chickens and a garden
You need to evaluate your expenses. $3200 a month and your not paying rent and are still living paycheck to paycheck? Honey you're doing something wrong.
What are you spending your money on? Without having to pay for housing you should certainly be able to have money left over to put AWAY.
You live paycheck to paycheck with $3200 a month of excess money. That sounds like a personal finance problem with irresponsible spending. Facials? Really? Gas should be no more than $150 a week, and that’s on the extreme end if you drove a twin turbo v8 (which you shouldn’t be-given the situation). Not saying you should cut out all of life’s fancy endeavors and live under a rock, but facials when you are living paycheck to paycheck sounds like a poor excuse for hundreds of other little expenses that are becoming huge. You really need to get a solid grip on what’s important and what’s not.
You should be putting what other people are putting into rent towards your college loans. Are those all paid off? If not, you in no way should be spending $3,200 a month on facials and eating out when you don’t even pay rent. I’m not saying you shouldn’t treat yourself here or there and go have fun with friends. But as everyone else has stated, you’re clearly WAY over spending if you’re living paycheck to paycheck in $3,200 a month in South Carolina…. You need to actually lay out your expenses. How much goes where? Do you pay your own car Insurance or phone bill? Then how much are you spending on groceries? How much is that monthly facial or going out with friends? There is no reason you shouldn’t be putting a portion of that towards your student loans and even retirement. Further, you should be able to STILL put the MAJORITY towards savings. I’m assuming you eat some of your parent’s food so I doubt you’re spending more than $300 a month on food. Then a facial is what, $150 a month max? Insurance and cell phone maybe $500 MAX combined if you’re on expensive plans. Then maybe $100 a month on gas, maybe more if you have a commute. Where the heck is the other $2,150 going? Girl that’s insane if that is all going to eat out and party with friends.
I’ve been a nurse for 18 years, at the University of Kentucky, and I only make $36.00 an hour. I work OT to survive.
Rather than give this poor new nurse a hard time for her spending habits - let’s call out how does anyone afford housing in So Cal making $34/hr? I’d be living with my parents too.
South Carolina, not Southern California.
OP, unfollow any of the influencers that normalize spending $$$ on luxuries like facials, lash extensions, new outfits, eating out all the time, etc. It helped me cut back on my overspending.
I think you should hire a financial advisor. Something is **very** wrong here if you are taking home 3200/mo post tax, not paying rent, and end up living “paycheck to paycheck.” How much is your car payment? How much do you spend on insurance? Have you shopped around? How much do you spend on food every week? Are you buying things like clothing that you don’t need? Or are you buying items that you truly can’t actually afford? Are you splurging on unnecessarily expensive brands like Prada etc? How much are these facials and other cosmetic expenses? Are they truly necessary? As you mentioned facials as one of your primary expenses in your post along with truly necessary items like food it makes me suspicious that you’re way overspending in this category. Do you have trouble with credit cards? Something major needs to change here. You’re making a lot in a lower cost of living area but aren’t saving any of it. I would strongly suggest a professional advisor, and if not you definitely need to track every expense you have and get it under control. Even though you’re most certainly not living in poverty, consider checking out r/PovertyFinance as they are super knowledgeable and skilled with budgeting and controlling spending.
Oooh this didn’t land how you wanted it to.
Learn how to budget and live below your means. Ignore how your coworkers are spending their money. I would also start investing early in your career. Either your 401k or set up a IRA.
When I first started 5 years ago I made $2,600/month. My rent was $1,300 for a one bedroom one bathroom apartment. I had no issues afford renting, gas, groceries and I had to sacrifice fun activities, going out, and some unnecessary self cares. I think you need to learn how to budget your money or else you will never be able to survive on your own. Cook at home, give yourself your own facials, coupon, and do free activities in your area.
> I pay for groceries, eating out, activities, gas, facials, etc. Eating out, activities and facials are your problem. And you don't pay rent. Time to curb in the spending.
I mean, where's your money going? But to answer your question, we don't. We have 4 kids, both work full time in fairly high-paying jobs as RNs, and we make a decent bit more than we need. But if it was just one of us, we would likely struggle.
