Everyone should take regular sabbaticals.
Before you scoff at me, I want to acknowledge immediately that not every one can do this. There are circumstances beyond your control that prevent you to take a sabbatical. This is understandable, and frustrating. For those of us fortunate enough to do so, let's talk about what it takes to make a sabbatical. It might be more possible than you realize, but you need to put a little less in your retirement account.
For me, it takes 5% of my paycheck to take a sabbatical every five years. That money will do nothing except sit there, preparing for my next sabbatical. 5% is not a lot for me. Here is the best part, though. 5% of your paycheck is all you need to take a sabbatical every five years for three months. The unfortunate reality is that many of us cannot afford to sock away 5% of our paycheck on a sabbatical. Because of bills, debts, and the cost of living. I get that! Then, you should ask yourself if there are major decisions you can change in your life. Can you get a roommate? Can you sell your car? Can you change any commuting habits? Take your largest expense, and ask yourself, how can I get 5% of my paycheck back. It is most likely your living situation that has the biggest wiggle room.
Once you have a plan how to afford that 5% setup a bank account for your Sabbatical or take cash out of the ATM, and stuff it in a coffee can. Your goal is to save up 6 paychecks, which is 12 weeks or three months.
If you save 5%, you can save one paycheck in 20 paychecks, or ten months. Ten months * six paychecks is 60 months. In 60 months, or 5 years, you will be able to quit your job, and pay all of your bills for three months.
If you can figure out a way to lower your expenses during that three months, such as not having to pay rent, for example, you can easily take that three months worth of savings and trasform it into five or maybe six months of a sabbatical.
If you have a bike with some saddlebags on it, and you go bike touring for one week, how much money would you spend? How much money would you save?
Everyone needs to take a break throughout their life. Every five years, people need an extended break for reflection, and focus time. It is best to take that time all by yourself, or with your life partner. Don't make it a party. Make it a time to find yourself in what you do and what you want to do.
5% is an arbitrary number. The formula is simple. If y is how many years you need to save, and m is how many months you want to take off, then you can easily play around with the numbers with this simple formula.
If you want to take off m months every 'y' years, then you will have to save 9 * m / y years. So, to take three months off every 5 years, you would come up with 9 * 3 / 5 = 5.4%. The actual math is really 8 1/3 instead of 9, but the difference is neglible to coming up with a simple formula.
What is your sabbatical goal?
4 months every ten years?
9 * 4 / 10 = 3.6% a paycheck
3 months every four years?
9 * 3 / 4 = 6.75%
12 months every four years?
9 * 12 / 4 = 27%
Your time is valuable. Recharging and resetting everything is the key to mental wellness. Take the time to take care of yourself, so always remember to sock a little away for that Sabbatical.
Amother post will talk about setting up yourself for success in the Sabbatical. This of course means that you need to think about how to leave your job and find a new job. So you need that plan in place before you take off, which is the key to a successful sabattical.