Travel Nurse FIRE Plan: How to Retire Early on Travel Nurse Income

Introduction: Travel Nursing Is One of the Best Careers for FIRE

Most people chasing financial independence and early retirement — the FIRE movement — are software engineers, doctors, or high-earning corporate professionals. Travel nurses rarely show up in FIRE blogs or Reddit threads. That is a mistake, because travel nursing might be one of the most FIRE-friendly careers in healthcare.

Here is why. Travel nurses routinely earn $80,000 to $120,000 per year, sometimes more. A significant portion of that income arrives as tax-free stipends, which means your effective earning power is even higher than the raw numbers suggest. Your housing can be subsidized or covered entirely. You can choose low-cost-of-living assignments to slash expenses. And unlike a physician who spends a decade in training and accumulates $250,000 in student debt, most travel nurses start their careers in their early to mid-twenties with manageable debt loads.

If you combine travel nursing income with intentional saving and smart investing, you can reach financial independence in 10 to 15 years — or even faster. This guide lays out the exact math, the strategies, and the variations of FIRE that work best for nurses who want to stop working before they are 65.

This is educational content, not financial advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions or major financial plans.

What Is FIRE and Why Should Travel Nurses Care?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The core idea is simple: save and invest aggressively so that your investment portfolio generates enough passive income to cover your living expenses indefinitely. At that point, work becomes optional.

The mechanics come down to two numbers: your annual expenses and the size of your investment portfolio. The most commonly cited rule in the FIRE community is the 4% rule, which states that you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio each year without running out of money over a 30-year retirement. Working backward from this rule, you need a portfolio worth 25 times your annual expenses to be financially independent.

Example: If you spend $40,000 per year, you need $1,000,000 invested. If you spend $60,000 per year, you need $1,500,000. If you can live on $30,000 per year, you only need $750,000.

The reason travel nurses should pay attention is straightforward. Your earning potential is high, your expenses can be remarkably low, and the gap between income and expenses — your savings rate — is the single most important factor in how quickly you reach FIRE. A staff nurse earning $65,000 and spending $55,000 saves $10,000 per year. A travel nurse earning $100,000 (with significant tax-free income) and spending $40,000 saves $60,000 per year. That is a completely different trajectory.

The Math Behind FIRE: Savings Rate Is Everything

Your savings rate determines how many years it takes to reach financial independence. This is not opinion; it is arithmetic. The higher the percentage of your income you save and invest, the faster you get there.

Here is the relationship between savings rate and working years to FIRE, assuming a 5% real (inflation-adjusted) return on investments and starting from zero:

10% savings rate: approximately 51 years
20% savings rate: approximately 37 years
30% savings rate: approximately 28 years
40% savings rate: approximately 22 years
50% savings rate: approximately 17 years
60% savings rate: approximately 12.5 years
70% savings rate: approximately 8.5 years
80% savings rate: approximately 5.5 years

These numbers assume you are starting from scratch. If you already have savings or investments, your timeline shortens accordingly.

The critical insight for travel nurses is that achieving a 50% to 70% savings rate is genuinely possible in ways that are not realistic for most professions. When your housing is covered by a stipend, your meals and incidentals are reimbursed, and your taxable income is lower because of the stipend structure, the math works dramatically in your favor.

How Tax-Free Stipends Accelerate Your FIRE Timeline

This is where travel nursing has a structural advantage that most FIRE planners do not discuss. Let me illustrate with a concrete comparison.

Staff Nurse Scenario:

Gross salary: $75,000
Federal + state taxes (estimated 25% effective rate): -$18,750
After-tax income: $56,250
Living expenses: $40,000
Annual savings: $16,250
Savings rate: 29% of after-tax income

Travel Nurse Scenario:

Taxable hourly wage: $30/hour x 36 hours x 48 weeks = $51,840
Tax-free housing stipend: $1,800/month x 12 = $21,600
Tax-free M&IE stipend: $800/month x 12 = $9,600
Total compensation: $83,040
Federal + state taxes on $51,840 (estimated 20% effective rate): -$10,368
After-tax income: $72,672
Living expenses: $35,000 (lower because stipends cover housing)
Annual savings: $37,672
Savings rate: 52% of after-tax income

The travel nurse in this example saves more than double the staff nurse — not because the gross pay is dramatically higher, but because the tax-free stipend structure means more of every dollar earned is kept. And notice that the travel nurse’s living expenses are lower too, because the housing stipend offsets a major expense that most people pay with after-tax dollars.

If that travel nurse invests $37,672 per year at a 7% average annual return, they accumulate approximately $527,000 in 10 years and $1,120,000 in 15 years. That is enough to retire on $44,800 per year using the 4% rule — and all without earning a six-figure taxable salary.