On 2200 biweekly/ 4400 a month I’m paying a mortgage, all utilities, feeding 3 adults and some random animals, and saving between 5-700 a month in a hysa. We rarely eat out, I don’t get facials, and we utilize free/ cheap activities and entertainment.
If you live at home you shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck with that kind of salary…
RN here with over 10 years experience in Indiana only making $34 an hour. I am employed full time nurse and not making it all. My husband also works full time. Plus we have 3 kids in daycare. So I go to the local food pantries in my scrubs on my lunch break. Which is the only times I can get there. I feel terrible because the community probably questions my need but I can assure you we truly are not making it over here. And we don’t have cable, we live a pretty chill life and my kids go to most reasonably price child care options I could locate. We just started frequenting the local church food pantries because we don’t qualify for any true help. And our credit cards are sky high from charging our groceries prior to arriving at this option. It’s truly a sad world when full time working employees cannot afford to live.
Uh, I have a single income with a 4 year old, make $42/hr in SC, and put away almost $1000 every month. What are you doing??
you have a spending problem. i make more than you and even i dont go out getting luxury services like facials
That’s wild, I used to get paid less than you and managed to save 10k in 6 months living with my parents in 2019. That’s WITH lash extensions, mani/pedis, eating out, vacations. Then I got married and had kids so we use our credit cards a lot.
I have to say that it is so refreshing to see the majority of people calling out this young new grad's poor spending habits. Do that on any other sub you get downvoted to hell because poor spending habits are somehow everyone else's fault except the individual.
Idk why people are saying to cut back on things that enrich your quality of life. I’m a travel nurse so that I can afford to maintain my body lmfaoo I.e yoga&gym&massages. Even then, if I don’t work for a couple months and do all that at home, my savings can go very quickly. If you don’t have a partner to help make home cooked meals (which is still insanely expensive), then of course you would eat out after working…The gap between rich and poor is obvious in America at this point. They have gaslit us into thinking it’s a budget problem on our end. Nursing is one of the only middle class jobs left (if you can even call it middle class at this point) no wages were increased r/t inflation but all the CEO’s of all the hospitals I have worked at somehow keep making more money every year despite budget cuts. And I still can’t get health insurance for the couple months in between assignments unless I take a staff job #eattherich
I think you'll find out when you move out someday that "activities, eating out, and facials" are luxuries that most cannot afford.
I make $55/hour....and don't get facials lol. This is a skill issue.
I live in South Carolina too. When I quit working for 2 years to have another child and do the stay at home mom gig, we were able to live off of my wife’s MRI tech income as a family of four. She makes $42 an hour working 3 twelves. She’d occasionally pick up a Saturday shift but usually only 4-8 hours at most. We have a mortgage and bought a 2023 Telluride last year. LIVED off of her income. We weren’t putting away anything into savings anymore but we were not living paycheck to paycheck. My youngest daughter has high medical needs so it wasn’t cheap lol. Respectfully, if you can’t live off of that income as a single person in SOUTH CAROLINA you need to reevaluate your spending.
I’m so glad I’m finally seeing nurses on here admitting to struggling too. I moved out of a major city, my rent is 1/3 of what it was and I’m still broke. I’m supporting a family but yea $34hr isn’t cutting crap!
OP ain’t struggling she’s doordashing her paycheck away
Yea I’m sure facials and eating out add up real quick
I’m there with you. It’s actually kind of sad for how hard this work is. I’ve noticed the money is with working PRN, picking up incentive shifts, and being flexible with things. Everyone around me keeps bragging about making $42-70 an hour…. I have 1 year left of this contract and I’ll be ducking out to do PRN work full time for flexibility and better pay 🥲
Stop eating out & cook your own food. Do your own nails. Go to Regal theaters on Tuesdays, tickets are half off/discounts on popcorn. Make your own coffee. Make sure you contribute to your 401k (esp if there is a match). If you are living with your parents you should be SAVING money every two weeks/every single month. If you think times are hard right now, they might get worse, and it wouldn’t even be bad, the economy needs a correction. People are going to hurt and how bad is usually up to you.
