This Nurse with an Unconventional Career is Pursuing FI - Ep. 33
Working in Infection Prevention and Control for 13 of the 15 years she’s been a nurse Miranda has been able to turn her specialization into multiple side hustles. Her path to FI has included house hacking in a camper with their two kids and two dogs for eight months while building their home. Financial independence isn’t too far away for Miranda and her supportive husband as they live off of less than they make and invest heavily with real estate investing as their next frontier.
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Reach out to Miranda: miranda.williams.rn@gmail.com
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TRANSCRIPT:
Naseema McElroy (03:09): All right. I am super excited to have Miranda on the Nurses on Fire Podcast. Miranda has an extraordinary story and an unconventional path to financial independence. Welcome.
Miranda Williams (03:25): Thank you for having me.
Naseema McElroy (03:26): Of course. So let's first just start by talking about how you got into nursing.
Miranda Williams (03:32): I always wanted to go into healthcare. I thought maybe I'd be a dentist. I don't know. For some reason I was interested with dental field, but then I decided I didn't want to just look at teeth all day and nursing was more broad. There were so many opportunities and it just hit me one day that I wanted to be a nurse. So I went to school and got my bachelor's degree in nursing. I worked a couple of years in the hospital, first as a nurse tech and then as a registered nurse on a uma for oncology and med surg. And then I ended up going to graduate school to get a master's degree in public health. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school, but I was not really interested in being a nurse practitioner and it wants to go the clinical route and wanted to do more research, education, prevention of disease. So that's how I ended up in the master's of public health program.
Naseema McElroy (04:28): Cool. Public health and healthcare administration. I think we kind of are aligned a little bit. Sometimes people look at those degrees as interchangeable, so we're similar. So that's cool. So right now, what are you doing in nursing?
Miranda Williams (04:47): So I work in hospital infection prevention and control. When I was in graduate school, I did an internship in between my first and second year of graduate school and what they used to call infection control, now they call it infection prevention because we're technically trying to prevent hospital acquired infections. So I took an unpaid internship in between my two graduate school years
that led to a full time job offer before I had even graduated with my master's degree. So I worked, got five years at a university based medical center in the infection control department. And then I moved to a for-profit hospital and worked in the infection control department there. And then what the primary piece of infection control that I was doing was surveillance, what we call surveillance for healthcare-acquired infections. So I was doing a lot of medical record review, a lot of data analysis, and they ended up finding a job where I can do that remotely from home, which I love.
Naseema McElroy (05:53): Nice. You know what? Can I just tell you? You know how we've been going back and forth about doing commission and all this kind of stuff. It's been infection control that's been the bane of my existence right now. So what they're doing, they're telling us that we can't make our delivery carts in advance. And just over the weekend I've had three precipitous deliveries where I'm holding a baby at the mom's perineum with bare hands because the baby is flying out and we don't have any table ready because infection control told us that we couldn't make table. So thank you so much Miranda, for all you do.
Miranda Williams (06:34): Yeah. We're not always everyone's favorite in the hospital I guess, but we really do try to help as much as we can. It's all about safety and we're just trying to protect the patients.
Naseema McElroy (06:50): Right. I get it. No, I'm just giving you a hard time, but I love that you can do your job remotely. So what has that meant for you and your finances?
Miranda Williams (07:00): So it's been really good because we've not had to do a lot of childcare, pay for a lot of childcare. So I've had a flexible schedule where my daughter was home when she was younger and then when we have had some grandparents helping out along the way, so it's not just us, but when she did start preschool, she started three mornings a week instead of five full days a week. So that was very beneficial financially to be able to do that.
Naseema McElroy (07:29): So let's dive in to more of the FI aspects of your life and how did you discover financial independence?
Miranda Williams (07:37): So that's totally through my husband. You know, we both have always been good with money, so we never really had debt. But he found that through Dave Ramsey, we got on Dave Ramsey chain. And then it was like, okay what next? And so he found the ChooseFI podcast and started listening to lots of different podcasts and telling me all about financial independence. We went to CampFI together last year and then we went again this year. And so that's really how I found out about it is through...
Naseema McElroy (08:14): So let's talk a little bit about CampFI 'cause we met at CampFI earlier this year, at the very beginning of this year and that was my very first CampFI. But you guys have gone to quite a few. Let's talk about like why you guys wanted to go to CampFI and then just what CampFI is for people that don't know.
Miranda Williams (08:32): So CampFI is basically like a grownup camp for people who are interested in finances and talking about money. So Kevin and I have gone the last two years and the one we go to is in January, which we really like that it's at the beginning of the year because it's a good time to, you know, set our goals together, to plan, talk about what we want to do for that year, what we want to accomplish. We have a blast, we learn a lot. We need a lot of interesting people and hear interesting stories and it's just great to be around, you know, like-minded people who you connect with.
