My Net Worth Journey as a 26 year-old Travel Nurse

My parents are smart, generous people. They had the PACT plan which covered my college tuition. However, they were not going to let their children drain them of money - I had to pay for personal things on my own. I remember crying 2 years into college when I looked at my bank account mid-month and only saw $50.00..... And I still needed to get groceries for the week... I pulled myself together. Once I graduated UAB with my BSN and passed boards, I started my career in Nursing in the ICU. My hourly pay was decent (for Alabama, and the fact I had no student loans).

I tried to do "all the right things" that a yound professional with a stable job should do, so I bought a small 1-bedroom, 1-bath condo to show my independence. That is where I ended up ~$65,000 in debt. Sure, it is a place to live, but in the grand scheme of real estate ROI - not the best move. It did teach me about the process of buying, and owning. There were HVAC issues, deck repairs, general maitnence, along with HOA fees, WOW! Now im feeling the money pinch. But... I always knew I wanted to step out of my comfort zone with a travel job. I owned the condo for a total of 8 months and then listed it for sale. It sold within a month, and I walked away with $20k (before short-term capital gains tax).

No More Debt. February 2022 - I found my first travel assignment in metro Atlanta, and continued working my staff job on top of that. 2 full time jobs for 2 months. It is possible. I began tapering down my staff requirement (full-part-time to prn) and taking travel assignments in other states. I was Using my staff job as my 401K bucket. I kept a personal ROTH. My saings lives in a High Yield account (HYS)

March 2023 - I was PRN at my staff job, and on contract in Kentucky. I was renting a room in a house with a cool landlord, and I decided it would be fun to rent rooms. I was feversihly searching for a piece of real estate to buy back home, I had saved up $150,000(HYS).

January 2024 - "The car incident". I have come a long way on the Travel Nurse map. Im saving money, holding about $240,000 (HYS) in hopes of finding a small house. From kentucky, I moved to Missouri (for a month) and then to Boise, Idaho. If you know Idaho, you know they get a decent amount of snow. My vehichle was a 2010 Toyota Prius, which had faired well in the snow a few times. But, as life would have it, I was driving home from work on a frozen-morning and my car lost control on the ice. Slammed sideways into a telephone pole and was immediately totaled. I was devestated.

February 2024 - I found a 2014 Toyota 4Runner 4WDSport at a dealership, and paid $21,000 cash. I paid $1700 to have it shipped to Portland,Oregon - my current contract.

March 2024 - I purchased a 3br, 2ba condo for $160,000 cash , 2 day closing, because I was flying back to Portland for work. Immediatly, I rented out one of the bedrooms for $600. I also quit my PRN staff job, a big step in creating freedom.

July 2024 - I began renting the second bedroom, and the income before expenses was $1400.

October 2024 - I am able to rent out both bedrooms for a total of $1650. I came home that month, and the rents covered my expenses.

December 2024 - I finally took a contract in California (YAY!)

January 2025 - My Net Worth has surpassed $400,000. Between my income-generating assets (condo rent & ROI $170,000, investments $120,000 (which I will outline in a later post), High-Yield Savings & interest$111,000), my W2 income, and Car $9,000 (if I ever had to sell it cheap).

$410,000