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In a recent connectRN Instagram Live, Sandra Pagenta, host of the Doctor Nurse Podcast, discussed financial literacy and money management with two finance experts, Savannah Arroyo and Allie Grotteland, who also happen to be nurses.
Sandra Pagenta, DNP, APRN-BC: Sandra spent almost 15 years working in hospital settings. Eventually, she took the leap and launched Doctor Nurse Podcast, which initially started as a passion project. She enjoys having deep conversations with incredible nurses about their career journeys and how they achieved success.
Savannah Arroyo, CEO, Networth Nurse: Before starting her business, Networth Nurse, Savannah wanted to make a difference in healthcare through hospital administration. With a love of leadership, operations, and business, her goal was to become a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). However, with the future of her children and family’s financial security in mind, she started investing her money in real estate.
Savannah learned all about real estate investment strategies. Eventually, her knowledge generated interest from others who wanted to get into real estate investing, too. And so, her business was born.The Networth Nurse is a premier investment site for nurses. Using the three main pillars of personal finance, real estate investing, and career growth, nurses learn how to build wealth. The company continues to grow a community of like-minded nurses with courses and coaching services.
Allie Grotteland, Financial Coach, The Debt-Free Nurse: Prior to becoming a financial coach, Allie didn’t consider herself great at money management at all. As a reformed shopaholic, she had student loans, and credit card debt. Her attitude towards money was like that of many other nurses. She believed, “If I make more money, then I'll be better with money."
Now, as The Debt-Free Nurse, Allie loves teaching about how our relationship with money affects how we spend it. Allie changed her story about finances and, as a result, her thoughts and habits changed, too.
Allie believes that once you change your childhood stories about money, “you will find money everywhere.” Now she budgets, a practice that keeps her debt-free. Before you create a budget, Allie cautions, “if you don't know what money habits you have or where your money is going, it doesn't matter how much money you're making and it doesn't matter what budget you have or what payoff tool you're using. If you don't figure that all out, then you're not going to get ahead.”
Keep reading to learn more about these nurses’ journeys to financial fitness and some tips they have on how nurses can reach financial stability.
The Relationship of Habits to Our Beliefs About Money
We form our ideas and beliefs about budgeting, saving, and investing when we are very young. We learn our money stories during childhood.
Allie says, “a lot of the stories that we believe were ones from when we were very little, and a lot of things that you believe are really actually not your beliefs.”
Two Mindsets that Hinder Wealth Building
To build wealth, some nurses think they have to work multiple jobs to earn more money. Allie believes this mindset is a fallacy. She asks, “did working multiple shifts help you make more money?” and “were you able to save any money?” Probably not.
Financial trauma can have a negative impact on our mindset about money, too. If you’ve lived in poverty as a child, or found yourself in debt for any reason, you’ve experienced financial trauma. Working through our financial trauma is a vital step on the path of financial freedom.
Allie agrees, “Once you change the trauma and deal with the trauma, then you can deal with your mindset as well, but I see a lot of people talking about mindset and they disregard the trauma part.”
Savannah adds that the right mindset is an important part of wealth building. She hosts Mindset Power Up on social media to share how one’s mindset influences wealth building. She also suggests reading the book “Think and Grow Rich'' by Napoleon Hill, which tackles money abundance.
Additionally, Savannah is a believer in the Law of Attraction. She says we should “attract and not talk negatively about money, scarcity, or avoid saying, ‘I don’t have enough.”
Tips for a Better Financial Future
Financial Education
The key to financial independence is financial literacy. Try to change your mindset through education. Self-help books and podcasts are great resources for learning about finance or investing strategies. Learn the language of money and try to understand the terminology.
Connect with money-minded people
When you connect with people that have similar money goals, your conversations about finance help you learn the language of investing and stay motivated. Together, as a community, you can share your wins and successes.
Be Accountable when Saving Money
Accountability is important when your goal is to save money. Allie reflects on how she made saving a habit. “Instead of putting a certain percentage of my paycheck on my actual savings, I put it into a high-interest savings account away from my other account, so I can't see it every day.”
5 Action Steps to Start Today
Get your employer match for your retirement fund
Write down your own money stories or your thoughts about money
Take an honest look at your actual money situation and write it down
Write out your financial goals and don’t be afraid to create big ones
Practice the Law of Attraction and remember, your thoughts lead to your destiny
Financial literacy and money management are skills, just like nursing, that improve with education and practice. We normally do not examine our financial situation because we have not been taught how to do so. Money may be a source of fear and anxiety for us, but we have to rewrite the story that causes these feelings. The more we practice wealth building skills, the less fear and anxiety we will have about money.
To learn more, catch the replay of this connectRN Instagram Live
About the author
Kimberly Madison
Kimberly Madison is a New York City based freelance health and medical writer with more than 12 years experience as a registered nurse. She writes about healthcare technology, healthcare quality improvement, chronic disease management, and pediatric trauma care.