Nurse and Finance Coach, April Waddell

This week I had an informative and fun conversation about money with my guest, nurse, and finance coach, April Waddell. Yes, you heard me right, I said fun. Talking about money can create anxiety in some and I’m no different but April’s positive and hopeful spirit helped me keep calm and carry on.

After retiring from her work as a Pediatric ICU nurse, April founded Nurse Money Date, a financial coaching business and you’ll love hearing the reason behind the name. I never considered seeking out a fellow nurse for financial advice but this may have been a mistake because April helps nurses feel comfortable with money through leveraging their experience in nursing and by using language they understand: the nursing process. And this is genius.

April’s goal is to uplift nurses financially so they can stay in the profession they love and feel in control of the work they do. In the five-minute snippet: it’s a 1970s disco flashback.
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Transcript

[00:00] Michelle: This week, I had an informative and fun conversation about money with my guest, nurse and finance coach, April Waddell. Talking about money can create anxiety in some, and I'm no different. But April's positive and hopeful spirit helped me to keep calm and carry on. After retiring from her work as a pediatric ICU nurse, April founded Nurse Money Date, a financial coaching business, and you'll love hearing the reason behind the name. I never considered seeking out a fellow nurse for financial advice, but this may have been a mistake because April helps nurses feel comfortable with money through leveraging their experience in nursing, and by using language, they understand: the nursing process. And this is genius. April's goal is to uplift nurses financially so they can stay in the profession they love and feel in control of the work they do. In the five-minute snippet: It's a 1970s disco flashback.  Well, hi, April,  welcome to the podcast.

[01:23] April: Thanks so much for having me, Michelle.

[01:25] Michelle: You're welcome. I'm excited because we connected a while ago and you reached out to me and you told me what you were doing with financial consulting with nurses, and it was very intriguing. And so here we are today. So thank you for reaching out. I really appreciate it. Of course, you are near and dear to my heart because you are a retired pediatric nurse. And I did that for 18 years, Peds. And then I switched to NICU, but I loved it. But talk about kind of your history, like why you became a nurse and your time as a Peds nurse. And what happened that led you to shift towards this financial coaching?

[02:15] April: Definitely. So I come from a family of nurses. My mom is a nurse, my older sister is a nurse. So I've always been around the nursing profession and always knew I wanted to go into pediatrics. I just always loved being with kids. My first job was always a babysitter, and so when I decided to go into nursing, I didn't know anywhere else I could go because I loved it so much. I started off in the cardiac ICU and then transitioned to the resource ICU. NICU was actually my favorite floor to float to and just loved that profession so much. And really, when I first started, I didn't envision myself doing anything else. But then, of course, Covid-19 happened and my feelings around and my experience with nursing really started to shift. I was getting more burnt out. I was experiencing more shifts where I just felt I was in an unsafe position as a nurse. And of course, the same thing with my patients as well, and always had this passion in my heart for finances because I graduated nursing school with student loan debt, and while I was working as a nurse, I was nurturing this hobby of personal finance. Anytime I could get my days off, downtime on my shift, I listened to podcasts, and read books. And so with my experience in nursing changing during COVID, I saw an opportunity for me to really give back to the nursing profession through providing coaching and education that was really relevant to nurses in a way they could understand and implement into their own life. So that really opened the door to my business.

[04:05] Michelle: We've had a while now from COVID to kind of think about all the effects that it's had on us as individuals and collectively as a profession. I will say that I'm a little bit traumatized.

[04:23] April: Right? Definitely. It's a conversation that we as a profession, definitely need to have. And two years now into business, two years out of the nursing profession, I really am exploring that part of me, because when I left nursing, I was like, well, once I leave the environment, I'll be okay. I'll be good. And that's just not the reality. Right. And so we definitely need to have those conversations.

[04:55] Michelle: Yes. Like you, I thought retirement was the key, just getting out. And at that point, I'd already had 40 years in. And so I thought, it's so funny because I never thought of so many nurses that I've talked to recently that pivoted, like yourself, to another area of interest and became entrepreneurs. I was just like, hey, I've had 40 years, so that's it for me. Peace out. So after that, is that when you founded Nurse Money Date?

