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You Don't Have to Start in Med-Surg as a new Grad nurse

In reflecting on my career, I'm reminded of something I heard a lot of as a student: start in Med-Surg. I got lots of reasons. In hindsight, It would've been better to do the thinking myself regarding what I wanted instead of listening to those telling me how it is supposed to go.  Do You Have to start in Med-Surg as a new graduate nurse? No. That is my opinion after working in different specialties of nursing. It is not a bad idea to start in medical-surgical nursing but it is not a requirement or an absolute necessity. If you get the opportunity to work in a specialty you would like to end up in, please go ahead and take that opportunity. Your body will thank you later.  When I was graduating from college, a professor I admired told me to start in med-surg. And back then, it wasn't uncommon to here people say "start in med/surg". One of the reasons I sort of recall was so you can learn the basics of nursing and what not. Another rationale was that because you ar...
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Beware of Insurance Peddled as Investment

 I got a text inviting from another nurse I used to work with inviting me to a business launch on Zoom. To show support, I planned on attending. Considering the tagline mentioned health, I thought the person was starting a healthcare business. However, something this morning had me wonder if it was something else. And so I looked at the flyer again and the people on there, besides the nurse, had MBA and other titles. I don't want to disclose too much. I still planned to show up. Although I was busy watching Sumo and too excited after. I got a text  later with the link and I joined. My camera on my is off anyway. The nurse was talking about her background. The little bit I heard was about how they weren't of means when she was younger. I then had someone introduce the "Guest Speaker". That's when I muted the sound and did some reading on my Kindle app. Therefore I didn't hear the sales pitch. But I saw it was a sales pitch from a mile away. Sometime this mornin...
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What do you say when people ask about work after FI/RE?

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 I was at a wedding reception last December, so less than a month ago, when someone asked me where I worked. Usually, I get asked what I do for a living. And it's easy to say "I have a degree in Nursing". But this woman asked where I worked. I simply said I don't work. She didn't believe me. She asked if I was being truthful.  Considering I don't know her very well and primarily know her from the church, I don't know why she would think that I'm lying. But I quickly turned things around to ask her where she worked. And was asking more questions when the couple came in and so I stopped.  The question about what to say when people ask what you do for a living is something I've seen asked on the FIRE subreddits. So here  is my take on it.  First of all, I try not to talk about work. I think some people ask this question just to make conversation and in some cases, it's easy to say "I have a degree in Nursing". That tends to move the conv...
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Snow Days when FI/RE'd (Financial Independence Retire Early)

 Happy New year!  Last night, I was on the phone with a friend who asked if I was working and I said no. And she may have said something about it being good because "you don't have to worry about the snow". I simply thought she meant this season. I didn't bother to look outside until this morning when I realized that it has snowed overnight. I'm pretty sure schools are closed because I didn't see much activity outside.  So one of the things I was grateful for this morning was the fact that I don't have to go outside. I thought I would go out and clear the snow but I didn't feel like it. I really wasn't expecting a snow storm. We really haven't had one for a few years and I'm so glad I exited before we got one. Whew! One of the benefits of getting FIRE'd is not having to worry about getting to work during snowstorms. I got some groceries on Thursday and I have enough food available. So what did I do today? Lived. I actually did some cook...
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Happy New Year to the FI/RE'd life.

 The last month of 2024 was busy. I wanted to finish up work around the house. I wanted to get other things done. And I had events to attend. I was at a wedding last month when someone asked where I worked. I simply said I didn't. They thought I was lying. I simply turned it around to ask them where they worked and tried to ask more questions about what they did but the couple came in.  That said, I thought I would've possibly FIRE'd this year or next year. Instead, I felt the call to leave in the Fall of 2023. I am grateful to God for getting me through the year. To be honest, leaving seems scary. Even if the numbers look like they would work, it's not easy to leave. For me, I was afraid I wouldn't have income coming in. I was wrong. I needed to trust God because he more than sustained me throughout the year. It took me about 6 months to leave because I wanted to be sure in the beginning and then I got greedy and wanted to use up benefits. I wouldn't advice tha...
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Things I do more since FIRE'd

