Nursing Student Out of Work

[b3nx]

So i am a 22 year old who just finished the first part of my nursing career. Due to the financial crisis no one in my class was offered further employment in the hospital at the moment, they paid us out, i received about $3000. During this time i have been waiting for my certificate and transcript so i can go look for work else where. I will be going to uni in February to finish off my course which will take 2 years. I needed a new laptop as my old one was slow and terrible. That cost me $1500. I currently have in total savings $2300. I a bit ashamed i would like to have more. I have a car loan, insurance and a mobile which all cost me about 700 a month. I went for an interview and i got a casual job at a nursing home which i got told today that i have the job.. but the employment process takes around 3 weeks. I regret buying my laptop now, i am living at home and i have been staying at home for the past 2 months doing nothing so i can save my money! but i feeling like i should sell it but i dunno, it is not like i need the money now i have enough savings to last me 3 months and i will be making money in hopefully 3 weeks. I guess i more worried that i brought this laptop and i just dont want to have to get to the point where i have to ask my parents for money.. what you think?

[ActYourWage]

Is there a warranty for the laptop? You may be able to return it. How much is the car loan? Maybe you could sell your call and get a cheaper one. Also, try to sell your old laptop, any money helps at this point.

[disneysteve]

I'd like to see the whole budget. $700/month for car, insurance and cell phone sounds high. Since you will have more money coming in from the new job and you have 3 months worth of savings, I'm not sure that there is any problem here. If you sell the laptop, you won't get back what you paid and you'll be stuck without a laptop for school so I don't think that's a good idea.

[Staceyy]

I'd like to make a suggestion regarding your nursing career. My relatives who are nurses took contract nursing jobs. There are agencies that contract out nurses. Its like a temp job but they get to travel and make a lot of money. The employer picks up the tab for the airfares and hotels and they get tax free money for their meals while on the road.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

What is a casual job in a nursing home? Does that mean no regular schedule? Or does it mean working, but not as a nurse? Did you just finish your AA in nursing and are going on for a bachelor's? You might be able to let the nursing home know that you are available to be called in to fill in for someone who cannot come for their shift and that you are available for as much overtime as they can give you. If you work extra the summer, you may be able to build up a bigger cushion before you go back to school. If you are not getting your RN right now, but just have had some nursing classes or prerequisite classes, you probably would seem valuable to a private duty home care agency that hires non-credentialed people. (Pay can be much better than nursing home.) You might be able to couple that with the nursing home work.

[swanson719]

I would think about moving to a more urban area to a hospital that is hiring. Sell the old lap top. Try picking up a second job too. Pizza Delivery, fast food, store clerk, anything like that. Your young, so insurance is going to be high regardless, but if you get a cheap, old car, it will be lower.

[b3nx]

car loan

$358.70 month have 5 grand left to pay off

$185 a month Insurance

$79 a month cell phone

$130 a month board

so about 752 a month

i have a person who wants to buy my laptop 150 less that what i paid for it

[project15]

Originally Posted by b3nx

i have a person who wants to buy my laptop 150 less that what i paid for it

Being a computer guy, I would say do it. My guess is that you bought an overpriced mac. Unnecessary unless you're a graphic artist. You should sell that for $1350 and then buy a dell for $500 (I just bought a great one for $450 so it is possible). Now you have a working computer and $850 more in your pocket.

[b3nx]

Well i sold it, i lost out $200 owell still got 1400 but now my savings is $3700, and i feel much better now, thanks for help, i will buy a new laptop later on when i save the money and have enough to support myself too, i think buying it now was the wrong idea, buying it later will be much better.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I've got to say I am impressed by that move. There are a lot of people who would not give up their brand new toy in favor of practicality and security the way you did. Best of luck in the completion of your studies. I bet you've got the discipline to really apply yourself and excel.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by b3nx

Well i sold it, i lost out $200 owell still got 1400 but now my savings is $3700, and i feel much better now, thanks for help, i will buy a new laptop later on when i save the money and have enough to support myself too, i think buying it now was the wrong idea, buying it later will be much better.

Not a bad deal at all since you were able to get close to what you paid. As project15 said, you can get a good laptop (though not as good as a Mac ) for well under $1,000 when you are ready to buy again.

[ActYourWage]

Originally Posted by b3nx

Well i sold it, i lost out $200 owell still got 1400 but now my savings is $3700, and i feel much better now, thanks for help, i will buy a new laptop later on when i save the money and have enough to support myself too, i think buying it now was the wrong idea, buying it later will be much better.

You did well to only lose $200. Now, you can save a little along the way to buy your new one.

[ActYourWage]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Not a bad deal at all since you were able to get close to what you paid. As project15 said, you can get a good laptop (though not as good as a Mac ) for well under $1,000 when you are ready to buy again.

I agree. You can get a laptop well under $1000. Most people buy TOO much laptop when all they do is word, excel, internet, email, etc.....

The more expensive ones are for people that use programs that require more memory, processor speed, so forth. (Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection, or other high powered software)

[Runaway Finances]

Nursing is a great profession! I have 3 sisters and 1 niece who are nurses. Nurses can always find work. You may need to move but you can find work. There is a huge shortage here in Abilene, TX. In fact, they have a program here that you work while you finish your nursing school.

The other people gave great advice. The traveling nurse job is a really good one. Abilene has to rely on them. I spoke to one who loves her life because she gets to live in a lot of different places and meet a ton of people with little expenses.

I'd like to put one idea in your head since you are young and relatively speaking you have a simple financial life right now. The idea is to only buy things when you can pay cash for it. No more loans for discretionary purchases including cars. Debt is a bad habit to get into.