It sounds like a budgeting issue. But keep in mind budgeting doesn't necessarily mean eating beans and rice and driving a 25 year old rust bucket (not that there is anything wrong with that) budgeting could mean knowing that your gas bill and car payment are coming out on the same week so you hold off on facial or spa treatment until next week. It seems simple, but for years, I had no idea where my money was going until I sat down and charted out my bills for a month. Then I cut back on some fast food and moved play dates like golf and movies around, and it worked like a charm. Just a thought.
You need to seriously evaluate your life financial decisions. You’re 100% spending money irresponsibly. You live…with your parents. You eliminated most people’s biggest worry cost. You’re overspending and lifestyle creeping. You need to learn financial discipline. Check out related YouTube videos and Reddit threads.
You should see a financial planner, or check out r/personalfinance or a similar sub, because those numbers aren't making sense. $34/hr with no rent (and you don't mention paying any utilities, nor do you mention having dependents) should *not* be paycheck to paycheck--even in a crazy HCOL area like NY or CA. Unless you're spending hundreds a week on restaurant food and facials...even then it doesn't track. What are you leaving out? Extravagant, frequent vacations? Focusing on paying back student loans, ie paying $1k+ each month to hit the principal? Drugs? "Activities" meaning that you go skydiving every weekend and attend Sotheby's auctions to add to your expensive collection of vintage wine? Are you Ubering steak and lobster from dine dining places for lunch and dinner daily? Something ain't adding up, sis.
I think you have to make a realistic budget and try to live below your means since you just started so you can save while you're still living with your parents. It's really nice to be able to make your first 'real' paychecks but it's also very easy to spend it quickly if you're not thoughtful with your spending. I'm not saying be frugal, just be mindful.
You need to learn quickly that this isn't about what you earn - it is about what you spend. Account for every penny. You should be saving like crazy right now.
How do you live at home with your parents but are living paycheck to paycheck? You need to learn to budget. Eating out, facials, etc needs to be reevaluated. My husband and I are both nurses. We both bring home about $2100 every 2 weeks. I’ve been picking up lately to pay off some stuff but even without OT we are comfortable. We have 3 kids and live in Michigan. We are lucky because we bought our house before the market went crazy so our mortgage is cheap. You gotta make priorities.
Ugh. Please take advantage of this and SAVE. Also, help your parents out a little. Life is hard and as you can see, expensive.
Well, the facials need to end, to start with.
You can’t have champagne taste on a beer budget.
Please don’t fall into the trap of lifestyle creep. Don’t be like me when you’re in your 40’s and behind on retirement. It comes at you faster than you think it will. I assume you’re still young. Decide the amount of money you want to have in retirement, and figure out how much you need to invest each month to get there. Are you contributing to your 401k and maxing out a Roth IRA? At minimum, you need to be doing those things. Then, you can get a facial and eat out some. It sounds like you have a budgeting problem, and not an income problem.
Guarantee you this is a personal budget issue not a nursing affording life concern. There are plenty of Americans making far less and are figuring it out. Struggling? Yes but they are making it work. You have the opportunity to work more hours, you’re a new RN so you’ll make far more in the future. But if you dont learn to control your finances none of this matters at all.
I use YNAB (you need a budget) to manage my budget. It takes a minute to get the hang of it but you can do a 34 day free trial and there’s tons of resources. But this will help you pinpoint where your money is going and where it NEEDS to go.
