by Sarah Jividen | Jul 27, 2018 | ER Nurse, Nurse Mom Life, Working Mom
If you have taken a peek over at my About Me page you may have read that nursing was NOT my first career. If fact, I did’t even discover that I had a calling for nursing until after I had been working in the medical sales field for about 9 years.
Ill press rewind for just a minute… Once upon a time, I worked in the competitive field of surgical equipment sales for a fortune 100 company and a few medical device startups.
I knew I didn’t love the career, but I made a pretty good living. It also allowed me to travel for work and I was able to afford to take a lot of incredible overseas trips. After a few years in the sales grind, I knew I wanted to do other things. The problem was that my resume said I was a medical device salesperson. So what was I supposed to do?
That voice in the back of my head continued gnawing at me, little by little. Every day a small piece of my soul was being eaten up by working in a career that I had no real passion for.
Until finally one day, after a near mental break down I made the difficult decision to leave the field. I went on a quest in pursuit of greater clinical medical knowledge and a desire to help humankind. After years of scratching my head I had finally discovered my new path.
I was going to become a Nurse!
It has been 9 years since my near mental breakdown that forced me to make an incredible life change. Nursing school was one of the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But I am so thankful everyday that I did it. Ultimately, it was the best decision for myself and and for my family.
Here I am showing off my badge bloom…
My whole point in writing this post was to talk about a really cool experience that I had recently…
A journalist at the Huntington Post recently contacted me through my blog. She asked if my husband and I would be interested in being interviewed for a piece that she was doing about what it was like being married to an ER nurse. Of course I said yes!
(I was a journalism major in college and still have an itch to write, which is one of the reasons I blog).
Nursing is challenging.
I want to be an advocate for nurses because I think we tolerate things that would never be tolerated in any other field (but we do it anyway because we’re awesome). I also really, really want to find a way to help nurses take better care of themselves. Plus, I am extremely passionate about being a nurse and have a passion for helping others. So, I was excited to share some of my thoughts (and I was also intrigued to see what my husband had to say about being married to an ER nurse).
If you are still reading this and want to take a look at our Huffington Post article you can read it here.
Thank you for reading my blog and free free to leave a comment. I appreciate that your took the time to read this!
Sarah
by Sarah Jividen | Apr 27, 2018 | Nurse Life
In March 2013, I graduated from college with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Nursing- and a $36,000 tab.
For my first 2 years out of nursing school I made the minimum student loan debt payment of about $420 a month. But when I finally sat down and looked at how much of that was going towards interest and how long it would take to finally pay off (13 years, yikes!) it made me sick to my stomach.
After the birth of our daughter (and an unpaid maternity leave) I decided to get aggressive about paying off my student loans. By that time I was down to $27,000. Becoming a Mom made me realize that being debt free AND having money in my bank account was way more important then spending money on stuff I didn’t need.
(Prior to starting my BSN, I had a pretty nice savings account set aside. Because of that, I was able to pay for 1 year of my prerequisite classes and my first few months of my nursing program upfront in cash. If it wasn’t for that I would have had well over 55k in student loan debt at graduation.)
While I was on maternity leave, I started listening to financial podcasts specifically focused on paying off debt. Most of this was done while my daughter and I went out for walks and she was napping. It motivated me to change my thoughts about my current student loan status.
I took everything I had learned from those podcasts and formed my own simple plan: Don’t spend any money on anything that is not an actual need. At that time, my true needs included grocery shopping, housing, pet food, and nanny. That’s it.
My Student Loan Payoff Plan: Pay off $27,000 in student loan debt from February 1 to November 1, 2016.
7 Smart Tricks To Pay Off Student Loan Debt Fast!
I am happy to announce that I hit my goal right on target! Here is how I paid off $27,000 off student loan debt in 9 months:
#1. I realized that student loan debt is NOT good debt.
There is no such thing as good debt. I don’t care if there is a 0% interest rate. Debt is debt. It is still a black cloud handing over your head that never goes away unless you force it to.