[05:31] April: Correct. Yes. With all of my time in nursing, researching, and following people, I didn't really see anybody who was speaking directly to nurses. And what I mean by that is really speaking the language of nurses in finance terms. So that's really what I do and specialize in. I break things down in a way that nurses can understand. So, for example, when we're talking about debt, I go through the whole nursing process. When we're talking about debt, we do an assessment, we do a diagnosis, we talk about how we can implement. And so that is really my goal with Nurse Money Date, to make nurses feel really confident and comfortable with money through leveraging their experiences and their expertise in nursing.

[06:18] Michelle: That's amazingly creative that you know the nursing process and you applied it to financial concepts. That's amazing. I would have never thought of doing that. And I have to ask you, where did the name Nurse Money Date come from?

[06:36] April: Yes. Thank you for asking that, Michelle. So how I've been so successful with my money and finances is when I first started, years and years ago, I started implementing this weekly money date system. Now, this was early in my 20s, when I was still single, and I was like, hey, let me just go on these weekly fun money dates where I'll go out to dinner or have a drink, and then I'll look at my money in terms of my budget, my debt, all those things. And so I did this every single week. Every single week. Now, for the past, I don't know, it's been probably seven years at this point. And so that is the true secret behind sustaining your financial success, is not making it this big, overwhelming, scary thing, but instead taking these small actions every single week, but while having fun in that process. Right? And so that's where the name comes from, is this practice of engaging and interacting with your money and finances on a weekly basis through a money date.

[07:37] Michelle: Again, I think that's just genius, because you're taking a concept that which most of us are familiar with, dating, and you're dating your money. You're setting that time aside, like you said, to look at your budget, to look at where things are, but you're having fun in the process, and that's really cool. And now you're married and you're still having money dates, right?

[08:05] April: Yes. And I like to compare money dates to just honestly a financial practice that's routine and normal. Right. We think about our physical health. We should be going every year for a physical, right? We think about our dental health. We go get a cleaning twice a year, right? But there's no practice that we talk about for our financial health, and that practice really should be weekly money dates. And so I'm so happy to just make this more of, like, a common conversation where it's like, hey, what did you do this weekend? It should be, hey, how was your money date this weekend?

[08:40] Michelle: It's really genius, and I love it. So, besides debt, let's talk about some of the other financial struggles that nurses face.

[08:50] April: Yeah, definitely. I think a really big one for nurses is this big topic of investing, because, of course, you cannot save your way to wealth. You cannot save your way to these really big financial goals that a lot of nurses have. Right? To buy a home, to retire, of course. So investing is one of those topics that are just really big, overwhelming, and scary to nurses. And so in my work, again, it really is breaking it down and relating it back to what we know in the nursing profession. One example I really enjoy giving, nurses always ask me, where do you invest your money? Where do you invest your money? And I actually compare this to what kind of scrubs you buy. Right. We all know there are two or three really popular scrub brands. They get the job done. Right. Work and you'll still have clothes and you can work. There are three really big top brokerage accounts, fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard, that are very reputable and have a really long track record of being able to invest your money and it's secure and all the things. And so that's one way I like to help nurses through this process, again, is just relating it back to things they know and understand.

[10:08] Michelle: Well, that's got to be really effective way of communicating the principles of investing and finance to your nurses. And you specialize in financial coaching tailored for nurses. And I was thinking about this as a nurse, I never thought of going to another nurse for financial advice. And so why might this have been a mistake?

[10:36] April: Yeah. When I work with my clients I'm able to just understand that, hey, you might be tired during this coaching call because you've had a really long shift. Just that alone, Michelle, like, lets them just be more comfortable, be more honest and transparent. Another really big obstacle that nurses face with their money, Michelle, is actually credit card debt is overspending. And when we really break this down through coaching, it really is associated with wanting to have a coping mechanism through stress at work. Right. So I'm really able to. Okay, how is your shift? How has work been? How are you coping with those things? Is it going to Target and spending $200 on things you don't need? If so, what other things can we implement that's more healthy? Right. Not only mentally, and emotionally, but also financially. So in working with a nurse, it really breaks down that barrier, that, number one, you have to know all these things, and number two, that you have to explain your lifestyle and you have to explain your experience professionally to somebody that you're talking to about finances.