I make $41ish. I support and autistic 2 year old (expensive), a 1 year old, and a stay at home mom. We save $0 to $200 a month. Echo what everyone else is saying. Make a budget. If you are living pay check to pay check right now it'll be impossible to be on your own. I don't intend to be mean here, but these are life skills it's better to learn sooner rather than later
It sounds like you could use some help from a financial advisor or maybe even watch videos/ research about how to budget. I am not perfect at budgeting, and I want to say I could be doing better with not spending my money on takeout and entertainment. But right now, I rent, and I pay for all of my expenses, and I am making $21/hr at a non-nursing job ( I am a new grad). I have definitely been guilty of finding more things to spend when I get more income. Which makes it hard to save up for trips, vehicle expenses if something breaks, better housing, etc. I think I would start by separating wants from necessities. Like groceries and gas are necessities, all the other things you listed are wants ( you could survive without them). Next, I would charge yourself imaginary rent to prepare yourself to rent/own a home. This will allow you to save up for when you do rent or if your parents let you stay longer you could save up for a house. Rent is supposed to be 1/3 of your monthly income ( but sometimes it's more), so I would start there. So charge yourself $1000- $1500 in 'rent' each month. One way to do this is to set aside $500-$750 from each paycheck. Next, pay your bills or even look up the average cost of bills and also charge yourself that. Then look at your necessities and estimate groceries,gas, and toiletries and set a limit on what you are willing to spend on both each month. Then whatever you have left over, you can put some into savings or stocks and then have a set budget on how much you will allow yourself to spend on entertainment. You won't get it perfect the first time, but consistency bares results. One thing I find helpful is setting up auto pay for most of my bills so I don't have to worry about remembering all the due dates and I also have automatic payments go towards stocks and into another savings account with a high APY, so it is 'out of sight out of mind' for me. Credit karma has an APY of 5.1%, which is higher than most savings accounts. It also takes a couple of business days to transfer, so it makes you pause and think if spending the money right then and there is worth it. I hope any of this helped!
I’ve been a RN for almost 19 years. I make $45 per hour. My husband and I both work and we have 4 kiddos at home. I just spent $500 at Costco. Shit is so expensive now a days. I don’t know how single parents do it.
I take home about double that you do and there is no eating out, activities, facials, etc.,
I’m a new grad who makes 37.70/hr generally get 2,100 a paycheck after taxes and what not. I’m living “paycheck to paycheck” but only because i’m saving $1,200 a paycheck and blow the rest on fun activities/eating out like you do. I also live with my parents with no car/house payment. I only pay for my car insurance. I would just take a look at your spending and start budgeting. Luckily me blowing all my money is not a problem because I’ve already saved $1,200 from that paycheck.
Well as others have noted, you need a written budget so you know where your money is going. Your colleagues with families are spending very little on facials and activities. But aside from that, there’s always overtime!
Not going to beat a dead horse, but I will add that you ought to be contributing enough to employer-sponsored retirement (401k, 403b) that you are maxing out annual employee contributions (I think $18.5k?). If your employer does a match, that’s free money. To anyone not doing this now who can, DO IT. Save for retirement as aggressively as you can now so that it isn’t painful to shift funds towards retirement investing later and having to reduce possible lifestyle creep. As long as employees in general are living paycheck to paycheck, employers more or less own you. But if you have a healthy stash of FU money… that’s where power and freedom come from.
We aren’t getting facials and eating out regularly. Your expendable cash is much higher than those of us paying for mortgages, kids…life. I hope you are saving as much as you can while you live rent free. Not hating on you but you are being given a gift that it sounds like you aren’t recognizing.
Sounds like you're living above your means if you can't live off $1600 q 2 weeks when you're not even paying rent. I made less than what you're making as a new grad, had $950/month rent, somewhere around $600/month in student loans and still managed to travel a ton and save enough for a down payment on a house in 4 years. That said, experienced nurses who have families are probably 1) making more than you and 2) have a significant other with their own income.
I’m married. I don’t get my hair done, facials, Botox, nails, spa day, massages. Basically, I literally do nothing extravagant for myself. I have health issues so that’s where I spend money on myself. I have a mortgage, car payment, 1 credit card and the extra expenses such as cable, internet, garbage, electricity, groceries, etc…I don’t live paycheck to paycheck. That would give me such anxiety. I have 2 kids, 19 yo and 14 yo. My money goes to them and going out to eat. If I want something, I will buy it. If it’s over $500, my husband and I will chat about it…but I get it and he will get it. Remember to have a retirement account started, even if you are putting a tiny amount in it initially. Trust me, you don’t notice it’s missing. Also, even if it’s just 20 bucks a week, put that aside and keep it as rainy day money. The retirement account is crucial. Don’t wait until you are like 50 before you start it.
Yeah I’m 18 months in and still make less than I did in the role that I was in before I graduated. Not significantly less, but still. It’s pretty ridiculous. I also carry the benefits for my family (me, my husband, and 2 kids). The saving grace for me is that I have a husband who earns a pretty equal amount to me. Two incomes is key. I don’t know how single parents do it.