#2. I trimmed my budget.
I also forbade manicures and pedicures (unless done by me). Also, I cooked all of our meals at home, packed all my lunches for work and made all my daughters baby food.
If there was something that I thought I needed but wasn’t sure, I gave myself a week to think it over. Even if it was something small. 99% of the time I ended up deciding that it wasn’t important enough to buy.
When I met with friends, instead of going to lunch, we would go for walks or to the park. Fortunately this is easy when you have babies.
#3. I contributed 90% of my paychecks to my loans.
After taxes, retirement and taking out money to pay the nanny, I took the rest and threw it at my loans. It was anywhere from $1500 to $3500 every 2 weeks depending on how many shifts I worked.
I did the math to figure out my payoff date.
I started on March 1st, 2016 and my goal was to be completely paid in full by November 1, 2016. To make sure I stayed on track I planned a celebratory family trip to Palm Springs for the 2nd week of November.
#4. I listened to financial podcasts and read books to keep me focused and motivated.
I listened to financial podcasts and read a ton of books to motivate myself during my payoff. Some of the podcasts I listened to included Paula Pant at Afford Anything, The Money Guys, Stacking Benjamin’s and Dave Ramsey.
#5. I picked up a few extra shifts at the hospital.
As a per diem float nurse I have the option of working as much or little as I want. For the purpose of paying off my loans as fast as possible I tried to work at least 3 shifts a week. Since I was a new mom I didn’t want to go overboard though. The reason a became a nurse was so I could spend more time at home once we had children.
#6. I made many short term sacrifices and got used to being uncomfortable.
No longer was I spending money on anything that wasn’t a necessity. I did this by taking a look at the things I could reasonably live without. This was the first time in my life I stopped buying clothes and shopping for things I didn’t need. To my own surprise, I’m still alive. In some ways life is actually easier now because I don’t have a ton of extra stuff hanging around cluttering my house. I spend the time I would have spent shopping on doing other things that are more important to me.
#7. After I became debt free I kept my new lifestyle so that I could keep saving and investing at a significantly larger rate.
While this is not a repayment strategy, it does help me find motivation to continue down the right financial pathway now that my loans are gone. Having money in the bank is so much better then having debt. It feels amazing! And my savings gap gets bigger and bigger every month because I focus on growing my assets instead of buying unnecessary stuff that will probably end up in a dump in 5 years anyway.
Advice for anyone going to college:
- Get the best education you can while spending the least amount of money possible.
- Don’t take out more loans then you need to.
- Live as frugally as you can while in school. It’s temporary and you will thank yourself for it in the long run.
- Make an aggressive plan to pay off you student loans as soon as you graduate.
Don’t be the sucker who spends their entire life paying off student loans. They will NEVER go away if you don’t make them, even if you file for bankruptcy.
Do you have student loan debt? If you work hard and focus on what is actually important in your life, living student loan debt free can be a reality for you too. Now get to it!
Sarah, Mother Nurse Love
by Sarah Jividen | Dec 19, 2017 | Nurse Life, Nurse Money Goals
In March 2013, I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing- and a $36,000 tab.
For my first 2 years out of nursing school, I made the minimum student loan debt payment of about $420 a month. But when I finally sat down and looked at how much of that was going towards interest and how long it would take to finally pay off (13 years, yikes!) it made me sick to my stomach.
After the birth of our daughter, I decided to get aggressive about paying off my student loans.
By that time I was down to $27,000. Becoming a Mom made me realize that being debt-free AND having money in my bank account was way more important than spending money on stuff I didn’t need.
Prior to starting my BSN, I had pretty nice savings account set aside. Because of that, I was able to pay for 1 year of my prerequisite classes and the first few months of my nursing program upfront in cash. If it wasn’t for that I would have had well over 50K in student loan debt at graduation.
While I was on maternity leave, I started listening to financial podcasts specifically focused on paying off debt. Most of this was done while my daughter and I went out for walks and she was napping. It motivated me to change my thoughts about my current student loan status.
