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Boujie on a Budget, Nursing, Travel, Travel Nursing

My Easy Tips for Planning a Vacation During Travel Nurse Assignments

February 12, 2023 2 Comments

One of the things I get asked all the time is, “How do you go on so many trips if you have a full-time job?” Planning a vacation during a travel nurse assignment is much easier than people think! My tips below are exactly what I do on a monthly basis to plan my trips and go on adventures despite my busy schedule. Here we go!

1. Put it in your CONTRACT.

You can only plan a trip if you have the dates off in your contract. Period. Sometimes we have friendly coworkers who will switch shifts at the last minute, but you should NOT count on that! Only put money down on a vacation if you are guaranteed the days off.

With that being said, how do you get the days off? I give my recruiter a detailed list of dates I plan to request in a travel nurse contract. She looks over the dates and gives me feedback on whether or not she thinks the hospital will accept them. I’m lucky to have a fantastic recruiter through Aya Healthcare whom I trust, so I appreciate her input! However, you can submit any dates you want, regardless of your recruiter’s approval.

(If you need a great recruiter, I always recommend Pari Constan! Click here for her link!)

Your days off should be explicitly listed in your written contract BEFORE you sign it! If the hospital gives you the runaround and promises to work it out with the scheduler later without having it in your contract, don’t trust them. That is a huge red flag.

2. Plan your trip from Wednesday through Wednesday.

Most inpatient hospital contracts are for three 12-hour shifts per week (3x12s). I’ve discovered that if I can still complete my contracted hours in a week, management is much more willing to work with me on vacation days!

I purposefully schedule my time off for Wednesday through Wednesday, 8 days total. This allows me to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before I leave for a trip. I work the night shift, so I plan to be back to work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the following week!

I usually try to fly home on Wednesday night to adjust my sleep schedule before Thursday night, but I have also flown in last minute before a shift. Be careful doing that! Wednesdays are one of the cheapest travel days, so you may as well head home for cheap and not push it too close. 🙂

For example, I took time off in February 2023 to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In my current contract extension, I requested time off from Wednesday, February 15th – Wednesday, February 22nd. I will work Thursday night, February 23rd, and I didn’t lose a dime in wages! Since I didn’t miss any required shifts, management had no problem with my days off. I’ve done this at least 10 times with no issues!

You can submit new vacation dates every time you start a new contract or extend an existing one.

Note: Some hospital contracts sign for four 12-hour shifts (4x12s). In that case, you would only be able to take off Thursday-Tuesday if you still plan to work your required shifts.

3. Be ready to jump back in!

This one is vital to making vacationing feasible during contracts. I once worked 5 nightshifts in a row and then flew out of state the morning after my last shift. The trip was fantastic, but I came in hot before my next shift to find….dirty scrubs. No food in my house. Missing sneakers and work badge. It was horrible! I didn’t set myself up for success, and I will never make that mistake again.

Since then, I always ensure that I have at least one pair of clean scrubs ready to go when I get home. I leave my name badge on my nightstand, NOT in my travel luggage, and I have backup frozen meals in my freezer for emergencies!

“Coming in hot,” or getting back into town the same day that I work a night shift, has actually become manageable when I do this. Prep yourself for success!

Following these simple tips has made planning a vacation during contracts easy for me. I love going on adventures and never want to give that up for a job!

If this topic sparks your interest, you might be interested in the following articles:

“Traveling Light: How I Vacation with a Carry-on” – All about how I pack light and make quick trips easier!

“Skip The Line: The Magic of TSA Precheck” – I confidently sleep after my shift/before flying out because my TSA Precheck reduces my security line wait time!

“Flying Cheap: The Hopper App and Spirit Airlines” – I’ll admit it, I am the queen of planning a vacation last-minute because these tools make it easy!

Boujie on a Budget, Getaways in the United States, Travel, Travel Nursing

Traveling Light: How I Vacation with a Carry-on

September 15, 2022 No Comments

When I started travel nursing, I commuted weekly from my home in Illinois to my Airbnb in Indianapolis. I got a great carry-on suitcase for Christmas from my mom, and I found that it was FANTASTIC for packing clothes for my nursing contracts!

Because this was the only suitcase I owned and I couldn’t afford the matching larger version, I started traveling with a carry-on for my vacations too. I’ve considered buying a larger suitcase for longer trips and likely will need to eventually, but a carry-on bag can be plenty of space if you pack right!

Why bring a carry-on?

Have you ever checked a bag and waited an hour for it to arrive in baggage claim after your destination? It’s happened to me. Have you ever had an item break in your checked bag? It’s happened to me. Have you ever had your baggage get lost? To be fair, that one hasn’t happened to me, but probably because I avoid checking a bag at all costs!

I like to only use a carry-on whenever possible for multiple reasons. It prevents me from getting stuck in long baggage check lines on arrival, reducing the time I have to be in the airport. When I’m coming off a work shift and sleeping during the day before a late flight, even 15 extra minutes of sleep feels heavenly!

carry-on suitcases on airport scale — Both suitcases are small enough to fit on the airport scale together

Bringing a carry-on keeps all of your belongings near you at all times. There are no “middlemen” managing your valuables, and your risk of losing your suitcase is significantly decreased.

