Case Study: TFC Moneymoon

This is a case study of the TFC family Moneymoon.

What is a Moneymoon?

A money moon is like a honeymoon, a new and exciting phase that occurs after a major event, but through a financial lens. All CRNAs go through a Moneymoon when they pass boards and begin working.

A $60,000 nursing salary disappears for 3 years then quadruples overnight. CRNA sign-on bonuses are bigger than a year of nursing wages.

As with the honeymoon phase of a marriage, the honeymoon doesn't last forever. Anywhere from the first paycheck up to 5 years is the duration depending on the individual. These years are crucial for setting one's financial trajectory.

Priming the Moneymoon

Mrs. TFC and I have a history of being financially conservative and debt averse. We cash flowed our advanced education while maintaining a cost of living equal to or below the national average.

Starting our Moneymoon

Our Moneymoon came when I started my first anesthesia job. Mrs. TFC was working full time. We relocated and found jobs that met our criteria. Both of our jobs had a wide scope of practice with an above average compensation package. Our cost of living (COL) as a DINK (dual income, no kids) household was $72,000 annually.

Due to limited rental options, we purchased a modest home. During our first year of higher paychecks, we avoided the major lifestyle inflation pitfalls such as housing, vehicles, wardrobe, entertainment, or general lifestyle amenities. We increased our cost of living from $40,000 to $72,000 annually. This alone felt like we had really stepped up in the world.

If our COL was tied to our income, our Moneymoon would have been over just as quickly as it arrived. This wasn’t the situation.

The Income Side

 We worked a lot. I was able to pick up extra shifts at the local hospital which made overtime easy to come by. Mrs. TFC had all too many unfortunate weekend shift coverages, but it was worth it. Our COL doubled to $72,000, but our income quickly reached mid 6 figures.

FI BY 35

I wrote about achieving financial independence (FI) by age 35. These blog entries were met with a mix of support, skepticism, and outright mockery.

Our FI number was $2.2M, which required a monthly investment of $20,000 and an 8% annual return. If I recall, Mrs. TFC and I invested 80% of our net income which exceeded our goal. Good start for the first 1.5 years of the Moneymoon.

Importance

If you win the lottery, do you take the lump sum or the annual payout? The lump sum is always the answer.

The idea behind front-loading our investments is to have that lump sum and allow years of growth to outearn my anesthesia income. We need our income to increase without a proportional cost of living increase. The Moneymoon is about creating and maximizing a divergence of the two.

Closing Out the Moneymoon

Here is the rough plan. After 1.5 years of full-time employment, I began full time locum work. I’m 2 years in and don’t regret it for a minute. It's no secret that locum work pays well. Especially working 48+ weeks per year, call, and weekends. You get the idea.

I have the advantages of owning my own business, living with pretax dollars, paid travel and lodging, and access to Solo401(k) accounts.

Our income/COL divergence is stronger than I could have imagined. We sold our house. Because we travel full-time, there isn’t room for consumerism.

2 more years of locum work will round out the 5.5-year Moneymoon at age 33. Should current progress continue, we will surpass our goal of $2.2M. It’s tough to state exactly far beyond because our net worth is influenced more by my investment returns than billable hours.

Learn or Earn

My perm job was a fantastic learning experience. 5 Stars. Would recommend. After 1.5 years, it was time to make earning the top priority. Locum work filled that role nicely. I think it’s important to become a stable provider prior to starting locum work for many reasons. This could be an entire topic in itself.

Recommendations

If you made it this far, here are some recommendations.

There are an infinite number of reasons why this route isn’t for you. This case study is about showing what is possible. It’s what the TFC family is doing with their hard work, blessings, and luck. All of this with 1 income, multiple kids, and a dog. In today’s market, there is money to be made if you want it. Those jobs don’t come without sacrifice and drawbacks.

I wouldn’t be able to be a travel locum if Mrs. TFC didn’t give up her clinical practice AND have the willingness to travel too.

It’s quite difficult to travel with kids. We are doing so before they are established in school. Our full-time traveling will come to an end before long. Good news about achieving FI, earned income is optional.

Keeping a low COL wasn’t difficult for us, but it certainly is for many CRNAs. Houses, cars, and student debt at 9% are wealth killers. The income/COL divergence is what makes the Moneymoon maximally impactful. Lifestyle deflation with high fixed expenses is brutal. The golden handcuffs if you will. You can’t outearn spending.

The Moneymoon is a spectrum of divergence. Take the ideas, have a discussion with the family, and create a plan that puts you on a relatively short path to FI. As a CRNA starting their career far beyond age 18, time is of the essence.

You will fill whatever time horizon you set for yourself. If you say retire at 60, then it will take you until then to achieve FI. Don’t wait.

We already spend extravagantly on areas of value. This will broaden beyond areas of max value and our lifestyle will inflate with net worth. This is our version of living off the interest generated by the lump sum payout.

Thanks for reading.