Episode 4 - Economical, RN
May 30, 2023
About This Episode
Money talks, but it can be hard to talk about money. We sit down with Leah Hobson, vice president of Finance at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, to learn about how to balance your financial life, from long-term planning to day-to-day budgeting.
The information in this episode is intended to be educational and is not tailored to the investment needs of any specific investor. Please consult a financial advisor or similar professional to explore needs related to your specific finances.
Episode Guests
Leah Hobson
Leah Hobson is the vice president of Finance at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. She has an extensive background in finance, with degrees from Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania, as well as experience in banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. She has been with Northwestern Medicine for 12 years.
Money talks, but it can be hard to talk about money. We sit down with Leah Hobson, vice president of Finance at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, to learn about how to balance your financial life, from long-term planning to day-to-day budgeting.
The information in this episode is intended to be educational and is not tailored to the investment needs of any specific investor. Please consult a financial advisor or similar professional to explore needs related to your specific finances.
Episode Guests
Leah Hobson
Leah Hobson is the vice president of Finance at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. She has an extensive background in finance, with degrees from Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania, as well as experience in banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. She has been with Northwestern Medicine for 12 years.
transcript
Alyssa Saklak [00:00:05] I'm Alyssa Saklak.
Laurin Masnari [00:00:06] And I'm Laurin Masnari.
Saklak [00:00:08] And Better, RN, we get real about nursing.
Masnari [00:00:11] The good and the gritty.
Saklak [00:00:12] We talk to real health care experts.
Masnari [00:00:15] With the goal of becoming better.
Saklak [00:00:17] For our patients, our colleagues.
Masnari [00:00:18] Our family, our friends, our partners and ourselves. So today we're talking about finances. How are you feeling?
Saklak [00:00:29] I feel like I'm scheduling my dental appointment, and I hate the dentist.
Masnari [00:00:32] Yeah, I'm nervous.
Saklak [00:00:33] It's vulnerable.
Masnari [00:00:34] It is, and financial well-being, it's also taboo, right? There's this hush hush around how much money do you make? I don't really understand why. Like, we're all making money, spending money just trying to make it. So why is it so hard to talk about?
Saklak [00:00:48] Listen, I just know this past year, starting school and having to financially plan and budget and utilizing all the resources to make sure I'm making the best financial move is stressful. That is my own story and journey. But everyone has different experiences with their finances and their situations, and I think that can put a toll on your wellness.
Masnari [00:01:09] You mentioned going back to school. I'm also in a master's program. I don't know that I would be able to do this master's program without tuition reimbursement through Northwestern Medicine. It's so helpful, and it takes a little bit of that weight off of the stress associated with going back to school and having to pay for it while also still working full time.
Saklak [00:01:27] I think there's now more options and opportunities than there ever was before. And it's kind of like defining your own values and defining what's important to you and your own definition of wealth and health and success and all those things.
Masnari [00:01:42] That's why I'm really excited to talk to Leah Hobson today and hear her perspective, being the chief financial officer of Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, and hearing her strategies and picking her brain about ways to manage our money a little better.
Saklak [00:01:54] Are you ready to talk finances?
Masnari [00:01:56] I am. Let's bring in Leah. Today we're chatting with Leah Hobson, the chief financial officer of Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital. Thanks for joining us.
Leah Hobson [00:02:10] Thanks for having me.
Saklak [00:02:11] If you could share a little bit about your background in finance here in Northwestern Medicine.
Hobson [00:02:15] I have always been very curious about people and numbers and never one without the other. So I went to college. I studied business and accounting, because accounting is how we tell the story about financial health, and it scared me, so I said, “I'd better learn it.” I moved to Philadelphia to go to the University of Pennsylvania, and I studied business, and I went to London after that to be a banker because that's what finance people do. So I worked for JPMorgan Chase there for three years and raised a lot of money for global companies. And I always wondered, “What do they do with the money?” So, then I went to business school. I went to Stanford for business school, so now on the West Coast, eventually find my way to Northwestern Medicine because I find health care fascinating. Northwestern Medicine is a health system, employs 33,000 people, and those people have families. And so we touch a lot of people. So I’ve been at Northwestern for 12 years. Two years ago, I came to Palos, and so now I'm the CFO here and very attentive to our financial performance and excited to get to work with our nurses and doctors to deliver great patient care and hopefully keep us all paid.
