A nurse paid off nearly $1M in debt in under 3 years: My relationship with money shifted drastically // TRAIN BRAIN

A nurse paid off nearly $1M in debt in under 3 years: My relationship with money shifted drastically

On paper, Naseema McElroy had all the markers of financial success. In 2015, she was making more than $200,000 as a labor and delivery nurse, owned a Lexus SUV and had just bought a brand-new house in the San Francisco Bay Area.
But McElroy was in debt. In addition to her nearly $580,000 mortgage, she owed about $185,000 in student loans, $70,000 on a condo she had previously purchased and $22,000 on a 403(b) retirement account loan she had used to purchase her new home, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
“I was just like, ‘I make way too much money to be in this precarious financial situation,’” McElroy says.
See how she paid off nearly $1 million in debt in under 3 years in the related video.

CNBC Make It

...

The job market is especially tough for recent grads

We Quit Our Jobs To Run A Cemetery Business – It Now Brings In $6 Million/Year

Why International Students Are Giving Up On The U.S.

The stress of unemployment has some jobseekers 'doomjobbing'

Stop Saying 'Let Me Know Your Thoughts'—To Get The Answers You Need, Do This Instead

The wealthy buy $175,000 'protection dogs' from this 51-year-old's business

I Traded My Smartphone For A Flip Phone For 4 Days—Here’s What I Learned

The job market is especially tough for recent grads

How I made landline phones cool again — and brought in $789K last year selling them

How I built a $1 million a year business

How I Built A $2.8 Million/Year Ice Cream Company

We bought a $90K fire station and turned it into our dream home

Couple bought a 140-year-old home for $550,000 and spent $172,000 renovating it

I brought in $789K last year selling landline phones

Bringing In $2.3 Million A Year Negotiating Car Deals

My company trains $175,000 protection dogs

My financial coaching business brings in around $60,000 a year

I bought a $575,000 duplex at age 27 by myself

We started upcycling furniture in 2020 — we've now made over $1M flipping entire homes

We bought a 140-year-old house in New Jersey for $550,000

I make $43K a year as an electrician — and I couldn't be happier

We Started A Burrito Spot In A Home Depot Parking Lot – It Brings In $2.3 Million/Year

51-year-old sells protection dogs for $175,000 each on Montana ranch

I Left The U.S. For Shenzhen, China – Here's How Much It Costs

A nurse paid off nearly $1M in debt in under 3 years: My relationship with money shifted drastically

35-year-old brings in around $60,000 a year and lives rent-free by pet sitting full time

26-year-old works at a bookstore and lives on $53,000 a year in New York City

We bought a $310,000 historic home — take a look inside

44-year-old brings in $251,000 a year with 3 jobs in the Bay Area

I quit my job for a 'mini retirement' in Switzerland

We Bought A Bookstore And Live On $209K A Year

I travel the world and live rent-free by pet sitting full time

I live in NYC on $53K/yr: Financial stability is not there, but it's a tradeoff I'm comfortable with

24-year-old American lives in the Japanese countryside as an English teacher

My production company brings in $1.08 million a year

29-year-old American relocated from Atlanta to Bahrain — here's what it's like living on the island

How My Pakistani Chopped Cheese Brings In Up To $140K A Month In NYC

My ear-piercing business brings in $70 million a year

My company raises and sells protection dogs — it brought in $2.9 million in 2024

Why Some Employees Are Feeling Overwhelmed By Having To Use AI At Work

My Porta-Potty Business Brings In $4.3M/Year

What keeps Ella Emhoff motivated during tumultuous times: ‘Small changes impact big change’

I Travel The World And Live Rent-Free By Pet Sitting Full Time

How I earn $900,000 a year as a dermatologist

How I Built A $1M/Year Business - And Helped My Parents Retire

29-year-old spent $20,000 to open a store in New York — now it brings in $1.6 million a year

I Sell Protection Dogs For $175K In Montana

AI Experts: How To Prompt Like A Pro

I Left Atlanta For The Middle East — Here’s Why I'm Much Happier

29-year-old left his 6-figure tech job and opened a pizza bagel business—it brought in $20K in Sept.

32-year-old couldn't get hired due to a criminal record — now his food truck brings in over $1M/year

We Bought A $310K Historic Home In Cash - Take A Look Inside

How I started building our $1 million net worth at age 16

How I built a $1.4 million/month AI app at age 18

How to navigate fear and anxiety in a time of uncertainty, according to Deepak Chopra

30-year-old vet who makes $386K/year: I switched to freelance work and more than doubled my income

I Bring In $66K/Year As A Private Chef In NYC

48-year-old quit her Wall Street job to start a business from her attic — now it brings in $70M/year

We turned a chateau in France into a bed and breakfast: This has been a very expensive French lesson

35-year-old American lives in Eastern Europe on less than $2,000 a month

He bought a frozen yogurt shop at 23 with no experience — now he's the chain's CEO

I Left Amazon After Growing My Pay From $50K To $432K — Without A Tech Degree

My bagel shop located inside a car dealership brings in $200,000 a year

How Pop Mart became a multibillion-dollar brand

29-year-old American lives on roughly $1,463 a month in Turkey

I Work At A Bookstore And Live On $53K/Year In NYC

This couple bought a chateau in France for $835,000 and has spent over $300,000 on renovations

Would you ever buy an AI pet?

At 19, he drove a cab for $6 an hour — now his businesses bring in over $2 million a year

41-year-old American makes $46,000 a year tending bar in the Arctic Circle: 'I feel so welcome'

How I Turned A $6K Airsteam Trailer Into A $500K A Year Business

37-year-old left her $390K Google job for a mini retirement — and may never return to full-time work

Why Gen Z Job Hunting Is Out Of Control Right Now

We Finally Became Homeowners — With Our Friends

I Quit My Nursing Job For My Laundromat Business – It Brings In $475K/Year

How I Turned $27K Of Land Into $700/Night Luxury Cabin Rentals

How I bring in over $1 million a year working just two hours a day

Labubu became an international status symbol — and brought in $423 million for Pop Mart last year

Take a look inside these luxury apartments converted from an abandoned 19th-century college in NYC

29-year-old left NYC for Istanbul, pays $1,369/month for a duplex apartment — take a look inside