If you’re a seasoned travel nurse, you’ve probably mastered the art of keeping your home running smoothly while you’re away. If you’re new to the travel nursing field, we have a few tips to help you cover all the tasks, chores, and loose ends that need attention whether you’re at home or in the field.
Budgeting — Everyone needs a budget to plan for major expenses like mortgage and insurance, recurring payments like electricity, gas, and water, costs of food and clothing, and incidentals and emergencies that may arise. The internet abounds with budgeting tools and smartphone apps, but here are a few you might want to try. Microsoft Excel offers a spreadsheet-style home budget template, and the personal finance magazine Kiplinger has a budget worksheet you fill out online (adding items as necessary) and print out for your file. Mint, from Intuit (the Turbo Tax company) has a highly graphic and intuitive budget tool that’s ideal for visual thinkers. It boasts lots of extra features, including free credit monitoring and spending tracking.
Paying bills — When you’re juggling responsibilities on assignment, the last thing you need to worry about is paying your monthly bills. If you’re the traditional type, you can pay bills as they arrive or set aside a specific evening or two during the month to write checks for your bills. Or you can arrange for automatic bill paying from your checking, savings, or other liquid account. Many banks now offer check deposits using your smartphone. If security is a concern, take comfort in knowing that financial institutions have taken important steps to assure safe transactions, including two-factor authentication, which requires you to enter a one-time code each time you log on.
Online shopping, pickup and delivery — During the pandemic the demand for “contactless” shopping mushroomed, and the demand hasn’t slackened yet. Most grocery stores now offer shopping services, with online websites where you can order the products you want. Then you can select either curbside pickup or home delivery, for a modest fee, sometimes free above a set minimum purchase. The convenience is a boon for a harried nurse, but if you’re a finicky shopper, you may not get the perfect apple or pork chop you’d select for yourself. If you prefer not to set up an account at individual stores, InstaCart and similar shopping services will get the goods from retailers like Target, Container Store, CVS, Best Buy, and dozens more. You can even shop at membership clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club without membership. Check the website for a list of retailers in your area.
Embrace your freezer — Before you leave for your assignment, plan to cook up and freeze some easy homemade family favorites for convenient eating and cleanup when you’re away. If you have a tried-and-true crockpot or an instant pot or air fryer, it’s a snap to prepare delicious meals to freeze. Stews, soups, chili, and casseroles are ideal freezer foods, and don’t forget breakfast: breakfast burritos, frittatas, and even baked oatmeal (better than it sounds!) make breakfast on the run both yummy and nutritious. Get the whole family in on the prep and make it a fun time together.
Keep relationships healthy — Having a loved one away from home for long stretches at a time can take an emotional toll on adults and kids remaining at home. It’s important that those back home can still feel connected to you while you’re on assignment, and that they too have a strong support role in keeping the family solid and happy. They need to understand that timely completion of assigned responsibilities around the house, keeping up with school assignments and homework, and other tasks are just as important to the family as your nursing responsibilities are to your patients. You’re all in this together, even if one member is temporarily away from home. Set up a shared calendar that everyone can see, like Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook (also has email). Note reminders of important dates like birthdays or dentist appointments and schedule of family responsibilities. Use Zoom or FaceTime to do as many things together as you can, and set up a family game of Wordle, Psych, or MadLibs (latter two available for both Android and iOS). And we can’t overlook Valentine’s Day — whether it’s virtual or in person, set aside some special time for just the two of you to relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate your appreciation for one another.
Freedom Healthcare Staffing is always available to help get you through the highs and lows of travel nursing. If you are struggling with maintaining your household while away on assignment, don’t hesitate to contact your Freedom recruiter to talk through a plan that might work for you.