22 Sept 2026
She Turned Empty Bedrooms Into $1,200/Month
What if the empty bedroom in your house could generate $1,200 a month?
In this episode of Chalkboards to Cash Flow, we sit down with Shauna, a retired elementary school teacher who discovered a way to turn the unused bedrooms in her four-bedroom home into monthly income.
After her children moved out, Shauna realized she had extra space sitting unused. She began renting rooms to traveling professionals through Furnished Finder, primarily serving travel nurses and other professionals looking for mid-term housing.
Today, she shares the real-world lessons behind her experience, including how she found tenants, what she charges, how she handles living under the same roof as renters, and what she learned from both great and challenging tenant experiences.
She currently earns $1,200/month from one room, including utilities, Wi-Fi and streaming services. She says she has experienced consistent occupancy, with every month occupied aside from time she intentionally chose not to rent.
What You'll Learn
In this episode of Chalkboards to Cash Flow, you'll learn:
🏠 How to turn an empty bedroom into monthly income without owning a large real estate portfolio.
💰 How Shauna reached $1,200/month renting out a single room.
🩺 How mid-term rentals work and why traveling professionals can be potential tenants.
🔐 How to approach tenant screening and create a safer rental experience.
📅 Why starting with a shorter lease can give both the host and tenant flexibility.
📸 How to create a rental listing that gets attention, from photos and titles to a complete profile.
💵 How to think about rental pricing while accounting for utilities and seasonal costs.
🛏️ Which upgrades can improve the rental experience, including flooring and mattresses.
⚠️ What can go wrong when living with tenants and lessons from a challenging rental experience.
👩🏫 How a retired teacher approached house hacking without a traditional real estate investing background.
🧠 Why your personality and lifestyle matter when deciding whether renting a room is right for you.
🚪 How to decide whether sharing your home with tenants actually works for you.
About the Guest
Shauna is a retired elementary school teacher with 36 years of teaching experience, including 25 years in the Roseville area. After her children moved out, she found herself with extra bedrooms in her four-bedroom home and began exploring how she could turn that unused space into additional income.
She eventually began renting rooms to traveling professionals through Furnished Finder, with many of her early tenants being travel nurses. Over time, she has also hosted professionals including a pilot and an anesthesiologist completing an internship.
Today, Shauna earns $1,200 per month from one room, with utilities, Wi-Fi and streaming services included in the rental price. She shares the practical lessons she's learned about tenant screening, pricing, creating a compelling rental listing, managing shared living spaces and choosing the right tenants.
Her story offers a practical look at how homeowners with unused space can explore mid-term rentals and house hacking without owning a large real estate portfolio.
Connect With The ShowFollow Chalkboards to Cash Flow for more conversations around real estate, side hustles, and financial freedom for educators.Join the free Chalkboards to Cash Flow Facebook community and connect with teachers and everyday investors building wealth one step at a time. Enjoyed This Episode?If this episode inspired you to explore real estate while continuing your teaching career:* Follow the podcast* Leave a review* Share this episode with another educator* Join the Chalkboards to Cash Flow Facebook group* Reach out on Instagram for more information about becoming an agentBecause you don’t have to leave the classroom to start building wealth outside of it.
