From Bedside to Financial Freedom: How One Nurse Took Control of Her Career Through Real Estate Investing
If you're a nursing student or new nurse wondering how to break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, this is your wake-up call.
In a recent episode of the Life After Nursing School podcast, I sat down with Savannah Arroyo - better known online as The Net Worth Nurse. Savannah is a former bedside nurse turned real estate investor, and in this conversation, she opens up about her journey from struggling to land her first job to building a $3+ million real estate portfolio and walking away from the bedside for good.
Whether you're a brand-new RN or deep in your nursing school grind, this episode is packed with practical financial advice, personal insights, and inspiration to take control of your career so your job doesn’t control you.
Landing That First Nursing Job: When Hustle Meets Grit
Savannah graduated nursing school in 2013 in California - a notoriously competitive state for new grad nurses. It took her nearly a year to land her first job, despite printing resumes on high-quality paper and physically walking them into hospitals across the state. Sound familiar?
If you’re a new grad RN still trying to get your foot in the door, Savannah’s persistence is a reminder that hustle matters. Even though she was often turned away, she kept showing up. Eventually, a manager took notice and hired her.
Climbing the Nursing Ladder—Until It No Longer Made Sense
Savannah's original career goal was to become a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Over a decade, she moved through several different roles progressing from bedside nurse, supervisor, assistant manager, to eventually manager across multiple healthcare systems in California.
But everything changed in 2020 when she gave birth to her second child. That moment combined with her exhaustion from the constant grind sparked a radical realization: She needed another way.
“I was trading time for money,” she said. “And I hated that.”
Enter Real Estate Investing: The Start of Something New
Like many nurses facing burnout, Savannah turned to the internet. She Googled terms like:
“financial freedom for nurses”
“passive income ideas for healthcare professionals”
“how to invest money as a nurse”
One word kept popping up: real estate.
Despite having no background in finance, Savannah dove in. She binge-listened to the popular real estate podcast known as BiggerPockets and started learning the language of wealth building the same way she once learned medical terminology.
Her takeaway? “If you made it through nursing school, you can learn how to manage your money.”
Why Nurses Struggle With Finances
We talked about something most of us don’t talk about enough: money shame. Savannah shared that during her time as a nurse manager, especially during COVID, countless nurses came into her office stressed about finances - even those working full-time and saving lives.
This episode covers:
Lifestyle creep (Yes, those Figs scrubs and self-care splurges add up)
Living paycheck to paycheck - even on a nurse's salary
The emotional drain of logging into your banking app (if you even want to look…)
Savannah’s mission with The Net Worth Nurse is to remove the taboo and start empowering nurses with the tools to take control of their money, their mindset, and their future.
Practical First Steps: How New Nurses Can Start Building Wealth
Even if you’re fresh out of school and deep in student debt, there are ways to get started.
Here’s what Savannah recommends:
1. Set Up a Budget
It sounds basic, but many nurses avoid budgeting because they don’t want to face the reality of their spending. Creating a simple, realistic monthly budget is step one.
2. Shift Your Money Mindset
Books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and Think and Grow Rich helped Savannah reframe how she thought about money. Instead of scarcity, she embraced curiosity and abundance.
3. Start With What You Have
Savannah invested aggressively in her retirement account from her very first paycheck investing 15–20% of her income even before she had kids or expenses. That set her up with a strong financial foundation (and gave her access to loans she could later use to invest in properties).
Real Estate as a Nurse: Not Just a Side Hustle
If you think real estate investing is only for wealthy professionals or finance bros - think again.
Savannah started with no money and no experience. She leveraged the equity in her home to buy two long-term rental properties in Atlanta. While those weren’t huge moneymakers, they taught her valuable lessons and gave her momentum.
Eventually, she transitioned into real estate syndications, where multiple investors pool resources to purchase larger assets like apartment buildings and assisted living facilities.
Today, Savannah partners with other healthcare professionals to help them invest passively in real estate - earning cash flow, tax benefits, and long-term wealth without managing tenants or toilets.
What About Student Loans?
New nurses often ask: Should I pay off my loans first or start investing?
Savannah says: Do both - strategically.
She recommends:
Choosing a debt payoff plan (debt snowball or avalanche)
Contributing to retirement at the same time
Learning how to leverage “good debt” (like loans used for income-generating investments)
Why This Conversation Matters for New Nurses
This episode isn’t just about real estate. It’s about leveraging your money to take back control of your career - so you don’t feel stuck in a job you don’t love just to survive.
Savannah and I both shared how motherhood made us pause and rethink what we really wanted. We realized we didn’t want to work 36+ hours a week just to afford a vacation or save for the future.
What we wanted was:
Time freedom
Flexibility
The ability to be present with our families
And we believe that’s possible for you, too.
Savannah’s Advice to New Grad Nurses
At the end of the episode, I asked Savannah what advice she’d give to her new grad self.
Her answer? “Chill a little more.”
She reflects on how she used to force things - whether it was climbing the career ladder or learning investing - and how much more peace she’s found doing things from a place of flow instead of force.
So, if you're a nursing student or recent grad stressing about your future, let that be your reminder: You don’t have to have it all figured out today. But you can start building a financial future that gives you options.
Book Recommendations from This Episode
We mentioned several powerful resources in the episode that helped shape our money mindset and career journey:
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Passive Profits by Savannah Arroyo
Final Thoughts: Choose Your Hard
Savannah said it best:
“What’s harder - applying for a new job, or staying at the one you hate for 20 years?”
Whether you want to climb the nursing ladder, explore entrepreneurship, or build passive income on the side - this episode is a reminder that you have options.
Choose your hard.
Choose your freedom.
And never forget that you became a nurse, which means you’re capable of learning, adapting, and building something incredible.
Ready to Take Control of Your Nursing Career?
Check out Savannah’s resources at networthnurse.co or explore her investment opportunities at willowinvestmentgroup.com. You can also grab her book, Passive Profits, for a nurse-friendly guide to real estate investing.
🎧 And if you haven’t yet, listen to the full podcast episode for the complete conversation—it’s one you don’t want to miss.
And - as always, I’ve got one hand for me… and the other for you.
Until next time,
Caroline
PS. Want more on this topic? Listen to Life After Nursing School Podcast Episode 29