Wealthy Nurse Podcast: Money, FI, Investing for Nurses

This Year I share how running Nurse Who Invest/Nursing Flowsheet alongside full-time work has started to burn me out, and how posting less has brought up guilt and the feeling of failing my side business.  I explain why it’s okay to choose one lane for a season, comparing it to Coast FI and how past content can still “compound.” 00:00 Two Tracks Burnout 01:00 Side Hustle Success Guilt 02:50 C...

9 Silent Wealth Killers Holding Nurses Back (and How to Fix Them)        00:00 First Paycheck Reality 01:59 Why Retire Early 03:12 Wealth Killers Overview 03:29 Location And Income 04:54 Too Much Saving 07:05 Marriage And Divorce 08:59 Lifestyle Creep Online 10:22 House Poor Trap 12:19 Waiting To Invest 13:42 Loyalty Limits Pay 16:23 Debt Is Not Equal 18:10 Car Payment Drain 19...

Wealth Isn’t a Strategy—It’s an Identity (Money Mindset for Nurses)   I share a personal lesson that took me years to understand: being wealthy isn’t just about strategies—it’s an identity shift. Even if you know what a Roth IRA is and what to invest in, you can stay stuck if you don’t believe you’re the kind of person who builds wealth. I relate this to my “floater friend” identity and how l...

4 Common Money Tips That Don’t Work for Nurses (and What to Do Instead)   I’m Ellaine, a nurse practitioner of 15+ years behind Nurse Who Invests, and I’m breaking down popular money advice that’s well-intentioned—but often bad for nurses because it doesn’t fit our income, schedules, and accounts. I end by encouraging you to question generic advice and learn principles that fit your life, and...

In this video, I explain why the order of investing matters for nurses with limited monthly income and outlines a five-step framework that prioritizes free money, tax-advantaged growth, and then taxable investing. 00:00 Investing Order for Nurses 01:46 Why Order Matters 03:07 Step 1 05:13 Step 2 08:20 Step 3   11:55 Step 4 13:43 Step 5 16:27 Extra Step 17:28 Recap and Next Steps   18:30...

In this video, I shared five small “boring” habits she built in my early 30s that shifted myself from feeling anxious about money to feeling calm and financially free, emphasizing that strategy fails without habits. These helped me reach Coast FI in 2023 and make decisions aligned with my desired lifestyle. 00:00 Five Habits Overview   00:53 Habits Beat Strategy   01:57 Habit 1 04:48 Hab...

5 Types of Financial Independence Nurses Should Know (Find Your Real FI Number)   Ellaine, a nurse with over 15 years of experience behind Nurse Invests, explains that many nurses chase the wrong retirement number because they don’t realize there are five different versions of financial independence, each with different timelines and targets. She defines FI as having investment income cover l...

What Retirement Really Means for Nurses (Retire Early Without Quitting Nursing)   Elaine, a nurse of 15+ years behind Nurse Who Invests and Nursing Flowsheet, films from a Baltimore hotel during a conference to redefine what “retirement” means for nurses pursuing financial independence.       00:00   The Big Retirement Question 01:15  Intro 03:01   Why Tradi...

How Much Should Nurses Invest for Retirement? (By Age)   I talked about how much your should be investing at every age. 00:00 Nurse Investing Wakeup 01:18 Why Nurses Need More 03:15 Four Numbers Framework   05:33 Foundation Years 25-30 07:55 Acceleration Years 30-35   09:08 Double Plans 403b 457 10:10 Peak Earnings 35-40 11:39 Mega Backdoor Roth 15:27 Catch Up Years 40-45 16:51 Benc...

  Too Late to Start Investing as a Nurse? Why Your 30s & 40s Are the BEST Time I’m Ellaine, a nurse practitioner and financial educator behind Nurse Who Invests, and I’m sharing why starting to invest in your 30s or 40s isn’t a financial disaster. I explain how I didn’t invest until I was almost 30, after spending my 20s traveling, leasing an expensive car, and accumulating about $10,000...

      I talk about why many nurses can earn $80k–six figures and still feel stuck living paycheck to paycheck, and I explain that it’s not a personal failure but a system and strategy problem. I share my experience as a nurse of 15+ years and break down three main issues:     explain how learning my Coast FI number changed my relationship with overtime and risk-taking, and...

  In this video, I explained that your Coast FI number and timeline aren’t fixed and shares five nurse-specific strategies to accelerate Coast FI by pulling three levers: 00:00  Coast FI Isn’t Fixed 01:03  How Coast FI  Works   02:17  Tip 1 04:36  Tip 2 07:38  Tip 3 10:44  Tip 4 16:14  Tip 5 20:08  Stack Strategies and Recalculate 21:42  ...