[11:44] Michelle: Yeah. What you said just really resonated with me in terms of kind of how nurses spend and how we kind of eat like we spend. It's like we're stress eaters, a lot of us. And I think we're also stress spenders. Right. And I remember during the two years of COVID my last two years of working every day, April, when I got off work, I went to Home Goods. I had a love affair with, you know, and sometimes, maybe once a week or once every couple of weeks, I would actually buy something. But I just went to give myself space between work and home because literally it was like a ten-minute drive and I didn't want to carry all the heaviness into my home. I wanted to just go somewhere where I didn't have to really think about it and I could walk around and see pretty things and pick things up and hold them. And, man, what you said just really resonated with me.

[13:05] April: Yes. And it's something that we're nervous and afraid and embarrassed to talk about. And so I thank you for sharing that story because that is what a lot of nurses are going through. And, of course, that has a lot of impacts. If we think about doing that every single week, what does that look like not only for our credit card health but our overall relationship to money? And I really use that word very intentionally. Our relationship to money. Are we using our money to help us achieve our financial dreams, or are we using our money as a way to cope? And so that's one of the big things I talk about in coaching, too, is how are we really using our money and how can we improve our relationship with money?

[13:51] Michelle: Yeah, that's excellent. And I think that was a really good word that you used, cope. And I think that is exactly what I was doing. And I think probably a lot of other nurses do that as well. And I mentioned earlier that I feel like I've suffered some trauma from post-Covid, and I imagine that's true for so many healthcare providers everywhere, and not just Covid, but other things in our careers. And so we need healing. We need healing as individuals. We need healing as a profession. And so how do you help nurses heal from some of those traumas that they have endured?

[14:41] April: Yes. A big one is, again, improving that relationship with our money. Right. So for finding out that, hey, we may be doing x, y, and z, let's say, going after a shift and maybe going to a store and spending money when we're really in this state of just really wanting to disassociate. Right. If we're finding that that's the problem, let's use our money in a way that's going to improve not only our financial health but also our mental, and emotional health. Right. So what exactly does this look like? It looks like scheduling those things that are healthy ways to cope with our money. That may look like therapy. Right. How do we prioritize therapy in your budget? It may be self-care, it may be getting a massage once a month. And so when we have these conversations about budget, and I really don't like that word, but for the sake of this podcast, I'll use that because has such a restrictive image to it. But when we are talking about how to manage our income and where it should go, we often think about that. Instead, I like to prioritize first, obviously bills, all the things we need to live, survive, and eat all that stuff, but right in that category, as maybe other people would categorize it as a fixed expense. I do the same thing with self-care because if you are not mentally, or emotionally able to show up for work, that's obviously going to impact your financial health and the financial decisions that you can make. So it really is making those things like therapy, self-care, all those kinds of things a top priority, right next to rent, right next to your food budget.

[16:21] Michelle: That's a good point. And are you seeing nurses that don't prioritize self-care? They're kind of putting everything else first and putting that on the back burner.

[16:32] April: Definitely. And of course, it's never intentional. Right. And that's why coaching is such an important space where you can start to hear your own thought process. It's basically taking what is on the inside and putting it out into the universe with a coach. Right. So when nurses are not prioritizing self-care, it's never out of a place of like, I don't love myself or I don't care about myself. It's just they haven't been in this room in the space where they felt comfortable and safe enough to have these conversations. So, yes, definitely. I've seen nurses not prioritize that. But once they're able to really hear themselves and see their routines, and their habits, they very quickly, of course, want to change and make improvements.

[17:17] Michelle: Well, I'd say you have a really unique view into the nurse's soul. Do you ever have nurses or your clients get emotional during some of these coaching sessions?

[17:30] April: Oh, my goodness. All the time. All the time. And if we're talking about my long-term clients, which are three, six months, I mean, at least two to three times out of that whole experience is just having a heart-to-heart where they're just breaking down. Right. Because we build that relationship and trust over time, and when we're really able to break down why we're spending a certain way or why we aren't spending in other aspects, like why we aren't investing, why we aren't saving, it really comes down to our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves and what we think we're worth. So, as you can imagine, that really opens up a lot of emotions and feelings. Yeah, definitely. There's definitely a lot of emotions in coaching.

[18:16] Michelle: Yeah, I would think so. And who better to kind of manage those emotions than a nurse? Because I feel like every day in our jobs, and especially with you as a pediatric nurse, it's like you're managing your patients and you're managing your families and you're managing your own emotions, those of your coworkers, all of that. We do that all day, every day. Right. And so you've taken that skill and kind of transferred it to your business, and that's really great. Talk about some of the feedback that you've received from your clients.