Saklak [00:03:23] The part that sticks out to me is when you said that accounting scared you, so that's what you studied.
Hobson [00:03:27] I'm thankful that I did, because a big part of my role now is to make sure that the accounting makes sense. And when it doesn't make sense, what is it telling us about what we need to improve? We don't want to have aging accounts. We don't want to pay too much in interest. All of these things impact the money that's available to invest in the right equipment and the right buildings. And so it all truly matters for patient care.
Saklak [00:03:47] We talk so much about social determinants of health for our patients and our population. And the full circle moment is like, I am part of that patient population. Even though I'm a nurse, I'm not excluded, and finances impact my wellness just as much as it does to the patients I care for.
Hobson [00:04:02] Absolutely. I did a presentation to one of our employee resource groups, so we have in our Northwestern Medicine Champions Network, one of our chapters is the African Descendants chapter, and I'm one of the executive sponsors. I was speaking to them kind of about the stuff I just told you about, the finances of Northwestern Medicine. And at the end, all of the questions were about personal finance. Everybody wanted to know how to make the most of the money that they're paid. And so to your point, when you take care of that, well you're taking care of more than just your bank account, you're taking care of your actual health.
Saklak [00:04:33] I feel like that's a good segue into talking about how some of your personal experiences have given you insight into your own personal finance and maybe how that translates to your position as CFO at Palos.
Hobson [00:04:44] There's things I've learned in my job here about the importance of managing to a budget and having insurance, as simple as that is. I have lived long enough to have a lot of life experience. I have experienced losing a job. I have paid off undergraduate and graduate school debt. I have joined finances through marriage. I have separated assets through divorce. I have lived through my parents getting sick and passing and all of the financial responsibility. I am a mom, so I buy lots of shoes because they keep growing out of them. I'm a homeowner, you know, you learn through your own mistakes and successes a lot about what matters, a lot about the importance of an emergency fund. And so I've certainly learned a lot through that. And I think it helps me talk about finance in a way that's relevant to our clinicians as we try to make decisions here.
Saklak [00:05:35] I can't even comprehend the pressure that there is associated with your job. All of the things that you mentioned, you're not responsible, but in a way still responsible for the well-being of so many different people and your own well-being too. What would you say is a good starting point for taking better care of your financial self?
Hobson [00:05:56] Okay, this will sound probably strange, but I encourage everybody to take a mug or glass of your favorite beverage, go somewhere quiet and have an internal conversation about your relationship with money. Think about what you've experienced through your family. Think about what's important to you. Think about where your money just disappears and why, and understand what money means to you, because that is going to drive the decisions you make. No matter how many Excel spreadsheets you have and how many financial tools you have. That's the first and probably most important part. And another piece is, before you break out a budget, is to think very broadly about your assets and your resources. They're not just in a bank account. They're your family members, they're your friends, they're your skills, they're your hobbies. And how can you put that all together to make the life that you want to have? And so once you have sort of identified that, then yeah, it gets practical. Make a budget. A budget is a plan for your money, a plan for something that is important to you. And so set it, understand what comes in, what comes out, and then look at what you actually spend. I just cut off a subscription this morning. Nowadays we pay for things without hitting a button or swiping a card. And so you've got to pay attention to that. And I think the most practical piece of advice I can give there is don't just pay attention to whatever your gross salary is or don't just pay attention to what comes into your paycheck. Pay attention to the money that's actually available to you. If you make $4,000 a month, and $3,000 of it is committed to your rent and your transportation, and there's $1,000 left, budget, plan for $1,000 only. And put things in perspective of $1,000. If it's a $200 purchase, compare it to $1,000, not $4,000. And so that's just a perspective thing that I think can be really easy to lose sight of. That and always pay yourself first. I always say pay yourself first. 401(k) matching, take $20 a paycheck and put it away. Do that automatically without looking. You have to.
