Start the New Year with a Nurse-Friendly Budget

Numerous healthy living hacks coincidentally benefit a nurse’s budget, from drinking more water (and fewer pricey lattes) to walking to work and carrying inexpensive healthy snacks to combat fatigue. But to maximize earnings and cut expenditures significantly, an intentional budget is the way to go. And while there’s no better time than a fresh new year to improve on the ways you handle money, such a budget can help you any time.

Here’s how to begin a budget and then keep up the good work, all from the perspective of people who understand how the nurse career path affects both earning and spending.

Remind yourself how powerful a budget can be. “Not keeping tabs on your expenses can put you at risk for not being able to pay your bills,” registered nurse Thomas Uzuegbunem said. “Plus make it likely that you’ll run into a situation where you’re living paycheck to paycheck. When you’re spending money without keeping tabs, you might not have enough in reserve for emergency situations. Living paycheck to paycheck increases the risk of going into debt.”