This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.
In 2020, while working as a staff nurse at a hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Aspen Tucker came across a job posting for a travel nurse.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a hospital in Amarillo, Texas, needed extra staff in a hurry. The position paid $6,700 per 48-hour workweek.
“It clicked in my head. I said, ‘I have to do this. I can’t wait around. I can’t sit around and wait on money,'” said Tucker, now age 29.
For Tucker, who estimates he was making about $2,000 per biweekly paycheck at the time, there was no time to lose. “I hate to say this, but I didn’t give notice. I got my stuff, went to Texas, and told my manager when I got there, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'”
Since his first gig, Tucker has traveled from coast to coast, working travel nursing contracts that typically range from four to 13 weeks. He tries to fit as much work in as possible when he’s on contract, often logging 48- to 60-hour weeks to maximize his overtime pay.
As result, Tucker can pull in an impressive salary while working only eight or nine months out of the year. In 2022, he made $187,000, leaving him plenty of time and money to fulfill a lifelong wanderlust.
When he’s not working, “The first thing I’m doing is booking a vacation,” he says. “When I was younger, I wrote down a list of places I always wanted to travel. I try to knock out every place on that list.”
Places he’s crossed off so far include Belize, Colombia, Seychelles, Qatar and Kenya.
Tucker’s planning goes beyond trips, however. He’s also building a solid financial future while giving back to the people and community that helped shape him.
Learning to save from family role models
Although his work and travel have taken him far and wide, Tucker has always called Spartanburg home.
Growing up there, he had no shortage of powerful financial…
Read the full article here