Saklak [00:07:48] I wish people could see our faces right now. We're just taking in so much knowledge and lightbulbs are going off. One advice I always got from a yoga instructor, now hear me out, in yoga and in life, the two things you don't want to compare is your pose to the next person over because everyone has different experiences. And I think for a lot of our nurses and for myself, when I was a new grad, I look around and started comparing myself to where everyone else was in life and panicking that I wasn't making the right choice for my career or what I was doing because I wasn’t where I wanted to be and I thought that I was the problem or I wasn’t managing it right. Does that resonate with you or kind of what advice or thoughts on this wisdom that you’re giving us with finances?
Hobson [00:08:25] It does. And you don’t know what other assets these other people have or resources, or they might be in debt. Right. I’ll take another yoga lesson. Yoga is a practice, right? And so is our financial. So if you spend too much on a hobby, just spend less next month. See your financial stewardship and discipline as a practice and learn from it as opposed to something that is qualitatively good or bad because your circumstances are going to change.
Masnari [00:08:53] I think that’s huge. I remember when I got my first paycheck. I was barely 22 when I started as a new grad at Northwestern Medicine, and I got my first paycheck. And now that I've grown up and I've been with Northwestern Medicine for seven years, I think about how proud I was of that first paycheck that I got. Alyssa, do you remember the first paycheck you got when you first started?
Saklak [00:09:14] Absolutely. You know, you're done with school and it was the first time you're seeing money come in. But it was this tremendous responsibility. Oftentimes that can be a huge stressor in your life and impact your own health. If we don't lean in and give ourself the knowledge and power to kind of take control and take it in stride because finances can feel overwhelming at times.
Hobson [00:09:33] Two things you can do for things you're afraid of. Take it small and make it visible, right? So if it's, “I'm going to now put $10 and then when I'm comfortable, I'll make it $20, then I'll make it $50,” and then see it. One thing I just started doing recently is I now make sure I get notifications for card not present transactions. So when my credit card pays my Netflix bill, I get an email, and it reminds me that this is how my money was spent. Or, if you're saving the money, put it in an app or something where you can see what it is because we're such a digital economy that so much happens without us making that choice every time. So make it, make it small, make it visible, and then that will start to reinforce and build the confidence you need.
Masnari [00:10:16] In light of not knowing where your money's going and those subscriptions, and it's just, it's gone, right, at the end of the month. And someone sits down with a cup of coffee, they take inventory of what's important to them and then they decide, “I'm not in a good spot.” What are your tips for reaching out, or how do people start that conversation or seek help when they're not in a good spot?
Hobson [00:10:35] Two different ideas. One is, I encourage us all to take advantage of everything that Northwestern Medicine has to offer in terms of benefits, if it’s tuition support or, we have a relationship with Fidelity, and you can now talk to a financial planner. So it sounds scary, but do it, and that will help you kind of have some conversations that you need to get a plan in order. I think more practically, if it's not looking good, cut something out entirely, like make a bold decision because that's the only way that you actually make progress. And the other piece is to talk about it. Find somebody, you know, friend or family member to say, “Man, I'm struggling,” and, “How are you doing?” and, “What do you spend on this?” Because if we don't talk about it, we suffer in silence, and we’ll never get anywhere.
Masnari [00:11:21] I think there’s sometimes a component of, like Alyssa said, that comparison is the thief of joy. You want to put off this image that everything is OK. And so sometimes when you said Fidelity, and if you're not comfortable talking to someone that has skin in the game or that is close to you, reaching out to someone who completely is a third party removed from your situation can almost be more helpful. And in a way, they might give you some more real advice than someone who's trying to be gentle with supporting you would be. Sometimes you need that.
Hobson [00:11:51] One thing I would encourage everybody to do, especially if you're earlier in your career, is to avoid what they call lifestyle creep. So if you make a certain amount and you make more in the future, bank the incremental. Don't change anything about what you're spending. And then when you have that beverage of choice, and you think about what matters to you, understand that you can get that reward without spending money. I feel rich in a long walk. What are those ways that you take care of yourself or give yourself what you want that don't require recurring monthly cost? Make those connections so that if you do have to make a drastic cut, right, somewhere, you're still breathing and enjoying things that matter to you.