Smaller suitcases are easier to navigate within the airport and at your destination. Smoothly wheeling your carry-on up to a hotel is much easier than dragging a huge suitcase up to the check-in counter. Carry-ons are lighter than large suitcases, which is ideal for me because I have chronic back problems.

Plus my suitcase matches my hair, which I love!

Not checking a suitcase means more freedom when you arrive at your destination. On our recent trip to Las Vegas, we were hit by bright LED screens and slot machines as soon as we walked off the plane. We were so excited to start exploring and get to our hotel! Unfortunately, we checked both of our suitcases because they had full-size liquids, and we had to stand for over an hour in baggage claim before our bags finally showed up. Not fun.

That leads me to the con of not checking a bag: limitations with what you can pack. All liquids in a carry-on must follow the 3-1-1 rule. Liquids must be 3.4 ounces or less, fit in 1 quart-sized bag, and each passenger may only have one bag of liquids. If you check your suitcase, no matter its size, it does NOT have to follow the 3-1-1 guidelines. This rule was created in 2006 after terrorists in Britain tried to sneak liquid explosives onto an airplane. For this reason, if you expect to have a large number of liquids or cannot put your shampoo/conditioner into smaller bottles, you may have to check your baggage under the plane. Traveling with a carry-on is a great time to utilize those complimentary toiletries many hotels provide!

My tip: Walmart has cheap containers in their hygiene section that follow the 3-1-1 rule! They also have travel-sized deodorant, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

Keep reading below for my tried-and-tested suggestions for packing a carry-on!

Do you really need that extra jacket?

The answer is no; you don’t. Bring a jacket if you expect to be cold, but unless you’re visiting the middle of nowhere, you can always find a Walmart somewhere! Extra “just in case” clothing quickly adds up and can fill your suitcase with items you won’t ever use. My mama taught me to count how many pairs of socks, underwear, etc that I would need on my trip and add one of each. That rule hasn’t failed me yet!

Avoid bulky items

Light summer dresses that don’t wrinkle easily are my go-to on vacation. Leggings and soft t-shirts also roll relatively small and can fit in empty suitcase crevices. Wear your bulkiest shoes to the airport so they don’t limit your carry-on space or add weight! If you really want to bring those thigh-high boots, you better be willing to wear them on the plane. The airport is NOT the place to care about style! I usually wear sneakers on the plane and pack a pair of lightweight neutral flats to go with all of my dresses. If you pay close attention to my trip photos, you’ll see many pairs of repeated shoes! That is okay with me 😊 If you ended up bringing that extra jacket, wear it on your flight instead of using your suitcase space.

Unfortunately, avoiding bulky is difficult during winter or when visiting somewhere cold. Warm clothes are naturally larger than summer outfits, so you might need a bigger suitcase in this instance. If you still need to bring a carry-on, avoid sweaters; these take up a lot of space and you can’t discreetly wear them multiple times in one trip. That brings me to my next point!

Bring clothing that you can wear more than once

A good pair of jeans or a pair of black leggings are your friend here. No one will notice or care that you wore the same pair of jeans 2-3 days or layered a hoodie over the tank top that you wore yesterday. However, if you wear a patterned dress or brightly-colored heels in pictures, people on social media will definitely notice! Within reason, try to bring clothing pieces that are neutral or can become multiple outfits. You’ll thank yourself later for the extra souvenir space you saved in your suitcase!

packing carry-ons — How I organize everything to roll and pack

Utilize the outside pockets of your suitcase

Yes, those are there for a reason! My husband and I usually store socks, underwear, and other soft items in the exterior pockets or interior “tops” of our suitcases. They serve as a cushion for the rest of our items, and we harmlessly squish them into tight places. If our suitcases get thrown into the trunk of our car or underneath the airplane, none of our belongings will be affected.

My tip: Once you arrive at your destination, use the exterior pockets for dirty clothes. Doing this will keep your dirty clothes separate, and you won’t have to worry about them getting wrinkled! Once we get home, I just unzip the pockets and dump our clothes straight into the washer.

Last but not least: Roll your clothing!

Most travelers know this by now, but you should not fold your clothes. Folding causes creases and does not maximize your suitcase space. Roll your clothing! It doesn’t have to be perfect; good rolling skills come with practice. If you don’t know how, click here for a great YouTube demonstration.

For more travel tips, check out my article on Flying Cheap: The Hopper App and Spirit Airlines!

Boujie on a Budget, Travel

Easy Ways to Fly Like a Pro With Southwest Airlines

July 12, 2022 1 Comment

My absolute favorite way to fly is on Southwest Airlines using my flight points. Southwest has more comfortable seats than my preferred budget airline, Spirit. Both airlines have good customer service and pristine plane interiors. However, Southwest has more leg space than budget flights, and the seats even recline slightly! Each passenger also gets one carry-on and one checked bag included with their flight cost, saving you from surprise extra fees at checkout. If I’m taking a flight longer than two hours, I skip Spirit and book with Southwest. Here are a couple of my tips for flying Southwest!