For a deeper understanding of how stipends work and their tax implications, read our travel nurse stipend guide and our tax home guide.

Setting Your FIRE Number

Your FIRE number is the portfolio size you need to fund your retirement indefinitely. Calculating it requires two steps.

Step 1: Determine Your Annual Retirement Expenses

Be honest and specific. Think about where you want to live, what your housing will cost, your healthcare expenses (this is a big one before Medicare eligibility at 65), food, transportation, insurance, travel, hobbies, and any other recurring costs.

Many travel nurses find that their retirement expenses are lower than their current spending because they no longer have work-related costs like travel between assignments, maintaining a tax home, licensing fees, and professional expenses.

A realistic range for a single travel nurse planning to retire early might be $35,000 to $55,000 per year, depending on location and lifestyle. Couples who are both travel nurses might target $50,000 to $80,000.

Step 2: Multiply by 25

This applies the 4% rule. Here are common FIRE numbers:

$35,000/year expenses = $875,000 FIRE number
$40,000/year expenses = $1,000,000 FIRE number
$50,000/year expenses = $1,250,000 FIRE number
$60,000/year expenses = $1,500,000 FIRE number
$80,000/year expenses = $2,000,000 FIRE number

Some FIRE planners use a 3.5% or even 3% withdrawal rate for extra safety, especially for retirements lasting 40+ years. At a 3.5% rate, you multiply your expenses by approximately 28.5 instead of 25. The more conservative your withdrawal rate, the more cushion you have against market downturns.

A Note on the 4% Rule

The 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study, which analyzed historical market returns and concluded that a 4% initial withdrawal rate (adjusted for inflation each year) had a very high probability of lasting at least 30 years. For early retirees with 40 or 50-year time horizons, some financial planners recommend a lower withdrawal rate or a flexible withdrawal strategy that adjusts spending based on market conditions.

This is a topic worth discussing with a financial advisor, especially as you get closer to your FIRE number. For investment basics, see our investing guide.

Investment Strategy for Travel Nurse FIRE

Max Out Tax-Advantaged Accounts First

The order of operations matters. Prioritize accounts that give you the biggest tax advantage:

Roth IRA — $7,000/year ($8,000 if 50+). Your tax-free stipends keep your taxable income lower, which means you are paying taxes at a low rate now and withdrawing tax-free later. This is ideal for FIRE. See our retirement plan guide for more detail.
Agency 401(k) — If your agency offers one with a match, contribute at least enough to capture the full match. That is free money. Be aware of vesting schedules, though — if you leave the agency before the match vests, you lose it. See our 401(k) guide.
HSA (Health Savings Account) — If you have a high-deductible health plan, an HSA is a triple-tax-advantaged account: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for medical expenses. After age 65, you can withdraw for any purpose (taxed as income, similar to a Traditional IRA). Maximum contribution is $4,300 for individuals in 2026. Learn more in our HSA/FSA guide.
Taxable brokerage account — Once you have maxed out tax-advantaged accounts, invest the rest in a regular taxable brokerage account. This is where most of your FIRE savings will end up because contribution limits on retirement accounts are relatively low compared to aggressive FIRE savings targets.

What to Invest In

Keep it simple. The FIRE community overwhelmingly favors low-cost index funds, and the data supports this approach.

Total US Stock Market Index Fund (like VTSAX or VTI) — broad exposure to the entire US stock market with expense ratios under 0.05%.
International Stock Index Fund (like VXUS or VTIAX) — diversification outside the US.
Bond Index Fund (like BND or VBTLX) — stability as you get closer to your FIRE number.

A common allocation for someone 10+ years from FIRE is 80-90% stocks and 10-20% bonds. As you approach your FIRE number, gradually shift toward a more conservative allocation. Many early retirees target a 60/40 or 70/30 stock/bond split at the point of retirement.

The key is consistency. Automate your investments so money goes in every pay period regardless of market conditions. Dollar-cost averaging over years and decades smooths out volatility.

FIRE Variations for Travel Nurses

Not everyone wants to fully retire at 35 and never work again. The FIRE movement has evolved several variations, and some are particularly well-suited to travel nursing.

Lean FIRE

Lean FIRE means reaching financial independence with minimal expenses, typically under $40,000 per year for a single person. This requires a smaller portfolio ($750,000 to $1,000,000) and works for nurses who are comfortable with frugal living.

Travel nurse advantage: If you have been living in furnished rentals, driving a reliable used car, and cooking at home between shifts, you may already be accustomed to a lean lifestyle. The transition to Lean FIRE might not feel like a sacrifice at all.