[19:04] April: Yeah. A lot of my clients tell me that they're surprised at how holistic my approach is. And what that means is when clients come to work with me, they anticipate, of course, that we are going to create a budget. I like to use the word cash flow plan, but a budget that we're going to talk about debt, that we're going to talk about investing, those are all things they expect. But what they don't expect is I ask them, how well did you sleep? What's your eating like? Are you moving your body? Right. Because when we're thinking about financial decisions, Michelle, 90% of our financial decisions are actually rooted in our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about money. Only 10% of that really is logic. Right. And so that's always top of mind for me as a coach, because I can, of course, teach you the education, the math, the strategy, of course. But I really need to get at the core of how you're doing overall as a human being. And so the feedback that I get from pretty much every client that's worked with me is they're just so blown away and impressed at how I'm not only looking at them as a spreadsheet. Right, as numbers, I'm looking at the bigger picture as a person, as a mom, as a sister, of course, as a nurse. But I'm taking a bigger view of who they are as people.

[20:33] Michelle: Yeah. Again, I think who better to approach financial counseling advice than a nurse? Because we do have the ability to look at a person holistically, and we also can compartmentalize. But we know that sometimes the patient's high blood pressure is not because they just had a large meal with a lot of salt in it. Like, there. There are other factors weighing in on blood pressure. Maybe they just lost their longtime pet. There's just so many factors. And so I love that you're incorporating their life. And you talked about money is a very emotionally charged subject for a lot of people. It's hard to look at our finances kind of objectively. And so what are you hearing from your clients about some of the myths that they have surrounding money?

[21:46] April: Yeah. A big myth that I work through with a lot of my nursing clients is time, and their belief around time and money. So one obvious one, there's a lot of pieces to that, but I think the biggest one is how much time it takes to engage in your financial health, essentially. And so nurses come to me saying, I only have, of course, right, x amount of hours every single week, and I make it work with whatever time that you have because it isn't hours and hours and hours of your life that you have to sacrifice for this. Right. When we're talking about weekly money dates, that should take ten to 15 minutes at most. And so that's a really big myth that nurses are very happy to find out is actually not true. Right. And the same thing with investing. When we're talking about investing in the stock market, investing in real estate, there are so many passive ways you can invest and grow your money. And again, nurses think that, oh, to grow my money passively, I need to invest hours upon hours upon hours. Yes, you need to do your research, but it does not take nearly as long as nurses believe. So I think this myth and belief around time and improving their financial health is a really big one.

[23:11] Michelle: Well, that's a good point. Yeah. So for me, I will say that the subject of money, when I start talking about finances and investing and all of this stuff I'm not literate in that world at all. And so I may not know all the terms, I may not know the financial lingo. And so how do I navigate through that?

[23:40] April: Honestly, Michelle, start with just that belief alone, right? That I'm not literate in this world, in this space and that belief around, how long will it take me to feel literate and comfortable and confident in these conversations? And so I'd first just start exploring that. Right. What will it look like exactly, for me to feel that level of confidence? And what nurses have found is that it doesn't take that long. One of my programs literally will take you from not knowing anything to managing your investments on your own without a financial advisor in 30 days. And so one of the first places that you can start off with, really, is looking at your own investments. Before we even start talking about doing stuff, extra stuff for investment, let's first, look at what you are currently invested in. And if, you know, listen to podcasts, taking notes. This is something that you definitely want to highlight. Circle, underline. The best place to start when we're talking about investments, Michelle, and this is where a lot of nurses unfortunately make a mistake, is fees. So think about when we go to the store. We go to the store, and we look at the price tag, right? Make sure we can afford it. We don't have that same practice with what we are invested in. So if you're feeling overwhelmed about investing, you're like, oh, my goodness, where the heck do I even start? April 1, start off with what you're currently investing in. And number two, look at the price tag of that thing. And now I'm going to talk about some jargon here, the actual terminology, the word that you will see inside your retirement account. Don't ask me why they pick this number. It's just financial jargon, right? It's the expense ratio. Expense ratio. That, Michelle, is a word that basically means fees. It's the price you are paying. And a lot of nurses are overpaying. A lot of nurses are overpaying for that. So again, if you're taking notes, write this down. You want to keep your expense ratio, aka the price to invest in your retirement account, whatever account. You want to keep that under zero point 20%. So that is a really great place to start. And that's what the bulk of the first half of my education is. What is the price to even invest? Because if you can get that part right, Michelle, you're really set up for success.