Saklak [00:12:30] I think everyone has a different definition of that, to your point, different definitions of success, happiness, health, wealth. And I think it's important for you to sit down and really define that for yourself and the full package. So easy to get distracted by the dollar signs. I think it's just important to define that, and it changes, right? Like we evolve as humans, and what you thought in your early 20s may look very different come your mid-30s. I think that has been a learning lesson for me that I wish I could have told myself when I first was new and getting my first paycheck. Absolutely.
Masnari [00:13:02] I also love that you brought up the concept of, “I am rich in going for a long walk,” or “I'm rich in my friendships,” and not to take away from the fact that money is important. We need it to survive. We need it to live in the city. We need it to pay our rent. But there are other types of wealth. And I love that you touched on that a little bit because that's so huge and so important that I am so wealthy in these other areas of my life that make me feel so much more full than a paycheck does. Or the status of my 401(k).
Saklak [00:13:28] The profession of nursing has changed drastically since the pandemic, and there are so many options and more job opportunities than ever. And I think it's a great thing that there are so many more options because nursing never had that quite to the capacity that it does now. Is there any advice when you're looking at professional development, what are the things that we should be considering besides just the dollar amount?
Hobson [00:13:51] There is so much to be said for what you learn on the job. I am very thankful that I still feel like I'm also being paid to learn. That carries with you. So, you don't just come away with a paycheck. You come away with relationships, you come away with life experience, you come away with practical skills that then make you a better leader later on in your career. So when you're evaluating these opportunities, I worry that as there are more remote work options, that people will not learn as much as they can on a day-to-day basis. When I come in, and I’m shoulder to shoulder with colleagues, and we're reacting to real patient care issues, that's a learning that is way beyond what I would do, you know, behind a computer on a spreadsheet. And that's going to serve me years from now. And so I think that absolutely has to be considered because you're building not just the money you're making today, but the money you're making in the future. You build yourself as a subject matter expert faster in some scenarios versus others. And I think that's a key part of professional development. Where there is the late nights on a trading floor, right, for me and my finance experience, whatever that is to you and your clinical experiences is key to continue that that actually your earning power in the future.
Saklak [00:15:01] Well, Leah, thank you so much for this time and for enlightening us. I swear I just learned so much from you and your wisdom. And I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us a little bit more of finances through the nursing lens.
Hobson [00:15:14] Thank you. And I'll also say that this means so much to me because we all work here because we care for patients. I care for the people who care for patients. So anything that we can do to enrich the lives of the people who dedicate themselves to caring for patients means everything to me.
Saklak [00:15:29] Thank you so much.
Masnari [00:15:30] Thank you. We are lucky to have someone like you within Northwestern Medicine. Thanks for tuning in.
Saklak [00:15:41] Better, RN is brought to you by the Woman's Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Laurin Masnari [00:00:06] And I'm Laurin Masnari.
Saklak [00:00:08] And Better, RN, we get real about nursing.
Masnari [00:00:11] The good and the gritty.
Saklak [00:00:12] We talk to real health care experts.
Masnari [00:00:15] With the goal of becoming better.
Saklak [00:00:17] For our patients, our colleagues.
Masnari [00:00:18] Our family, our friends, our partners and ourselves. So today we're talking about finances. How are you feeling?
Saklak [00:00:29] I feel like I'm scheduling my dental appointment, and I hate the dentist.
Masnari [00:00:32] Yeah, I'm nervous.
Saklak [00:00:33] It's vulnerable.
Masnari [00:00:34] It is, and financial well-being, it's also taboo, right? There's this hush hush around how much money do you make? I don't really understand why. Like, we're all making money, spending money just trying to make it. So why is it so hard to talk about?
Saklak [00:00:48] Listen, I just know this past year, starting school and having to financially plan and budget and utilizing all the resources to make sure I'm making the best financial move is stressful. That is my own story and journey. But everyone has different experiences with their finances and their situations, and I think that can put a toll on your wellness.
Masnari [00:01:09] You mentioned going back to school. I'm also in a master's program. I don't know that I would be able to do this master's program without tuition reimbursement through Northwestern Medicine. It's so helpful, and it takes a little bit of that weight off of the stress associated with going back to school and having to pay for it while also still working full time.