Fat FIRE

Fat FIRE targets a more comfortable retirement with higher spending — $80,000 to $100,000+ per year. This requires a larger portfolio ($2,000,000 to $2,500,000+) and a longer accumulation phase.

Travel nurse path: Fat FIRE is achievable for travel nurses who earn consistently high rates, work crisis or rapid response contracts, or have a dual-income household where both partners are travel nurses.

Coast FIRE

Coast FIRE is the point where you have invested enough that compound growth alone will carry your portfolio to your FIRE number by traditional retirement age (60-65), even if you never invest another dollar. At that point, you only need to earn enough to cover your current living expenses.

Why this is perfect for travel nurses: Once you hit Coast FIRE, you could drop from full-time travel nursing to part-time, per diem, or local assignments. You could take only the contracts you want, in the locations you want, without worrying about the pay rate. Work becomes entirely about preference, not financial necessity.

Example: A 30-year-old travel nurse with $200,000 invested, assuming 7% average annual returns, would have approximately $1,500,000 by age 65 without investing another dollar. If $1,500,000 is their FIRE number, they have already reached Coast FIRE.

Barista FIRE

Barista FIRE means you have enough invested that you only need a part-time or low-stress job to cover your remaining expenses and health insurance. The name comes from the idea of working at Starbucks for health benefits, but for nurses it could mean:

Working per diem shifts at a local hospital a few days per month
Doing telehealth nursing from home
Picking up occasional travel contracts in your favorite destinations
Teaching clinical rotations at a nursing school

Travel nurse advantage: Nursing is one of the most flexible professions for Barista FIRE. You can work as little or as much as you want in almost any city, and even minimal nursing work provides access to employer-sponsored health insurance, which is one of the biggest expenses for early retirees.

Real FIRE Scenarios: Travel Nurse Math

Scenario 1: Aggressive FIRE in 10 Years

Age: 27
Annual travel nurse compensation: $95,000 (including tax-free stipends)
After-tax income: $78,000
Annual expenses: $28,000 (low-cost housing, roommate, frugal lifestyle)
Annual savings: $50,000
Savings rate: 64%
FIRE number: $700,000 (based on $28,000/year expenses x 25)
Time to FIRE at 7% returns: approximately 10 years
Age at FIRE: 37

This nurse retires at 37 with $700,000 invested, generating $28,000 per year in withdrawals. They could supplement with occasional per diem shifts or telehealth work.

Scenario 2: Moderate FIRE in 15 Years

Age: 30
Annual travel nurse compensation: $100,000
After-tax income: $82,000
Annual expenses: $42,000
Annual savings: $40,000
Savings rate: 49%
FIRE number: $1,050,000 (based on $42,000/year expenses x 25)
Time to FIRE at 7% returns: approximately 15 years
Age at FIRE: 45

Scenario 3: Coast FIRE Sprint

Age: 25
Goal: Hit Coast FIRE by 30, then downshift to local nursing
Annual savings years 25-30: $45,000/year
Portfolio at age 30: approximately $270,000
Portfolio at age 60 (no additional contributions, 7% return): approximately $2,055,000
Supported annual spending at 4%: $82,200

This nurse sprints for five years, builds a $270,000 portfolio, then switches to a lower-paying staff or part-time position and never invests another dollar. Compound growth does the rest.

Practical Tips for Maximizing Your FIRE Savings Rate

Choose Assignments Strategically

Your savings rate is driven by the gap between income and expenses. You can widen that gap from both sides.

High-pay strategies:

Take assignments in high-demand specialties (ICU, ER, OR, L&D)
Work crisis or rapid response contracts when available (these pay significantly more)
Negotiate your pay package — every dollar matters. See our contract negotiation guide
Work overtime when it is offered at premium rates

Low-expense strategies:

Take assignments in low-cost-of-living areas where your stipend exceeds your actual housing cost
Use a roommate or stay with family between assignments
Live in an RV to dramatically reduce housing costs — see our RV travel nursing guide
Build your budget around your FIRE goals, not your income

Automate Everything

Set up automatic transfers to your investment accounts on every payday. Treat your FIRE savings like a bill that must be paid before anything else. If you wait to see what is left at the end of the month, there will never be enough left.

Avoid Lifestyle Inflation

This is the FIRE killer. When you get a contract paying $3,000 per week instead of $2,500, the temptation is to upgrade your housing, eat out more, and buy things you do not need. Resist it. Bank the difference. The nurses who reach FIRE are not necessarily the ones who earn the most — they are the ones who do not increase spending when income goes up.

Build Your Emergency Fund First

Before you go all-in on investing, make sure you have a solid emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in a high-yield savings account. Contract cancellations happen, and selling investments at a loss to cover living expenses is the fastest way to derail your FIRE plan.