[26:00] Michelle: Well, I actually did write that down because I'm going to go back to my accounts and take a look at that because that's always a question, how much am I being charged to invest my money? So that's good. And I think, too, talking about financial literacy, I think a lot of nurses wait for a long time to kind of tackle this because we don't like not knowing things like, we're the experts at our job. When we go and we're taking care of patients or whatever we're doing in the nursing profession, we like to be the experts. We learn, we go to school, we get all these extra certifications, we take all these classes, and we feel good about that. And then when we think about financial literacy and that we don't understand it, we kind of just put it on the back burner and go, yeah, someday I'll look into that. So I think probably a first step, too, is just realizing, hey, this is a different realm. This isn't my realm. Probably a financial advisor could not come into the hospital and take care of a very sick pediatric patient. That's not their specialty. They are literate in financial investing, whatever. And you are literate in nursing. So it's okay to admit that and then say, I'm going to work towards getting more financially literate.

[27:41] April: Yes. And I love that you brought that up, Michelle because that truly is another really big obstacle. Specifically, because I work with nurses. Right. It's this idea of like, hey, April, I don't want to invest unless I know every single detail. I love that nurses are detail-oriented and want to know everything because, in our profession, we need to know all the details. Right? All those details matter in practicing really safe nursing. But unlike nursing, with investing, you can take these baby steps without maybe knowing the big picture. You can take these baby steps to improve your financial health, to build wealth without knowing the bigger picture. And that's the piece that terrifies nurses and changes your investments in your 401K, in your Roth IRA. You can do all those things while you are still learning the other half, while you're still figuring out the rest of the picture. And that uncertainty is really what terrifies nurses. And that's why they need a fellow nurse to walk them through it and say, hey, I know you don't know this full thing yet, but it's actually really important we take this step now and set this up while we continue to learn more and gain more information.

[28:50] Michelle: That's great.

[28:51] April: Yeah.

[28:51] Michelle: And I think we do suffer from analysis paralysis. Right? Like you said, we want to get everything right the first time. We're very detail-oriented, and just taking some of these small steps to figure out what we're talking about really helps decrease our anxiety and gets us more engaged in actually learning about money and finances.

[29:19] April: Yeah, definitely.

[29:21] Michelle: So before we kind of delve into some actionable tips that we can use as nurses to kind of reclaim our time and our money and freedom, I want to just pivot for a second because I want to talk about The Nursing Beat newsletter. And I was so excited when I saw that you joined the team. I was reading on the blog the other day, and there were two really great articles, and one of them was New Grad Financial Orientation and the other one was Real Talk on Student Loans. And so I love that you are looking at new nurses who are just getting out of school. They have student loan debt and they're maybe joining organizations. So how important is it for new nurses to get on the right financial track?

[30:20] April: It's huge. Right? One thing that I really want to emphasize with the Nursing Beat articles that I write is it's never too late. Of course, it's never too late to start investing, and improving your financial health, but it also is never too early. It is never too early. We associate investing all these financial things with things we'll, quote-unquote, do later. I'm young enough. I don't have to worry about it now. But it never is too early. Some nurses even ask me if is it too early for me to start investing for retirement. For these long-term financial goals? Absolutely not. There is no harm in starting early. It's actually, of course, more beneficial.

[31:04] Michelle: That's a really important point and one that I will say that I made a big mistake on. I had already worked 20 years for my organization before I started contributing to the 401K. And when I look back and I go, man, what would 20 more years look like financially at retirement? It would have looked really nice. And the reason that I didn't invest was, first of all, I didn't really know what it was. It was just kind of this thing that I think was kind of new at the time. I started in the mid-eighties and 401K's were kind of just coming out for institutions, and they were talking about matching and how it decreases your tax burden. And it sounded great. But when I started in nursing, I was kind of poor. I was 22 years old. I was a single parent, and I was really just trying to get by. When I became a nurse, I started feeling like some financial power. I was like, okay, I have consistent income and it's a good income. And I became very selfish. Like, I don't want to give any of my money away, not realizing that I'm giving it away to myself. Right. For my future. Just really dumb mistakes that I made.