Saklak [00:01:27] I think there's now more options and opportunities than there ever was before. And it's kind of like defining your own values and defining what's important to you and your own definition of wealth and health and success and all those things.
Masnari [00:01:42] That's why I'm really excited to talk to Leah Hobson today and hear her perspective, being the chief financial officer of Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, and hearing her strategies and picking her brain about ways to manage our money a little better.
Saklak [00:01:54] Are you ready to talk finances?
Masnari [00:01:56] I am. Let's bring in Leah. Today we're chatting with Leah Hobson, the chief financial officer of Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital. Thanks for joining us.
Leah Hobson [00:02:10] Thanks for having me.
Saklak [00:02:11] If you could share a little bit about your background in finance here in Northwestern Medicine.
Hobson [00:02:15] I have always been very curious about people and numbers and never one without the other. So I went to college. I studied business and accounting, because accounting is how we tell the story about financial health, and it scared me, so I said, “I'd better learn it.” I moved to Philadelphia to go to the University of Pennsylvania, and I studied business, and I went to London after that to be a banker because that's what finance people do. So I worked for JPMorgan Chase there for three years and raised a lot of money for global companies. And I always wondered, “What do they do with the money?” So, then I went to business school. I went to Stanford for business school, so now on the West Coast, eventually find my way to Northwestern Medicine because I find health care fascinating. Northwestern Medicine is a health system, employs 33,000 people, and those people have families. And so we touch a lot of people. So I’ve been at Northwestern for 12 years. Two years ago, I came to Palos, and so now I'm the CFO here and very attentive to our financial performance and excited to get to work with our nurses and doctors to deliver great patient care and hopefully keep us all paid.
Saklak [00:03:23] The part that sticks out to me is when you said that accounting scared you, so that's what you studied.
Hobson [00:03:27] I'm thankful that I did, because a big part of my role now is to make sure that the accounting makes sense. And when it doesn't make sense, what is it telling us about what we need to improve? We don't want to have aging accounts. We don't want to pay too much in interest. All of these things impact the money that's available to invest in the right equipment and the right buildings. And so it all truly matters for patient care.
Saklak [00:03:47] We talk so much about social determinants of health for our patients and our population. And the full circle moment is like, I am part of that patient population. Even though I'm a nurse, I'm not excluded, and finances impact my wellness just as much as it does to the patients I care for.
Hobson [00:04:02] Absolutely. I did a presentation to one of our employee resource groups, so we have in our Northwestern Medicine Champions Network, one of our chapters is the African Descendants chapter, and I'm one of the executive sponsors. I was speaking to them kind of about the stuff I just told you about, the finances of Northwestern Medicine. And at the end, all of the questions were about personal finance. Everybody wanted to know how to make the most of the money that they're paid. And so to your point, when you take care of that, well you're taking care of more than just your bank account, you're taking care of your actual health.
Saklak [00:04:33] I feel like that's a good segue into talking about how some of your personal experiences have given you insight into your own personal finance and maybe how that translates to your position as CFO at Palos.
Hobson [00:04:44] There's things I've learned in my job here about the importance of managing to a budget and having insurance, as simple as that is. I have lived long enough to have a lot of life experience. I have experienced losing a job. I have paid off undergraduate and graduate school debt. I have joined finances through marriage. I have separated assets through divorce. I have lived through my parents getting sick and passing and all of the financial responsibility. I am a mom, so I buy lots of shoes because they keep growing out of them. I'm a homeowner, you know, you learn through your own mistakes and successes a lot about what matters, a lot about the importance of an emergency fund. And so I've certainly learned a lot through that. And I think it helps me talk about finance in a way that's relevant to our clinicians as we try to make decisions here.
Saklak [00:05:35] I can't even comprehend the pressure that there is associated with your job. All of the things that you mentioned, you're not responsible, but in a way still responsible for the well-being of so many different people and your own well-being too. What would you say is a good starting point for taking better care of your financial self?