Minimize Debt

Carry no credit card debt. Pay off car loans as quickly as possible. If you have student loans, evaluate whether aggressive payoff or income-driven repayment makes more sense for your FIRE timeline. Read our student loan guide for strategies.

Healthcare in Early Retirement: The Biggest Challenge

The single biggest obstacle for early retirees is health insurance. Medicare does not start until age 65, so if you retire at 40, you need 25 years of self-funded healthcare coverage.

Options for early-retired nurses:

ACA Marketplace plans: With low investment income (which is typical when withdrawing from a portfolio), you may qualify for substantial premium subsidies. Structuring your withdrawals to keep your AGI low is a key FIRE strategy. See our ACA marketplace guide.
Barista FIRE with benefits: Working part-time or per diem at a facility that offers health insurance to part-time employees solves the healthcare problem entirely.
Health share ministries: Not insurance, but an alternative that some early retirees use to manage healthcare costs.
COBRA: Useful for short-term coverage during transitions, but expensive long-term. See our COBRA guide.

Healthcare planning should be a central part of your FIRE strategy, not an afterthought. Budget $500 to $1,500 per month for health insurance premiums in your retirement expense calculations unless you have a specific plan to access employer-sponsored coverage.

Common FIRE Mistakes Travel Nurses Make

Counting stipends as guaranteed income. Stipend rates change, and your eligibility depends on maintaining a valid tax home. Build your FIRE plan around conservative income estimates.

Ignoring the tax home costs. Maintaining a tax home (rent, utilities, property taxes) is a real expense that reduces your savings rate. Factor it into your calculations honestly.

Not accounting for gaps between contracts. Most travel nurses have two to four weeks of unpaid time per year between assignments. Your annual income projections should reflect this.

Putting FIRE before financial foundations. Do not invest aggressively for FIRE while carrying high-interest debt or without an emergency fund. The financial checklist will help you get the order right.

Retiring too early without testing. Before you pull the trigger, take a three to six month break from travel nursing and live on your projected retirement budget. See if it actually works in practice, not just on a spreadsheet.

Key Takeaways

Travel nursing is uniquely well-suited for FIRE because of high income, tax-free stipends, and low potential living expenses
Your savings rate is the most important variable — aim for 50% or higher to reach FIRE in 12 to 17 years
Tax-free stipends effectively boost your after-tax income by $15,000 to $30,000 per year compared to equivalent taxable wages
Your FIRE number is 25 times your annual retirement expenses (using the 4% rule)
Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE are particularly attractive for travel nurses because nursing allows flexible, part-time work indefinitely
Invest in low-cost index funds through a Roth IRA first, then an HSA, then a taxable brokerage account
Healthcare coverage is the biggest planning challenge for early retirees — budget for it or plan for part-time nursing work
Automate your savings, avoid lifestyle inflation, and build an emergency fund before investing aggressively

Frequently Asked Questions

Can travel nurses realistically retire early?

Yes. Travel nurses who maintain a 50% or higher savings rate and invest consistently can reach financial independence in 10 to 17 years. The combination of above-average income and tax-free stipends creates a savings advantage that most careers do not offer. The key is intentional financial planning and avoiding lifestyle inflation.

How much do I need to retire early as a travel nurse?

It depends on your annual expenses. The standard formula is annual expenses multiplied by 25. A travel nurse who plans to spend $40,000 per year in retirement needs $1,000,000 invested. One who plans to spend $60,000 needs $1,500,000. Lower expenses mean a smaller target and a faster timeline.

What is the best FIRE variation for travel nurses?

Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE are arguably the best fits. Both allow you to stop aggressive saving and investing once you reach a certain portfolio size, then continue working at a reduced pace. Since nursing offers tremendous flexibility for part-time and per diem work, you can easily downshift without leaving the profession entirely.

Should I pay off my house before pursuing FIRE?

Not necessarily. If your mortgage interest rate is below 5%, investing the money instead may generate higher returns over time. However, having no mortgage payment in retirement significantly reduces your annual expenses and therefore your FIRE number. Run the math both ways and consider which approach lets you sleep at night.

How do I handle investment income taxes in early retirement?

Structure your withdrawals strategically. Draw from taxable accounts first (long-term capital gains are taxed at lower rates), then Roth IRA contributions (which can be withdrawn tax-free at any time), then traditional retirement accounts after age 59.5. Keeping your AGI low also helps you qualify for ACA premium subsidies. A tax-savvy financial advisor can help you sequence withdrawals optimally.

Affiliate Placement Notes: Investment platform signup links within the “Investment Strategy” section. High-yield savings account referral in the emergency fund and savings discussion. Financial advisor matching service in the healthcare and withdrawal strategy sections. Budgeting app referral in the practical tips section.