[32:54] April: Yeah. One thing know want to add to that, Michelle, too, is the importance of understanding who we are with our money. And what I mean by that is understanding our money personality. When you were sharing your story, there are four main money personalities. There's a quiz you can take online, but the one that spoke to me the most when you were sharing your story is called Money Vigilance. Money vigilance. And that personality type with money really is protective. It's, hey, I'm making this income right now. So I am nervous. I'm afraid of x, y, and z. Right. To invest, to put it in something that'll grow it, because I'm very vigilant over it. And so what's the point of knowing your money personally? What's the point of taking these quizzes? All this information is data for us to learn more about ourselves. Once we have that information, that data about who we are with our money, that can really be the starting point, right? For us to start acting differently with our money and to eventually lead to healthier financial habits.

[33:59] Michelle: Yeah, that's great. And if you have a link to that quiz, I would love to add it to the show notes.

[34:05] April: Yes, I'll send it to you.

[34:07] Michelle: Sweet. What do you think your goal is with Nurse Monet Date? 
April: My goal with Nurse Money Date is that nurses are able to work as nurses because they want to and not because they need to. My goal with Nurse Money Date is not for nurses to retire early and not work as a nurse. I envision a world where nurses enter their shift with full confidence about their money and finances, and they don't have to show up to a shift because they need the money, because they're living paycheck to paycheck because they got themselves into so much debt. I picture and imagine the type of nurses who show up because they truly, honestly, genuinely want to be there and not because they have to. So that's the goal of Nurse Money Date, is to really uplift nurses financially and help them thrive in all aspects of their money so that they can go back to the profession they love and feel in full control of the work they do, how often they do it, what department they work in, all those things.

[35:11] Michelle: I love it, and I love your spirit. What comes from you is just so much hope for the future, and you're just so positive. So I just spoke to a nurse who's a real estate investor, and now she coaches other nurses in investing in real estate. And I was kind of teasing her about, are you trying to encourage nurses to leave the profession? And she was like, absolutely not. She said exactly what you said in terms of, like, I want them to choose nursing on their terms, where they can choose when, where, how much they want to work. This just gives them another way to financial freedom. And I love that there are so many nurses that are really motivated to help. Other nurses really love nursing again and not having to worry about all these financial things that we worry about. So let's get to some of the tips, some actionable tips for us to reclaim our time, money, and freedom.

[36:31] April: Yes. So I think, number one if you guys can really prioritize what I mentioned earlier with the expense ratios, looking at the price tag of your investments. That's really huge. And then number two, take that quiz. Really try to dig deep and just learn more about who you are and how you engage with your money. The thought patterns, the beliefs we have around money, Michelle, they're actually formed from the time we're born until we're seven, or eight years old. And so start to break down these habits we have around money. We can really start to tie them back to what stories I hear about money growing up. What did I see my parents do with money growing up at that age? So that'd be, number two, start to peel those layers back. And number three, so we talked about an investment-related one, we talked about a money belief one. Number three, I would implement a weekly money date system. And so whatever you currently are doing with money right now, whatever you're currently doing with money right now, let's have that be at a designated date and time every single week. So if it's paying the bills, let's have that be at a set time. Let's say every single Sunday at 5:00 p.m. That consistency and that routine that you're building every single week is going to serve you really well long term. But this is the most important part. So. The most important part, okay. For your weekly money date, you have to do something fun with it. So make sure maybe you go out for a walk. Some of my clients always have a meal with their family. Other nurses have a whole routine where it's like they do a bath, they do a facial, and then they do their money date. For that third actual step, I would implement that weekly money date. But make sure you habit-stack, right? You put that habit of engaging with your money with another habit that you really, truly enjoy to increase its effectiveness and chances that you're going to sustain that habit.

[38:39] Michelle: Well, those are great tips, and those are easy and those are fun. And I love how you're incorporating fun because sometimes when we talk about money, it's just kind of, like, heavy, right? It's not fun. There are so many feelings tied to it. And so I love how you're incorporating self-care and kind of lightness and a fun kind of vibe where you would actually look forward to your money dates.

[39:12] April: Definitely. And these weekly money dates are still things that I do every single week, and I do it every single week because it genuinely is fun. I'll share my. I mean, of course, it's changed over the years. Money dates now look very different than what I was, but money dates right now, what my husband and I are doing is we always make sure we're fed right? That's our secret. We have to make sure we're hydrated. We're fed because if either of us is hungry or thirsty, we just don't have really meaningful conversations. But we always look up a recipe for that week that we're really excited about and we get all those ingredients in the morning, Sunday mornings, then we make that meal together. Once the kitchen is clean, we're fed all those things. We have our money date playlist, we have our candle that we light. We set the mood. And then we do all the things. We look at our spending for that week. We look at what bills we have to pay. We do all that stuff after we've had the fun.

