Travel nurses on average, make more than stationary nurses and with more money, comes more responsibility. But, improving your financial responsibility doesn’t have to be as stressful as your long shifts.
We’ve put together a list of tips to help you realistically manage your personal finances.
Track Your Spending
A great way to understand your finances is to keep a list of everything coming in and going out. Writing everything down can help you decide what are essentials vs. non-essentials and can help you cut back where you can.
This day, everything is mostly done digitally, so it can be easy to forget where your spending happens. There are many different ways you can keep track of spending, such as making a spreadsheet or using an app. These are great ways to jot down your current finances and reevaluate where needed.
Set Goals
Setting goals is a great way to get your mind thinking of your finances in a positive way. This can help you create a vision for what financial security and financial freedom means to you and help you stay on track. A goal can be something like, saving up for a cruise, paying off student loans, or saving for a house. With a clear vision, you can work smarter towards your savings goals.
Be Frugal
Once you’ve tracked your spending and set goals for your finances, you might realize that you need to cut back your spending a little. But cutting back doesn’t have to be a bad thing. This can be little things like skipping a cafe coffee one day or doing an at-home manicure. These little savings each day can help you work towards your goals.
Create a Budget
Monthly budgeting is a great way to ensure you’re getting the most out of paychecks, but we know as a travel nurse you’re constantly on the go and it can feel like a hassle to sit down and try to figure out your finances. Luckily, there are many great tools and resources that can help you budget monthly and keep track of your finances.
Templates
There are many great templates already available that you can use to plug in your finances and easily track your budgeting. NeedWallet and Mint, are both great resources.
Excel sheet
If you can’t find an existing template that meets your needs, you can always create your own using Excel.
Invest
In this economy, it goes without saying that we all need to make our dollars stretch. Investing is a great way to grow your money, and there are several different ways you can do so.
High yield savings account – With some HYSA offering 2% AYP, this is a great way to grow your savings accounts
Stocks
Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) – A Roth IRA is a great alternative to a traditional retirement account because it allows you to save money without it being taxed.
Being a travel nurse comes with many benefits, like a higher salary. Personal finance is important to ensuring your financial security and securing a comfortable retirement. Start your travel nursing journey today with Stability to set yourself up for financial success.