Naseema McElroy (09:13): Right. It's often that we're the only ones in the room interested in talking about money. But in CampFI it's a whole bunch of money nerds in one place and guys, don't worry, it's not really like camping because black people don't camp. That's what I say, but it's more like glamping. It's nice and I highly recommend it. You get to interact on a level with people in the personal finance space that you might have read their blogs or interact with them on social media some kind of way. But there are a lot of people that come to speak, but it's not really just about the speakers that are there. It's really about everybody who's there. Everybody has something to share. There's a lot of crowdsourcing of information. And so it's an amazing resource for people who just want to learn to do better about your money.
Naseema McElroy (09:59): Like I was even intimidated how a little bit of imposter syndrome about going there because I'm like, I'm not super FI, but you know, I was welcomed with warm open arms and everybody was so cool. And I think what the best thing about it was that we were able to learn from each other and feel like it creates this community of people all across the country and even across the world that are on the same path as you. And so it's super fun and it's just an awesome way to connect with people that are interested in doing the same thing with their money. So you guys are truly on the path to FI, but what are some leverage that you guys have pooled in order to get closer to being financially independent?
Miranda Williams (10:40): So one thing we did for the first four years of our marriage, we basically lived off one income and that was pretty much out of necessity then because we got married right after I started grad school. So I wasn't working very much. I was doing home health, which I liked because it was flexible and I could just do a few visits here and there, but I wasn't making a ton of money doing it. So we lived off of Kevin's salary and then when I graduated grad school, I got a job and he started training for his career and two or three years after that started his own business. So we were living off my income at that time. But we've always since then kind of tried to be in a position where we could just live off of one income if we needed to or had to.
Miranda Williams (11:29): And I did go part time after we had our children, so I wasn't making as much money, but it was okay because we had his income to live off, though. That's one thing we done. As you talked about early, we lived in our camper while we were building our house, which is kind of crazy. We bought a piece of property and owned it for a year and a half, two years and paid it off and then decided we wanted to build a house on it. So we put our house we were living in up for sale just for sale by owner on Zillow to see if we could get an offer. And within a week, we had a full price offer, had a contract on the house and within, you know, 30 or 45 days after that, we were moving out. And so it kind of started as a joke that we could live in the camper while the house was being built. But then we just said, why not? And so we ended up being in the camper for eight months with two kids, two dogs, and two people working from home. It was quite an experience, but we saved a lot of money. We put a lot of money into the house we were building. So we cash flowed a lot of money into the house and it was an experience we'll never forget.
Naseema McElroy (12:54): So that's cool. So what made you guys decide to buy the land in the first place?
Miranda Williams (12:58): We had talked about moving into a slightly larger house. The house we were in, we ended up living there for 12 years. So you know, our first home, four kids and my husband had always wanted to build a house. He just loves real estate and wanted to design and build a house. So we stumbled upon this piece of property and it's really beautiful. We have almost five acres and it was a pretty good deal. So we bought it and then just kind of paid it off and hung onto it for a little bit until it was time to potentially build a house. And then that's what happened.
Naseema McElroy (13:35): So, what's the cost of building a house versus just buying a house in Gainesville, Florida.
Miranda Williams (13:44): So we looked at houses in our price range and everything that we looked at, we would have probably had to have made updates, modifications to for our liking. And so for us it was very similar price and we ended up getting exactly what we wanted.
Naseema McElroy (14:04): A brand new house built by design. I love it.
Miranda Williams (14:08): Very happy with the way it turned out.
Naseema McElroy (14:11): How big is your house?
Miranda Williams (14:12): We're about 2,800 square feet. We have four bedrooms and an office. We have a room above the garage that we don't have finished off, but we could finish off one day if our son maybe ends up going to college here in Gainesville and wants to live upstairs.
Naseema McElroy (14:31): Or house hack. Hey.
Miranda Williams (14:34): House hack. We've discussed that, too. We've discussed, with land, we could put some tiny homes. So, let's see.
Naseema McElroy (14:41): So much income opportunity there. So did you purchase, did you like pay off the house with the sell of your other house or do you still have a mortgage on this home?
Miranda Williams (14:49): We do still have a mortgage on the house, but our house payment is very similar to what our old house payment was and we got over a thousand square feet more in a newer home.
Naseema McElroy (15:02): That's cool. So where are you guys on the path to FI right now?
Miranda Williams (15:07): So right now our next step is looking at real estate to help us get there. So we, actually, just in the last week put an offer on a piece of property that was accepted. So we have a contract at a house and it's a triplex and currently, one unit is longterm rental and two units are being Airbnb. So right now, we are learning everything we can about Airbnb and how to Airbnb. So we're pretty excited about that. We've wanted to get into real estate for a little while now just because everyone we talked to like at CampFI and everything that has real estate they say that really speeds it up. So we're pretty excited about that.
Naseema McElroy (15:54): Is that in Gainesville as well or is that in another area?
Miranda Williams (15:57): We're thinking Gainesville. So we're really looking for something locally to start with. I know there are lots of people who have rental properties outside of their area, but we did find a nice property in our area, at least you know for our first one.
Naseema McElroy (16:13): Yeah, I'm excited for that. So you guys aren't too far off and I love some of the things that you shared, like living off of one income and you guys live in your trailer for that amount of time.