[40:12] Michelle: I love that. Who wouldn't want to have an experience like that, right? It's like you're making it fun. And especially if you're married or if you have a partner, like doing those kinds of things with your spouse, it's like you're getting all those dopamine hits before you kind of delve into the deeper stuff and it doesn't make it look so scary or so heavy. So I love that. So what's in your future, April?

[40:44] April: Yeah. So my vision, my goal, especially with 2024, my big goal is to help 100 nurses thrive with their money and finances. My vision with Nurse Money Date is to continue coaching, to continue teaching, and to continue having these conversations with other nurses like yourself. Another goal that I really am pursuing this year is becoming a speaker. I'm super excited. This year, I'm actually the financial ambassador for Nursecon. So I'll be sailing aboard Nursecon this April and doing two presentations. The first one is about debt, and the second one is about investing. And that really just speaks to my bigger goal of reaching as many nurses as I can. You can't think of a better way to do that than just being in these public spaces and really sharing my love and passion for personal finances with the nursing community.

[41:45] Michelle: Yeah, I can definitely hear it. And wow, Nurse Con, that is so cool. I love that. What's more fun than being on a cruise ship with a bunch of nurses, right?

[41:57] April: And I'm actually taking my mom.

[42:00] Michelle: That's cool.

[42:02] April: She's been very supportive of my business. I don't think she fully understands what I do, so it'll be nice for her to experience that with me. So we're really excited.

[42:12] Michelle: Very cool. Very cool. I think you have a very bright future ahead of you, and I just love your spirit of giving back and creating such a positive, upbeat experience for your clients. It's just really cool. So my next question, this is the first time that I've asked this question, and he said that I didn't need to give him credit, but I'm going to give him credit anyway because he's an amazing man. And second, he's an amazing podcaster. And so I've been following James Gearing. He's a retired firefighter and an advocate for firefighters and first responders to really get the mental health that they need and so deserve. And his podcast is called Behind the Shield 911, and it's awesome. And he's been at it for seven years. He has almost 900 episodes. But I messaged him the other day and I told him how much I loved this question that he asks at the end of his episodes. And he said, oh, you don't have to give me credit. I'm sure I'm not the first one who's asked that, but I just wanted to mention him because I just have such respect. So, April, the question is, is there someone that you would recommend to be a guest on this podcast?

[43:42] April: Now, I don't know if you've already had them on, but somebody that I'm thinking of. I'm thinking of a couple. Pause. Deliberation.

[43:55] Michelle: Nothing like being on the spot, right?

[43:58] April: Yeah. I don't know his last name. His first name is Christian.

[44:03] Michelle: Oh, is he on LinkedIn?

[44:05] April: He is.  his podcast, the Mindset Nurse. 

[44:09] Michelle: Yes, I follow his.

[44:11] April: He's really great. And I really love his background as an international nurse. He is from Italy. He's worked in the UK. So I really love, first of all, just that international aspect of his story and his perspective, but just his focus on our mind, right? Our thought patterns, our beliefs. I think that would be a really great episode that I'd be so excited to listen to.

[44:35] Michelle: I would love to talk to Christian. I follow him on his podcast and also on LinkedIn. And I have to say that I love your LinkedIn. I love how active you are on LinkedIn. I love reading your comments because they're so thoughtful and you're a really good writer and you're a really good speaker, too, April. So I'm just so impressed. But thank you for recommending Christian. I'm going to reach out to him. Where can we find you?

[45:11] April: Yeah, everything is NurseMoneyDate. So my website is nursemoneydate.com and then through all social media is nursemoneydate. I am most active on LinkedIn and on Instagram. So those are the two social media platforms that you will find me most active and most engaged. So feel free to reach out to me on either of those two.

[45:31] Michelle: Perfect. I will include those links in the show notes. And we're at the end. We're ready for the five-minute snippet.

[45:40] April: I'm excited.

[45:43] Michelle: All right, let me get my timer. It's always fun. Just five minutes of fun. If someone offered to tell you your future, would you accept?