Hobson [00:05:56] Okay, this will sound probably strange, but I encourage everybody to take a mug or glass of your favorite beverage, go somewhere quiet and have an internal conversation about your relationship with money. Think about what you've experienced through your family. Think about what's important to you. Think about where your money just disappears and why, and understand what money means to you, because that is going to drive the decisions you make. No matter how many Excel spreadsheets you have and how many financial tools you have. That's the first and probably most important part. And another piece is, before you break out a budget, is to think very broadly about your assets and your resources. They're not just in a bank account. They're your family members, they're your friends, they're your skills, they're your hobbies. And how can you put that all together to make the life that you want to have? And so once you have sort of identified that, then yeah, it gets practical. Make a budget. A budget is a plan for your money, a plan for something that is important to you. And so set it, understand what comes in, what comes out, and then look at what you actually spend. I just cut off a subscription this morning. Nowadays we pay for things without hitting a button or swiping a card. And so you've got to pay attention to that. And I think the most practical piece of advice I can give there is don't just pay attention to whatever your gross salary is or don't just pay attention to what comes into your paycheck. Pay attention to the money that's actually available to you. If you make $4,000 a month, and $3,000 of it is committed to your rent and your transportation, and there's $1,000 left, budget, plan for $1,000 only. And put things in perspective of $1,000. If it's a $200 purchase, compare it to $1,000, not $4,000. And so that's just a perspective thing that I think can be really easy to lose sight of. That and always pay yourself first. I always say pay yourself first. 401(k) matching, take $20 a paycheck and put it away. Do that automatically without looking. You have to.
Saklak [00:07:48] I wish people could see our faces right now. We're just taking in so much knowledge and lightbulbs are going off. One advice I always got from a yoga instructor, now hear me out, in yoga and in life, the two things you don't want to compare is your pose to the next person over because everyone has different experiences. And I think for a lot of our nurses and for myself, when I was a new grad, I look around and started comparing myself to where everyone else was in life and panicking that I wasn't making the right choice for my career or what I was doing because I wasn’t where I wanted to be and I thought that I was the problem or I wasn’t managing it right. Does that resonate with you or kind of what advice or thoughts on this wisdom that you’re giving us with finances?
Hobson [00:08:25] It does. And you don’t know what other assets these other people have or resources, or they might be in debt. Right. I’ll take another yoga lesson. Yoga is a practice, right? And so is our financial. So if you spend too much on a hobby, just spend less next month. See your financial stewardship and discipline as a practice and learn from it as opposed to something that is qualitatively good or bad because your circumstances are going to change.
Masnari [00:08:53] I think that’s huge. I remember when I got my first paycheck. I was barely 22 when I started as a new grad at Northwestern Medicine, and I got my first paycheck. And now that I've grown up and I've been with Northwestern Medicine for seven years, I think about how proud I was of that first paycheck that I got. Alyssa, do you remember the first paycheck you got when you first started?
Saklak [00:09:14] Absolutely. You know, you're done with school and it was the first time you're seeing money come in. But it was this tremendous responsibility. Oftentimes that can be a huge stressor in your life and impact your own health. If we don't lean in and give ourself the knowledge and power to kind of take control and take it in stride because finances can feel overwhelming at times.
Hobson [00:09:33] Two things you can do for things you're afraid of. Take it small and make it visible, right? So if it's, “I'm going to now put $10 and then when I'm comfortable, I'll make it $20, then I'll make it $50,” and then see it. One thing I just started doing recently is I now make sure I get notifications for card not present transactions. So when my credit card pays my Netflix bill, I get an email, and it reminds me that this is how my money was spent. Or, if you're saving the money, put it in an app or something where you can see what it is because we're such a digital economy that so much happens without us making that choice every time. So make it, make it small, make it visible, and then that will start to reinforce and build the confidence you need.
Masnari [00:10:16] In light of not knowing where your money's going and those subscriptions, and it's just, it's gone, right, at the end of the month. And someone sits down with a cup of coffee, they take inventory of what's important to them and then they decide, “I'm not in a good spot.” What are your tips for reaching out, or how do people start that conversation or seek help when they're not in a good spot?