Coast FI Calculator: https://nursingflowsheet.com/coast-fi-calculator-financial-freedom-for-nurses/ ➤ Free Investment CHEAT SHEET: https://www.nursewhoinvests.com/starter ➤ Nurse Money Starter Kit with 40% off for youtube viewers: https://www.nursewhoinvests.com/offers/ty7TNPpx?coupon_code=IG40  Free Investing Class: https://www.nursewhoinvests.com/class   I explain Coast FI for nurses—t...

A full-time nurse practitioner shares the real, non-glamorous story of building Nursing Flowsheet, an educational platform helping nurses build wealth, while working 4–5 days a week and raising a family. She explains how feeling capped by trading time for money led her to start creating finance content in 2020 and later launch paid digital products, including her signature program “ Employ your Mo...

Nurse Taxes 101 (2026): How W2 Nurses Can Keep More of Their Paycheck   Ellaine, a nurse practitioner and financial educator behind Nursing Flow Sheet, explains why many W2 nurses feel paycheck-to-paycheck and breaks down U.S. taxes in a simple 2026 update. She clarifies the progressive tax system, emphasizing that being in a higher bracket doesn’t mean all income is taxed at that rate, so ea...

I Missed Weeks of Posting… Here’s Why Money Systems Matter More Than Willpower   Elaine, a nurse practitioner and certified financial educator, shares an honest update on why she paused the Nurse Money Project after planning to post weekly: work and family got busy while she adjusted to being a solo income earner in the Bay Area. She explains that despite the break, her money system kept work...

Is Financial Independence Possible for Nurses?   Ellaine, a nurse practitioner and financial educator, discusses the possibility of financial independence for nurses through the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. She addresses common misconceptions about the need for extreme frugality and quitting work entirely. Instead, Ellaine emphasizes that financial independence grants...

Understanding Financial Peace: Why More Income Isn't the Solution for Nurses       In this video, Elaine, a nurse practitioner and financial educator, candidly discusses the common misconception that earning more money solves financial issues. Drawing from her own experience, she reveals how increasing income didn't alleviate her financial anxiety and argues that proper money manage...

How I Invest as a Nurse Practitioner: My Strategy for Financial Freedom   In this video, I share my personal investment strategies as a nurse practitioner living in the Bay Area. I discuss the importance of building automated systems over picking stocks and timing the market. I outline the three main investment accounts that I use: my employer-sponsored 403(b), a Roth IRA, and a taxable broke...

Creating Financial Systems for Nurses: Budgeting Without Micromanaging In this video, I share how nurses can achieve financial freedom by setting up automated money management systems instead of traditional, restrictive budgets. I discuss my paycheck routine, including having a main landing account, automating investments and bill payments, and using credit cards responsibly. I'll show you how the...

In this video, I reveal the key mindset shift that changed everything for me and countless other nurses regarding money. I'll discuss how the beliefs we grow up with can affect our financial decisions and how you can transition from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. I'll also highlight the importance of designing your own financial systems to ensure your money works for you, helping you...

The Nurse Money Project: My Journey to Financial Freedom   In this episode, I kick off the Nurse Money Project—a 12-week series aimed at helping nurses achieve financial freedom. I share my personal journey, from growing up in the Philippines with little financial knowledge to becoming a financially free nurse in the U.S. I discuss the cultural taboos around money, my family's immigrant exper...

FREE INVESTING CLASS:   Enroll Here   Scrubs and Stocks Podcast is a podcast hosted by Ellaine Maala, RN, NP who is a finance educator, nurse, and owner of NursingFlowsheet LLC, which is a finance and career blog for nurses. This podcast is created to help nurses build wealth through investing in the stock market, real estate or in their own businesses. Nurses deserve options whether the...

The Wealthy Nurse Podcast: Expanding Beyond Stocks   In this debut episode of The Wealthy Nurse Podcast, the host announces the rebranding of the former 'Scrubs and Stocks' podcast to a broader platform that will encompass a variety of topics aimed at helping nurses build wealth. While continuing to share insights on stock market investing, the podcast will now also cover salary negotiations,...

Achieving Financial Freedom as a Nurse: A 15-Year Journey of Salary Progression and Smart Investing       Ellaine, a nurse practitioner and founder of Nursing FlowSheet, discusses her 15-year journey towards financial freedom and the importance of combining income growth with investing. She shares her personal salary progression from a bedside ICU nurse earning $28 per hour to a nur...