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 There's something I've found myself doing lately. I sometimes walk into the bedroom on my second floor and look out the window. I didn't use to do that. I had family there and they would do that. They were retired but they didn't look out always. Still I had to change the blinds so that says something. I was usually amazed they knew who lived where, who was pregnant, who did what when I didn't even know. Or I would ask "is so and so pregnant" and would hear something like "...long time". While I didn't work full-time for the longest time and so was here, I still didn't look out or bothered with what was going on around here. I had houses sell on the block that I didn't even notice were for sale.  Today, I looked out and saw a pick-up truck across the street. The man in it had what looked like a cigarette and the windows was up. I was wondering why one would smoke inside a parked car with the windows up. I was also on my computer havi...
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What I did my first week after FIRE

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 Nothing really.  I rested. Lots and lots of rest. Eating, snacking and rest.  It was like a burden was lifted off me. I felt like doing nothing but just living. I relaxed and just enjoyed the peace. I think my alarm still came on but I was under no obligation to get out of bed if I didn't want to. It was surreal in a way.  Another thing I did was start an exercise regimen. I figured it was the least I could do. I just wanted to keep active and I'm happy to say I've kept it up. I'm really proud of myself. For the most part, my goal the first week was to rest and recuperate. I did nothing my last day of work. There wasn't a single patient for us. I worked about 4 hours 3 days before that so it wasn't fatigue but there was some amount of burn out and just wanting to have an emotional rest that had nothing to do with nursing.  One of the things I did that week was contact my 403k custodian. I was told they had me as still active. I thought to myself that maybe it...
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7 Months after FI/RE

 It's been a little over 7 months since I FIRE'd. (Financial Independence / Retire Early) It's been interesting. First of all, I wasn't expecting to do it at this age but I'm so grateful to God for helping me. It had come to mind to blog but I stayed away from the idea for a few reasons. It's come to mind again recently and I'm interested in it now. I think it would be nice to share my life since reaching FIRE. I've some unexpected things happen but God has been faithful.  What this blog is not: I'm not here to sell courses or some service. I have no interest in getting a hold of your money or your account. Personal finance is "personal" after all. This isn't a blog about someone trying to reach fire and helping others along. I have already reached  FIRE. As in I handed my employer a letter saying that I've decided to FIRE. I'll have to find the letter and post it here one of these days.  I'm hoping that as I share my journe...
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Things I do more since FIRE'd

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 There's something I've found myself doing lately. I sometimes walk into the bedroom on my second floor and look out the window. I didn't use to do that. I had family there and they would do that. They were retired but they didn't look out always. Still I had to change the blinds so that says something. I was usually amazed they knew who lived where, who was pregnant, who did what when I didn't even know. Or I would ask "is so and so pregnant" and would hear something like "...long time". While I didn't work full-time for the longest time and so was here, I still didn't look out or bothered with what was going on around here. I had houses sell on the block that I didn't even notice were for sale.  Today, I looked out and saw a pick-up truck across the street. The man in it had what looked like a cigarette and the windows was up. I was wondering why one would smoke inside a parked car with the windows up. I was also on my computer havi...
Read more

What I did my first week after FIRE

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 Nothing really.  I rested. Lots and lots of rest. Eating, snacking and rest.  It was like a burden was lifted off me. I felt like doing nothing but just living. I relaxed and just enjoyed the peace. I think my alarm still came on but I was under no obligation to get out of bed if I didn't want to. It was surreal in a way.  Another thing I did was start an exercise regimen. I figured it was the least I could do. I just wanted to keep active and I'm happy to say I've kept it up. I'm really proud of myself. For the most part, my goal the first week was to rest and recuperate. I did nothing my last day of work. There wasn't a single patient for us. I worked about 4 hours 3 days before that so it wasn't fatigue but there was some amount of burn out and just wanting to have an emotional rest that had nothing to do with nursing.  One of the things I did that week was contact my 403k custodian. I was told they had me as still active. I thought to myself that maybe it...
Read more