[45:59] April: Oh, definitely.

[46:01] Michelle: Yeah. You're like, give it to me. Lay it on me.

[46:05] April: Yes, definitely.

[46:07] Michelle: What song hits you with a wave of nostalgia?

[46:12] April: Oh, my goodness, How Deep is Your Love. That was my go-to karaoke song. I don't have Filipino friends, family, ex coworkers, but I come from a Filipino family, and the stereotype is, like, any Filipino party will always have karaoke. My parents would always push me to sing growing up, so that's a big one.

[46:37] Michelle: That's great. And that's a great karaoke song, too, right? Something that really annoys you.

[46:45] April: People who are late. If you're not early, you're late. In my book, I am very punctual. I will always be early. If I'm not early to something, then something is wrong. So anytime somebody's late, that always just really irks me.

[47:02] Michelle: Girl, you and me are on the same page. What's something that should change but doesn't?

[47:12] April: Something that should change? My brain, of course, goes to money and finance. I don't know what this is exactly asking for, but, yeah. I just wish that the financial industry didn't make it so complicated and didn't benefit and monetize off of the general population's illiteracy. So that's something that I think definitely should change.

[47:35] Michelle: Oh, my gosh, yes. And you're doing it. You're doing it one person at a time. And I love that. When you were a child, did you have an imaginary friend?

[47:46] April: We did not.

[47:48] Michelle: No. Okay. What would be the title of your memoir?

[47:56] April: One money date at a time.

[47:58] Michelle: I love it. You're going to have to start writing. You're such a good writer. I see a book on your horizon.

[48:05] April: Thank you.

[48:06] Michelle: What's on your bucket list, April?

[48:09] April: My bucket list is very long, but I actually am going to cross one off this month. It's been on my bucket list to visit the Great Barrier Reef. I love wildlife, animals, all the things, very into conservation, and protecting our earth. And so, yeah, I'm super excited. One big bucket list is snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.

[48:34] Michelle: Now you're a lot closer there now. Aren't you living in Sydney?

[48:38] April: Yes. Yeah. My financial journey has led me to Sydney, Australia. I've been living here for over a year now. As somebody who loves wildlife, animal nature, it's. It's been incredible.

[48:53] Michelle: It sounds like a dream. When I saw that, I was like, oh, my gosh, that's such a dream. What's quickly becoming obsolete?

[49:04] April: Quickly becoming obsolete. Unfortunately, I would say calling people on the phone. Calling, it's all text and that kind of stuff. So, unfortunately, I would say calling people, and now I'm guilty of it, too. I'm like, well, I can just text them. I'm like, no, I should call them.

[49:24] Michelle: The same girl. I was just having this conversation with someone, and I used to be the person that called, and now I just text everyone, and my daughter sees me doing it, and she's always been an old soul, and she's like, mom, why don't you just call? And I'm like, no, it's so intrusive.

[49:43] April: Disturb them. What if they're doing something?

[49:46] Michelle: Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Okay. What did you last Google?

[49:53] April: What did I last Google? Oh, my goodness. I just came back from a great trip to Thailand, but unfortunately got some form of food poisoning while I was there. So the last thing I googled, today is my first day where I feel normal and amazing. But yesterday I was googling. Like, I mean, I know from nursing, but of course I still just googled it. Like, what are things I should recover?

[50:19] Michelle: Oh, my gosh, that sounds horrible.

[50:22] April: I feel good now. Finally.

[50:24] Michelle: I'm so glad that you joined me and that you weren't sick. That's cool. Okay, last question. What life skills are rarely taught, but extremely useful.

[50:35] April: Yeah. Honestly, I would really just go back to financial literacy. Right when we're talking about, you need to be able to this long list of things we think we need, but to be an adult. All the things but financial literacy, those financial skills are huge, and they're not talked about enough.

[50:57] Michelle: Amen to that. Wow. This has been super fun. April, I really love talking with you. I've learned a lot. I'm definitely going to go back to my account and look at the thing that I wrote down here. Expense ratio. Really? Just examine my attitude, my feelings, and my emotions toward money. And, man, you've just opened my eyes to it. I thank you and I appreciate you.

[51:32] April: Thank you. Thank you so much, Michelle. I've had such a great time.

[51:35] Michelle: Well, have a great rest of your day.

[51:38] April: Thank you so much. You, too.