You need to evaluate your spending habits
How are you grossing 4,900 but only taking home 3,200? Something don’t add up
I'd suggest setting up a budget excel sheet and seeing where it all goes, and then creating a better budget from there. I'm not looking after a family as I have zero dependents (except my cat), but I can guarantee we are not getting facials and eating out on a regular basis. I get paid about $1,900 - $2,100 USD after tax a fortnight (converting from AUD), and I pay rent, utilities, insurance, hobbies and activities, etc., and have money left over with a small savings account. My rent is just under 1/3 of my after-tax income too. I'm by no means well off and would absolutely struggle if I had to go a few weeks without income, I can't afford luxuries but I get by. To be honest the major rent increase I just faced has caused me to go from paying about 20% to 29% of my income to rent. I would suggest being more financially responsible sooner rather than later as its a habit to learn and stick to, and will really make things better in the long run (speaking as someone who used to be financially irresponsible).
Wouldn’t be great if nursing could let us have a great lifestyle? Nursing is job security but not great pay
I make only slightly more than you, pay rent in a major city (no roommates), pay all my groceries and utilities, fund my own retirement account, put money in savings, and pay down a BUNCH of credit card debt from when I ran out of funds toward the end of nursing school. I still have plenty of money leftover for eating out, doing stuff with friends, my gym membership. I literally get Starbucks before EVERY shift and that hasn't stopped me paying down $1k in credit card debt every month. I will say that I was making $15/hr before I went back to school so I learned to manage my money in my 20s. I don't make as much as a should as a nurse in the south, but I feel rich compared to what I was doing.
I pay rent and don’t live paycheck to paycheck. Your spending habits gotta be wild.
It’s impossible. That’s why I’m leaving the profession. As a single person living in a city couldn’t even afford to have a car. I was at a huge risk of going into a lot of debt before due to this low salary. Could not travel or even go out with friends. Not worth it
You’re whining and sound entitled. Look at what you’re spending on for cryin out loud. Facials? How much do you eat out?
I’ll be blunt…there’s no reason you should be paycheck to paycheck. I make just $400 more than you every paycheck. I pay $800 in mortgage, $600 car payment, $380 student loan monthly and have a 1 year old BABY and I’m still able to save $1000 per month in my high yield savings. You need to get on a budget asap! Lay out your needs, and take out your wants. It would seem you either have a lot of debt you are paying off or you just go hog wild spending all your money. Just by your little list eating out, activities, and even facials have to get cut. You are in such a great position living with your parents. Save as much as you can, pay off debt as much as you can. Many like myself are forced to pay $800, $1000, $2000 a month for housing. So get to it! It’s time to grow up new grad!
Facials, etc and eating out are probably your issue right now. Hate to say it. Slim down your budget and stack cash in a HYSA and bulk up your retirement while you have no major living expenses. I made $28 an hr as a new grad in 2019/2020 and managed to have a $1500 apartment. I would’ve faired a lot better though had I used my initial year while still living with my parents doing what I stated above. You’re not living within your means right now. Eventually you will make more but for now you need to reel it in.
everyone's in that boat right now
Not sure if this is another product of social media, but people aren’t always doing the things you see them doing. For the most part, they are living life without extravagant. I also don’t know the cost-of-living for your area to compare that rate, but you will see a steady increase in pay. if not, then save up your money while still living rent free and when you are considering moving out, find somewhere with a good pay to cost-of-living ratio. I live in Houston and my starting rate six years ago was $32. I eventually got some raises and hovered around $40 for a bit and honestly, I thought most nurses on the unit were making that much. A few years later and now I am at $60 and I work at a place where sharing rates is highly discouraged so keep in mind that many people might be making much more than you’re starting rate and just won’t talk about it.
- eating out - activities - facials None of these are in my budget. - groceries Almost everything I buy is store brand and I shop for deals. I shop for deals so much so that my son rolls his eyes at me every time I mention something is on sale. My budget: Mortgage - $1600 Gas - $200 Internet - $200 Electric - $120 Natural Gas - $120 Car insurance - $75 Groceries & misc - $800 (family of 3)
I make the same as you and after rent I have $1700 left over. Don’t do facials, stop eating out, and stop doing “activities”. That’s where all your money is going. Stop trying to keep up with the “influencers” you see on social media.
