MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
Go behind the scenes with host Brett Fellows, CFP®, as he explores the unique financial opportunities and challenges facing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Nurse Practitioners on the path to financial independence. Each episode delivers expert insights and actionable advice to help you lower taxes, invest smarter, and retire on your terms.
Brett's firm, Oak Capital Advisors, specializes in high-earning CRNAs and nurse practitioners and is currently accepting new clients. From retirement income strategy and tax planning to Social Security timing, Medicare, and estate planning, they offer comprehensive financial planning that goes far beyond investment management. If you're ready to work with someone who truly gets your world, the link to schedule a discovery meeting is in the show notes.
MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
E96: Can I Afford to Cut Back to Part-Time as an NP?
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Most CRNAs and NPs who want to cut back to part-time have already decided it's impossible, because they're running the wrong number. In this episode of MoneyRx for CRNAs, Brett Fellows, CFP, walks through the framework for figuring out whether cutting back is actually financially viable, using the story of a hypothetical NP named Sarah who was $130,000 away from her real number, not $920,000 away from it.
Brett Covers:
- Why the 2026 Nurse.org State of Nursing Survey points to a math problem, not a career problem
- Why modeling full retirement for a part-time decision always makes the numbers look impossible
- How to find your real healthcare cost after ACA subsidies instead of assuming the sticker price
- Why the 4% rule is the wrong tool for someone who's cutting back rather than stopping entirely
- How Roth conversion timing and account sequencing change the picture over time
If you're 50 or older with at least $750,000 saved and you've been telling yourself you can't afford to slow down, this episode is worth your full attention.
Key Timestamps:
(0:18) Survey data on nursing burnout and financial necessity
(1:25) Realities of dropping job satisfaction and growing career fear
(2:58) Distinguishing full retirement from cutting back to part-time hours
(4:34) Financial profile and baseline savings of case study subject Sarah
(6:33) Accessing meaningful ACA marketplace subsidies with lower clinical income
(8:38) Health insurance premium deductions within a 1099 independent contract model
(9:58) Misapplying traditional investment drawdown metrics to partial retirement scenarios
(11:13) Calculating the real net portfolio gap required to cover downshifted schedules
(13:13) Optimal multi-bucket asset sequencing guidelines for tactical cash flow
(14:28) Leveraging transitional low-tax windows for strategic Roth conversions
(16:13) Chronological timeline walkthrough of Sarah's dynamic downshift plan
(18:18) Navigating the professional identity shift when reducing clinical commitments
For more information and resources related to this episode, please visit the show notes.