You might assume that travel nurses make a lot of money. While it's possible to earn a little more than we would if we stayed home, the catch is that we're not home, so we've got to account for some additional living expenses. Here are just a few of the places that extra green goes.

• Rent. We don't live anywhere for free. In fact, we don't live in 2 places for free. We've got the house payments or rent in our base areas, plus the expense of accommodations on the road coming out of our paychecks. So in reality the idea of a home-away-from-home isn't all it's cracked up to be.
• Nursing license. If the state I'm going to isn't a compact state and won't recognize my home state license, I have to pay for the privilege of working there for 13 weeks or so. I'm beginning to gather quite a collection of licenses.
• A GPS device. I've gone through 2 global positioning system devices in 4 years. I've not yet figured out why I'm so rough on them. But, look, my sense of direction leaves something to be desired, so I really depend on them to get me where I need to go.
• Cell phone. Now there's a little item you can't live without. I'm on my 5th phone in 4 years. Four of them drowned in toilets and 1 committed suicide on Interstate 81 when it jumped from my hand and out an open window. Call me clumsy.
• Scrubs. For many nurses, a new assignment means new scrubs. I own scrubs in every color, but I prefer to wear the hospital-issued ones. I don't like wearing scrubs home and trusting a Laundromat or rented washing machine to knock out the disease du jour. As far as I'm concerned, the germs can stay where they are and not hitch a ride on my scrubs.
• Work shoes. I have 5 pairs of designated work shoes. Practically everywhere I've worked requires a different kind and color. I've seen a few non-conformists evade the requirements without consequence, though. One place adamantly prohibited a certain type of shoe known for the holes on its top. So an OR staffer covered the holes with duct tape and wore shoe covers. He got away with it.
• Groceries. Depending on where you're assigned, your weekly haul may cost you more than it does at home, and I'm going to buy what I enjoy at home. I don't care what anyone says, I like "Charmin."
• A microwave. I have 4. No, I don't use them all at once. I just don't always have room to pack 1 with all the other stuff that needs to go along on an assignment. They're easy enough to buy and then ship home, though.
• Dining out. OK, some of us don't have a talent for cooking. And if I were to entertain guests for dinner, the ER bill for getting their stomachs pumped would just add another expense. Frankly, I don't have much of an appetite for my cooking, either.
• Clothes to fit the weather. When you go to another part of the country, you're at the mercy of its weather forecasts, and sometimes Old Man Winter pays a visit while you're on assignment, even though he wasn't expected yet or was supposed to be long gone.

Then there's always something you forget you need until you reach your destination. Like a shower curtain. All you wanted to do was make the bed, take a shower and hit the sack. Good luck without a curtain. So a Wal-Mart run has become a priority before checking into any apartment.

I didn't go into nursing to get rich, of course, and I didn't start travel nursing for the wealth either. Let's face it, at the end of the day it's all about the job and the adventure.