In 2021, Monica and I were grinding like hell.

Picking up every single shift we could. Nights, weekends, holidays. Anytime we could stack it together for overtime or double-time we took it.

One of those paychecks from that run was for $11,361.22.

A little over a year later, Monica got one for $8,197.56.

That's nearly $20,000, the two of us, in a two week period.

But those monster paychecks weren't about living large. They were about surviving.

Why We Worked Like That

By 2017, when we first moved to California, we were buried in debt:

• $70,000 borrowed for a down payment on a house • $25,000 credit card debt from moving expenses
• $20,000+ loans for school • A $76,000 Volvo that we owned, but for which we kept pouring thousands of dollars into repairs

Totaled $128,000+ of debt.

Then came COVID. Patient volumes dropped. Then layoffs started happening.

The thought of layoffs launched us into overdrive.

So we worked. I picked up 112.7 hours in a two week period for that $11,000 paycheck. Monica worked like a beast too, stacking premiums and differentials until her check went over $8,000.

We put every last dime of it on crushing our debt.

Within a year, we were debt free.

Why Sacramento Made All the Difference

If we had decided to stay in New York, regardless of how much we busted our ass working, the numbers just wouldn't have worked out.

Rent and taxes would have taken it all.

Sacramento gave us leverage:

• High hourly rates: I began at $86/hr, Monica's base was over $100/hr • Cost of living: Our home, $697,000 here, would have been $1.2 M+ in the Bay • Safety ratios: California has a nurse-patient law that prevented us from drowning with 7-8 patients like in NYC

With the combination of high pay, lower cost of living, and safety, we could work hard for one season, pay off six figures of debt, and then take a step back.

Where We are at Now (2025 numbers)

These days, we are no longer chasing $11,000 checks. We don't need to.

Here is what our year-to-date earnings look like so far in 2025:

Let me break this down.

🧍‍♂️ Jason (me)

Base + shift differential: $110/hr

However, my average comes out to $151/hr. Why?

• Vacation and sick leave - I still get paid even if I don't work • Holiday Pay:

• If I work holiday → I get 2.5x my base rate

• If I don't work → I still get 4 hours of pay as straight time (since I am .5FTE)

That's why even when I take time off, my checks don't plummet.

🧍‍♀️ Monica (per diem)

Base: $142/hr

No PTO, or sick time, and no guaranteed hours.

However, when she works, she works:

• On holidays, shift pay at 1.5x her rate for the whole shift → $213/hr • Double time looks something like this:

• For the first 8 hours → $142/hr

• For the next 4 hours → $213/hr

• For the last 4 hours → $284/hr

Even without the benefits of being on staff, Monica takes advantage of per diem flexibility.

Because the kid's health and dental insurance are covered under my plan, she doesn't lose much from not having a plan. Plus, she contributes to our company's 401k with a kickoff.

Why This Matters

The most important point is not that we pulled $20K in two weeks, but really this:

You do not need to grind like that forever. You just need to do it long enough, to allow you to reset your life.

• We paid off $128,000 in debt in less than a year • We were released from the stress of student loans and credit cards and other misc debts • Again, working 20-23 hours per week is still going to land us over $175K combined this year

And while we aren't working, we are spending time with our son. We are taking time to build our business. We are taking time to live.

Closing

The biggest checks we ever made didn't make us rich. They allowed us to change our trajectory.

We went from living paycheck to paycheck in NY with a mountain of debt, to being debt free and experiencing a semi-retirement status in Sacramento.

Even every 2 week paycheck feels lighter now; not just because of the money, but because we are no longer chained to it.

And that is the part I want every nurse to witness.

Do you want to make more as a nurse?

I built the Nurses to Riches Accelerator to help you:

• Relocate to Northern California the smart way

• Secure a high-paying hospital job (we’re talking $200K+ a year)

• Learn to calculate your real take-home pay

• Work fewer hours—without sacrificing income

• Start investing + paying off debt like a boss

I’ll even show you how to compare hospitals, filter by pay and shift type, and fast-track your move so you’re not spinning your wheels for another year.

Use code LOYALTY10 for 10% off the program

Weekly Update:

1. Watch our latest YouTube videos:

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