Miranda Williams (16:29): I've had some interesting nursing side hustles, too, I'll say. So like anywhere from giving flu shots at Walmart. It is like when I first started. I taught at the community college, so I taught a couple of semesters at our community college. I've done some research at the university and then I was asked to write questions for a certification study guide. So I have a Certification in Infection Control and a colleague of mine referred me to write questions. I think I ended up writing a hundred questions for the study guide and I made like, I don't know, 1000 bucks or something like that just for the questions for the study guides. My name's published in study guides, so a lot of creative ways to make money in nursing.
Naseema McElroy (17:18): And how did you come about those opportunities?
Miranda Williams (17:20): So a lot of it was just who I know, who I've worked with. Infection control is kind of a small group of people. There's not like a ton of people that do it. And so I think people know that I'm dependable and that I hopefully think that I do good work 'cause they referred me to do you know, these side hustles, these jobs.
Naseema McElroy (17:44): I think that that's cool. And I love that you have a specialty 'cause there's a lot of nurses that have specialties and I think you have a gift of being able to maximize that and optimize that and use it to your advantage. And I love that you were able to write those study questions. It probably didn't take that much effort to make a quick $1,000. And people are always asking for or looking for ways to make extra income. And I just love the way you're able to just all these side hustles. And a lot of it was just around relationship building. What advice do you have for nurses who are aspiring to financial freedom but just don't know how to get started?
Miranda Williams (18:23): So one thing I would say is, you know, once you do get that nursing salary, don't inflate your lifestyle because of it. Pretend like you're still in school. And you're still and maybe you're not making a whole lot of money and try to live off, live below your means if you can. So that way you're not spending too much money. I took an unpaid internship and it resulted in a full time job. So whenever I've worked with students, I've always said, you know, don't be afraid to do something. Maybe that's not going to get you a lot of money, but it might get you connections. So do that for sure.
Naseema McElroy (19:02): I concur. So before I went to nursing school, I was in healthcare administration and you know, I was pretty high up in administration, but I didn't like it. And so I knew I wanted to go to nursing school. And in between that job and applying to nursing school, like taking my prereqs and stuff, I took a job just as a secretary in a nursing administration office. It was very low paid. I hadn't gotten paid that little since I was in high school. But the opportunity that it granted me was priceless because when I graduated from nursing school, it was 2009 and there weren't no jobs. It was right at the bottom of the recession and everybody was scrambling and they were not hiring new grads. And out of my class of 83 only three people had jobs when we graduated. And I was one of them only because I just got a little bit uncomfortable for a little while.
Naseema McElroy (19:55): But, sometimes we have to do that in order to get to where we want. And so I love that you share like just about that internship and what that afforded you because you know, people aren't really willing sometimes to make those short term sacrifices because they can't see the end in mind. And just, you know, there's a lot of opportunity, especially in the world of nursing. And what I found over and over and over again is that it's all about those relationships that you've built. You know, when you're just starting in your career and when you're going through your career. So make sure, you know, world of nursing is small. Believe me, I know nurses all across the country and you know, yeah. And especially if you're in specialties like infection control, a super duper small. Labor and delivery might be a little big, but I guarantee you I know a nurse that you know, or I can get in contact with one of your coworkers really, really quickly, you know. So it's all about just building relationships and fostering relationships because you never know what can come out of them. But just always coming from a place of service and helping people. And I heard this saying that once you come from a place of service and you serve a number of people, then you can't help but get served in return. So I always just like the golden rule. Right? That's how I look at things. So Miranda, is there anything else you want to share with the Nurses on Fire community?
Miranda Williams (21:25): I would say just get your experience. If you can get a certification so you can put yourself above the rest of the crowd, that way too, you can potentially make more money. Like I switched hospitals and when I switched at that point I was like more experienced. I was certified and I felt like I could ask for more money at that point. So you know, do those things to build up your resume and then that'll help build up your salary too.
Naseema McElroy (21:56): And then one last question, not to put you on the spot, but why do you think it's important for nurses to pursue financial independence?
Miranda Williams (22:04): I think it's important because people probably won't work in nursing as a longterm career. I mean, let's face it, a lot of nurses get burnt out, right? So one thing financial independence gives you is options. So ,if you decide I don't want to work in nursing or I don't want to work full time in nursing, or I want to change careers, if you're financially independent, you could possibly do that. Whereas if you're not, you might be stuck in a job that you're not satisfied with. So that's one thing I would say is it gives you options to do something different or maybe not do it at all if you don't want to in the future.
Naseema McElroy (22:44): Exactly. It's all about options. And I appreciate you so much, Miranda, for sharing your story and talking about the unconventional path to nurse of being a nurse and how that's led you on your path to FI. I appreciate you for joining us on the podcast. Tell Kevin I said, what's up? That's her husband. He has the best eye lashes, by the way.
Miranda Williams (23:09): Beautiful eyelashes and our children inherited his eyelashes.
Naseema McElroy (23:13): That is so cool. I have to ask him if he wore mascara like that's how nice they are. But anyway, I know Miranda, it was so nice chatting with you. Thank you so much.
Hey there I’m Naseema
My dream is for everyone to know that financial independence is attainable with a little intentionality. Learn how I can help you finally break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
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