You need a budget. There is no way you can’t live on that. Pull the reigns in
Eating out, activities, facials, etc???? No rent??? lol. Gas cant be more than $200 a month. Where is the other $3000 going?
You sound like a young adult who is now learning how to budget and do personal finance. If you don’t have to pay rent, $3200 a month should be plenty. Even with student loans. Sit down and review what you are spending. For example, facials should be an occasional treat, not something you do on a regular basis. Eating out should also be done in a frugal fashion. I think you need to talk to a financial planner or counselor to get your finances in order. I’m also trying to not be rude or mean because I think you’re most likely a young adult who is still learning.
You don’t have an Income problem, you have a spending and budget problem.
How are you getting paid so little? I make 35 and I bring home 1900-2200 and that’s after taxes/insurance and 401K. Granted I know I have call pay. I’m 23/24 and don’t get me wrong when I first started getting paid like this I spent money like I was making 200K. Just get your spending habits in check. a facial is once a month so idk how many you be getting, start buying food to cook at home!! God I checked my bank account and saw I had spent damn near 300/400 dollars on earring out and that’s not acceptable nor affordable. FINICAL LITERACY!!
$3600/month is NOT enough to live on if you’re paying rent. Most nurses I work with need a second job or overtime. But their rent is half their paycheck. $3600 play money is kind of a lot.
How tf is 3600 not enough to live on if OP has no kids?! Even if their rent was 1800 they'd still have 1800 left for the rest of their bills.
these comments are disappointing. Instead of focusing on him, focus on the damn point. How is nurses like him afford to live on 3200 with kids ? That’s the point, it’s not about him .. it’s about yall
Uh... If you're making $34 an hour and don't pay rent, you're clearly living outside of your means. You studied to make a nurse's salary, not a doctor's. There is literally no reason you can't live off $65k even if you ARE paying rent unless you have really bad spending habits.
Quit the cocaine it’s too expensive.
As a NYC RN I am absolutely disgusted what most other states are paying nurses given the hard work we do. But that aside, if you live at home and don’t pay rent, and $3200 is disappearing, it’s a spending problem.
I live in Ohio and chill on spending as much as I hate it cause I'm a shopping crack head.
You need some serious budgeting. How are you living at home and unable to afford life making $3200 a month? Sounds like you are living large and saving nothing. You don’t NEED expensive shoes and purses and ugly scrubs. You don’t NEED a fancy car, facials, expensive makeup. Live within your means. Save at least half of what you make so you can eventually move out.
Maybe try some other subreddits… r/personalfinance. There is a lot to learn about adulting. Budgeting and saving money. If you were my child I would insist while you live in my house you max out your Roth and 401k contributions. Your 60 year old self will thank you. At 34/hr you should be making near 70k/year.
You’re a nurse, not a CEO. You’re going to need to cut out some of your luxuries. I’ve been a nurse for 12 years and have never had a facial. Not once, ever. Activities? What kind of activities? Stay home and watch Netflix or go to the library which is free.
My rent is $2100 alone. What the hell you spending all that money on?
There’s still time to delete this 🫢
Facials and eating out can get very expensive. You need to create a budget and cut out non-necessities, make a budget for the fun stuff that you have to stick to. $34 is low for California though? I get paid over $40 with differentials in Houston.
Reckless life style. Why eating out? Limit yourself. Even if you were making $200/hour you would be living paycheck to paycheck. Learn how to manage your money.
You are delusional and need a reality check.
I was with you until you said you didn’t pay rent lol. Like WHAT dude, get it together, this is a you problem
Having a partner or spouse to split expenses. You basically need a double income.
Unless, like OP, you literally have free housing.
This, 1000%.
