Living On $90K A Year In Metro Detroit | Millennial Money

Ron Navarro, 30, earns $90,000 a year as a registered nurse in the emergency department of DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital. In the first few weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, he worked 12-hour shifts, four-to-five days per week. Recently, though, he’s scaled back his time to his regular schedule of three days each week.

This is the latest installment of Millennial Money, which profiles people across the U.S. and details how they earn and spend their money.

Read more about Ron's budget breakdown here

As a registered nurse in the emergency department of DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, Ron Navarro is on the frontlines of the pandemic in one of the hardest-hit regions in the country. He views it as his duty to care for the community no matter the circumstances, referencing the Florence Nightingale Pledge for nurses, which puts the welfare of the community before individuals.

Navarro’s mother, Gertrudes, came to the United States from the Philippines in the 1970s, and she was a nurse at the same hospital where her son works. She retired in 2014. One of the big differences between their experiences, he says, is that his mother still receives a pension from the hospital, which the family puts toward their bills. Navarro will not receive that when he retires, as it’s no longer offered to hospital employees.

But that doesn’t bother Navarro. It’s a blessing to be able to do what he loves while earning decent money. “I love nursing, taking care of people,” he says. “It’s an honor to be helping those in need.”

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Living On $90K A Year In Metro Detroit | Millennial Money