Hobson [00:10:35] Two different ideas. One is, I encourage us all to take advantage of everything that Northwestern Medicine has to offer in terms of benefits, if it’s tuition support or, we have a relationship with Fidelity, and you can now talk to a financial planner. So it sounds scary, but do it, and that will help you kind of have some conversations that you need to get a plan in order. I think more practically, if it's not looking good, cut something out entirely, like make a bold decision because that's the only way that you actually make progress. And the other piece is to talk about it. Find somebody, you know, friend or family member to say, “Man, I'm struggling,” and, “How are you doing?” and, “What do you spend on this?” Because if we don't talk about it, we suffer in silence, and we’ll never get anywhere.
Masnari [00:11:21] I think there’s sometimes a component of, like Alyssa said, that comparison is the thief of joy. You want to put off this image that everything is OK. And so sometimes when you said Fidelity, and if you're not comfortable talking to someone that has skin in the game or that is close to you, reaching out to someone who completely is a third party removed from your situation can almost be more helpful. And in a way, they might give you some more real advice than someone who's trying to be gentle with supporting you would be. Sometimes you need that.
Hobson [00:11:51] One thing I would encourage everybody to do, especially if you're earlier in your career, is to avoid what they call lifestyle creep. So if you make a certain amount and you make more in the future, bank the incremental. Don't change anything about what you're spending. And then when you have that beverage of choice, and you think about what matters to you, understand that you can get that reward without spending money. I feel rich in a long walk. What are those ways that you take care of yourself or give yourself what you want that don't require recurring monthly cost? Make those connections so that if you do have to make a drastic cut, right, somewhere, you're still breathing and enjoying things that matter to you.
Saklak [00:12:30] I think everyone has a different definition of that, to your point, different definitions of success, happiness, health, wealth. And I think it's important for you to sit down and really define that for yourself and the full package. So easy to get distracted by the dollar signs. I think it's just important to define that, and it changes, right? Like we evolve as humans, and what you thought in your early 20s may look very different come your mid-30s. I think that has been a learning lesson for me that I wish I could have told myself when I first was new and getting my first paycheck. Absolutely.
Masnari [00:13:02] I also love that you brought up the concept of, “I am rich in going for a long walk,” or “I'm rich in my friendships,” and not to take away from the fact that money is important. We need it to survive. We need it to live in the city. We need it to pay our rent. But there are other types of wealth. And I love that you touched on that a little bit because that's so huge and so important that I am so wealthy in these other areas of my life that make me feel so much more full than a paycheck does. Or the status of my 401(k).
Saklak [00:13:28] The profession of nursing has changed drastically since the pandemic, and there are so many options and more job opportunities than ever. And I think it's a great thing that there are so many more options because nursing never had that quite to the capacity that it does now. Is there any advice when you're looking at professional development, what are the things that we should be considering besides just the dollar amount?
Hobson [00:13:51] There is so much to be said for what you learn on the job. I am very thankful that I still feel like I'm also being paid to learn. That carries with you. So, you don't just come away with a paycheck. You come away with relationships, you come away with life experience, you come away with practical skills that then make you a better leader later on in your career. So when you're evaluating these opportunities, I worry that as there are more remote work options, that people will not learn as much as they can on a day-to-day basis. When I come in, and I’m shoulder to shoulder with colleagues, and we're reacting to real patient care issues, that's a learning that is way beyond what I would do, you know, behind a computer on a spreadsheet. And that's going to serve me years from now. And so I think that absolutely has to be considered because you're building not just the money you're making today, but the money you're making in the future. You build yourself as a subject matter expert faster in some scenarios versus others. And I think that's a key part of professional development. Where there is the late nights on a trading floor, right, for me and my finance experience, whatever that is to you and your clinical experiences is key to continue that that actually your earning power in the future.
Saklak [00:15:01] Well, Leah, thank you so much for this time and for enlightening us. I swear I just learned so much from you and your wisdom. And I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us a little bit more of finances through the nursing lens.
Hobson [00:15:14] Thank you. And I'll also say that this means so much to me because we all work here because we care for patients. I care for the people who care for patients. So anything that we can do to enrich the lives of the people who dedicate themselves to caring for patients means everything to me.
Saklak [00:15:29] Thank you so much.
Masnari [00:15:30] Thank you. We are lucky to have someone like you within Northwestern Medicine. Thanks for tuning in.
Saklak [00:15:41] Better, RN is brought to you by the Woman's Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.