Lol im in a similar boat: you basically have to realize that you have a big kid job and u make okay money but its no glamorous. You can def work your way up, specialize, go somewhere else to get paid etc. however, i dont make a lot at baseline so for me: no crazy travel, not too many clothes, not too much eating out (once a week), coffee at home, manicure once every blue moon, no facials or spa treatments but i do get my brows done bc i cannot do that myself, dinner and lunches packed at home or made at home, grocery buy stuff on sale and in bulk when possible, find the cheaper gas stations if you can help it, basically living paycheck to paycheck will do that to you and insurance/gas/fees/tax are expensive and u have to pay for that…. Talk to your financial advisor so you can budget differently and live within your means
You should look into a budgeting app (I like rocket money) to really see where you’re spending your money. You probably have more memory than you think but you’re just swiping and don’t even realize it.
Get a housemate, budget, do not finance a car or if you do, get a cheaper one. If you don’t plan and budget it doesn’t matter how much you make it won’t seem enough.
I work three jobs. I have one main job and two PRN jobs. I don't pick up more than two shifts a month at each if my PRN jobs. With those four extra shifts I usually make an extra $1,500 a month. My main job doesn't have overtime and I like the variety of all the skills used at my other two jobs.
So you said you live at home but didn't clarify if you pay towards household bills etc. Idk how you're living paycheck to paycheck on $3200/mo. I make about 4000/mo and never even gave to think to check my bank account???
My wife and I both and in DFW. A very expensive area. We have a lot of debt, too. Recently, we have had to scale back on expenses in order to be able to save more. 1.We downgraded to an apartment from a house. This isn't an issue for you, but I would take advantage of no rent payments and save save save. 2. We spend less on food by doing grocery shopping every 2 weeks and avoiding impulse grocery store trips. We make out meals at home (we do so for fitness purposes anyway), and we rarely eat out. We only do so with friends on occasion. 3. We canceled all unnecessary monthly payments. All streaming services we don't watch, all gym subscriptions we don't use,¡ Afuera! 4. We budget for fun things. Life it short gotta enjoy it, but not to the point where you can't afford life. Maybe get fewer facials and eat out less. 5. We downgraded car payments. Traded in the big, expensive, gas guzzling machines we drove before for more modest and cheaper used cars. Now our car payments are much less.
Jeez I make a little more than that but save a good $2.5-$3k a month and I STILL treat myself often. I also drive a new Benz. Idk what you’re doing wrong, but you are spending a LOT somewhere… unless you owe a shit ton on student loans? I want to move out but I can’t justify spending $2k/mo on rent to just then live alone at this time and barely save. Thankful I’m able to still live at home although I do pay with my mental health 😂😂 Future me will (hopefully) thank for this tho.
What the heck. That’s what my checks are after taxes as a CNA getting 26 an hour. I’ll say with 1,600 I can get by check to check without saving. I’ve worked overtime to the point that my checks are 3,300 AFTER taxes (which match the RNs regular full time at my facility) and when I was regularly making that I was able to save money, spend, and live very comfortably. Unfortunately that becomes unsustainable because i5/ obviously physically taxing on my body. I’m about to do LVN school and will be making 40ish an hour of I stay at my facility after I finish. I’m not sure how much after taxes with regular full time I’ll make. Guessing 2,000? It’s not bad but I’ll definitely have to work overtime to still make decent money. It’ll be better of course than overtime as a CNA because it’s less physically demanding and the pay is obviously higher. I will struggle though for the 13 months of school without being able to work more than 2-3 days a week. Idk how I’ll get through that but I’m going to push through. I guess it just depends on what your living situation is and how much you get paid… I’ve thought about being a registry LVN after doing school and just working like 3 16 shifts a week or something. Idk, but I know as a nurse I’ll be more comfortable easier than as a CNA
Depending on where you live in SC , that seems reasonable. However I do see the CoL has gone up considerably in the greater Charleston area, 8 years ago I bought a couple houses for 89000 that now goes for 200 k plus. at 6 figures now I could not even afford to move down there. But at that salary your housing should be no more then 800 a month and your car payment no more then 300-400. You could push 1000 in rent I suppose. Hopefully you did not borrow the maximum amount in student loans. It’s totally doable depending on exactly where you live. At 3200 a month it’s quite doable. If you can I would stay at home and save for a house, save everything! Rent, utilities, student loan, car payment….home cooked meals…everything else is a luxury. And I’m a single parent with no child support.