CHASE Southwest Credit Card

When I started travel nursing, a friend introduced me to Chase’s Southwest Airlines credit card. No, this is not sponsored; this card is worth the hype! You can use it on any purchases in your daily life to earn 1 Southwest flight point per dollar spent. Certain purchase types, like partnered hotels, rental cars, and Southwest flight tickets, earn you double the points! I put all my monthly bills or large purchases onto this card and immediately pay them off. This practice keeps my credit usage in my ideal range, yet it wins me MANY free flight points. We usually fly for free using these points once every 3-6 months round-trip. When I first applied for the card, I got 50,000 flight points translated into two round-trip tickets just for signing up. Unlike Spirit’s point program, Southwest Rapid Rewards points never expire.

Tips for Getting Better Seats

The only aspect of flying Southwest that I don’t like is that you can’t pick your own seat. Southwest requires you to check into your flight 24 hours in advance to be sorted into groups A, B, and C. You can check in online or via the Southwest app. How high you rank depends on how fast you check in! On gate arrival, you board in order of the group and ticket number. It’s essentially an open seating policy; once it’s your turn to get on the plane, it’s a free-for-all to pick a seat! This unique boarding process can baffle infrequent fliers, and it is easy to end up in group C if you don’t know what you’re doing. Finding nearby seats for companions or small children can be difficult if you board last.

You can pay a high premium for A-list boarding as a business professional, or anyone can pay an extra $20 per ticket for automatic check-in. We have ended up scrambling for seats in group C, so we always purchase the automatic check-in! We’re usually placed in the middle of group A, giving us plenty of seat options. If you get stuck in group C, keep in mind that they will let you check your carry-on for free because space is tight by the time you finally get on the plane! We love flying Southwest when we can pick great seats without stress. I would highly recommend trying the $20 automatic check-in upgrade.

For tips on minimizing costs and traveling “cheap,” check out my article “Flying Cheap: The Hopper App and Spirit Airlines.”

Which airline do you usually fly through? Should we try Delta or American Airlines? What cost-saving tips do you have for flying? Leave a comment below!

Boujie on a Budget, Travel

Flying Cheap: The Hopper App and Spirit Airlines

July 12, 2022 2 Comments

People frequently ask me how I fly so often and how I keep it cheap. I don’t know if I could ever consider flying “cheap,” but I do use some specific tools to keep costs down! These include utilizing the Hopper app to pick my flights and booking through Spirit Airlines.

(Disclaimer: This article is not sponsored, paid, or intended to be interpreted as advertisement in any way.)

The Hopper App

My favorite tool for purchasing flights is an app called Hopper. This app allows you to input tentative flight dates into their scheduler, giving you a report of prices for each airline for those dates. Hopper’s most useful function, however, is that it predicts whether your flight might be cheaper to purchase at a later date and can tell you exactly when to buy them for the best deal.
I usually input my trip dates into the app early in the planning process, and it will give me update notifications about once per week. I always wait until I can get the best deal, especially if I’m taking a short flight and can wait until the last minute to book it.

The Hopper app also provides a color-coded calendar to show you the cheapest days of the week on average to fly. Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to have the lowest prices, and many airlines send discounts to their email list specifically for Tuesday and Wednesday flights. Hopper provides the price calendar for flights, hotel bookings, and car rentals. Note: The app also offers to “freeze” the price that a vendor gives you even if you aren’t ready to book yet, but that comes with extra charges from Hopper. I haven’t used that service yet.

Fun fact: Hopper plants four trees with Eden Reforestation Project for every booking made through the app!

Spirit Airlines

My favorite affordable airline is Spirit. Spirit lets you “build your own flight” and pay only for exactly what you need. I have never had a Spirit flight delayed or canceled (knock on wood), and they tend to have the cheapest options if you don’t need a checked bag or carry-on. This option is perfect for short flights to visit my family out-of-state, so consider this when you know you’ll have laundry access after you arrive.

Tip: Pay the extra fee to sit in the emergency access seats! The emergency seats have much more legroom than the standard option! Passengers sitting in the emergency row must be at least 15 years old, able to read and understand English, not under the influence of alcohol or drugs (no in-flight drinks!), and be able to lift the door handle to open the emergency exit. If you meet these criteria, emergency access seats by the window are the way to go! We have tried the upgraded front-row seats that Spirit advertises but felt like they weren’t worth the money. They only offer more arm wiggle room than emergency row and standard seats; the cushions are not more comfortable, and the seats still do not lean back.

View out Spirit Airlines window — Our view out Spirit Airlines window

Southwest Airlines

Another way that I save money on flights is by using my Southwest Airlines credit card and flight points. Click here to find out, “Easy Ways to Fly Like a Pro With Southwest Airlines“!