Money Avoidance for Nurses: Why February Feels Harder

January is ending, and February is settling in and for many nurses, money suddenly feels harder to face.

This episode of the NurseMoneyDate® Podcast reflects on money avoidance not as a failure, but as a protective response. As political tension, labor unrest, grief, and exhaustion ripple through healthcare, it makes sense that financial motivation would dip rather than rise.

April explores what behavioral finance and money psychology teach us about cognitive load, decision fatigue, and why money doesn’t exist in a vacuum. When safety disappears, personally or collectively, long-term planning and delayed gratification become harder, not because something is wrong with you, but because your nervous system is prioritizing survival.

For nurses navigating long shifts, staffing shortages, strikes, and moral injury, February is not a fresh financial start. It’s often the month when everything January was holding finally lands. This episode reframes disengagement as information, not irresponsibility, and explains why pressure and shame only deepen the disconnect.

This is an invitation to stay in relationship with your money without forcing clarity or intensity. One honest check-in, one small return, one money date at a time.