I took everything I had learned from those podcasts and formed my own simple plan: Don’t spend any money on anything that is not an actual need. At that time, my true needs included grocery shopping, pet food, and nanny. That’s it.
How I Paid Off All My Nursing School Loan Debt In 9 Months!
My Student Loan Payoff Plan: Pay off $27,000 in student loan debt from February 1 to November 1, 2016.
I am happy to announce that I hit my goal right on target! Here is how I paid $27,000 off student loan debt in 9 months:
I realized that student loan debt is NOT good debt.
There is no such thing as good debt. I don’t care if there is a 0% interest rate. Debt is debt. It is still a black cloud handing over your head that never goes away unless you force it to.
I trimmed my budget.
This photo was taken halfway through my payoff schedule.
So long $5 Starbucks coffee (lucky for me my husband loves to make great coffee at home). Bye-bye restaurant meals. Farewell clothing budget.
I also forbade manicures and pedicures (unless done by me). Also, I cooked all of our meals at home, packed all my lunches for work and made all my daughter’s baby food.
If there was something that I thought I needed but wasn’t sure, I gave myself a week to think it over. Even if it was something small. 99% of the time I ended up deciding that it wasn’t important enough to buy.
When I met with friends, instead of going to lunch, we would go for walks or to the park. Fortunately, this is easy when you have babies.
I contributed 90% of my paychecks to my loans.
After taxes, retirement and taking out money to pay the nanny, I took the rest and threw it at my loans. It was anywhere from $1500 to $3500 every 2 weeks depending on how many shifts I worked.
I did the math to figure out my payoff date.
I started on March 1st, 2016 and my goal was to be completely paid in full by November 1, 2016. To make sure I stayed on track I planned a celebratory family trip to Palm Springs for the 2nd week of November.
I listened to financial podcasts to keep me focused and motivated.
As a new mom, it is hard to find time to read books or search the internet for resources on paying off student loans. Listening to financial podcasts was my single most important way to motivate myself during this process. I could multitask by listening to them while out for walks with my daughter.
Some of the podcasts I listened to included Paula Pant at Afford Anything, The Money Guys, Stacking Benjamin’s and Dave Ramsey.
I picked up a few extra shifts at the hospital.
As a per diem float nurse I have the option of working as much or little as I want. For the purpose of paying off my loans as fast as possible, I tried to work at least 3 shifts a week. Since I was a new mom I didn’t want to go overboard though. The reason a became a nurse was so I could spend more time at home once we had children.
I made many short term sacrifices and got used to being uncomfortable.
No longer was I spending money on anything that wasn’t a necessity. I did this by taking a look at the things I could reasonably live without. This was the first time in my life I stopped buying clothes and shopping for things I didn’t need. To my own surprise, I’m still alive. In some ways, life is actually easier now because I don’t have a ton of extra stuff hanging around cluttering my house. I spend the time I would have spent shopping on doing other things that are more important to me.
After I became debt-free I kept my new lifestyle so that I could keep saving and investing at a significantly larger rate.
My motivation for paying off all my nursing school student loan debt.
While this is not a repayment strategy, it does help me find the motivation to continue down the right financial pathway now that my loans are gone. Having money in the bank is so much better than having debt. It feels amazing! And my savings gap gets bigger and bigger every month because I focus on growing my assets instead of buying unnecessary stuff that will probably end up in a dump in 5 years anyway.
Advice for anyone going to college:
- Get the best education you can while spending the least amount of money possible.
- Don’t take out more loans then you need to.
- Live as frugally as you can while in school. It’s temporary and you will thank yourself for it in the long run.
- Make an aggressive plan to pay off your student loans as soon as you graduate.
Don’t be the sucker who spends their entire life paying off student loans. They will NEVER go away if you don’t make them, even if you file for bankruptcy.
Do you have student loan debt? If you work hard and focus on what is actually important in your life, living student loan debt-free can be a reality for you too. Now get to it!
Additional recommended reading:
