Being on sabbatical (any period of break time) can
sound like paradise… or give you serious vertigo. We each have different
perspectives and influences into this. In some sectors, as is the
academic world, taking one year off to travel and network is not uncommon. I
have also heard of (now eliminated) systems where someone could sign on to a
program to have 20% of their salary put away automatically every year so that
after four years, the savings could translated into an equivalent fifth year of
paid leave at 80% of their salary. In reality however, one rarely plans for
this. We can however access different means of income or financial fixes to
help support our desire for a little freedom and time off. Below are some tips on how to generate income, decrease your costs and even live for free.
It is followed by a non-negligeable comment about spending and how to deal with the remaining
financial stress.
Housing
and Habitual Costs:
If you own
property, consider renting it part or all of it. You can easily live less
comfortably for the time needed. This also gives you wings to move around. Pets
can be rented with the apartment (okay easier with cats). My tenants have all
fallen for my fluffy Cloud. Alternatively, if you are renting, consider
subletting your furnished apartment and only putting personal things away.
- Speaking
of things: now is a great time to simplify and get rid of whatever is not being
used. You will feel much lighter, and might make a few $ in the process.
- Simplify
monthly costs! Get rid of cable, get rid of data plans on your phone (wifi is
everywhere, lets be honest), all subscriptions that are costly and you are
hardly using. These just weigh you down. Find alternatives, like free digital
books from the library, run outside, stream your show, etc.
These days,
I can make a decision to pack up for a few months in the matter of a week or
do, just enough time to find a tenant. In most metropolitan areas, there is a
facebook forum for expats or work-holiday visa holders, etc, who are happy to
find a flexible lease. Airbnb is a lucrative alternative. There are services
online for people to help you manage it at a distance.
Spending
& Earning Money:
-
If
you have Registered Retirement Savings, consider negotiating with yourself to
invest in your life right now, for a better future. You cannot justify going on
if it doesn’t feel right just because “it’s what I’m expected to do”. Your
future self would not agree. You only have one life, don’t waste it doing
something that is not meaningful to you. If you use your time constructively,
checking in with yourself, this is like going back to school (and maybe you
want to do that as well).
-
Find
a way to earn extra money if you can.. but if this is outside your field of
expertise, your hourly rate could fall to a small fraction of what you are use
to. Is this an efficient use of your time? It should be, in one way or another,
such as: if it allows you to live elsewhere for a period of time or if you are
learning something that is of value to you. Then you can justify the salary
difference, as you are (constructively) investing in your life experience as
well.
-
You
might struggle to find a sideline. Before quitting your job, make sure you have
an emergency plan, such as a line of credit or a low-interest credit card. They
are much easier to acquire while you still have a steady income.
Using
your time well: Learning & Living (/Travelling)
-
Now
that you are making Time for yourself, have objectives or paths of exploration.
This time window is a great privilege, don’t waste it. If you want to feel more
creative, then fix goals to make sure you stick to new resolutions, as changing
habits demands commitment. If you need a serious break to get your breath back
first, then take it. But don’t waste it in oblivion with excessive partying and
sleeping. Realise why you needed a break to begin with. Observe your mental
state. Don’t judge it. Look for resources to help you digest it. Talk to
others.
-
If
you have been curious about changing fields but hesitate to jump into a new
field of studies, consider volunteering, weekend workshops, conferences,
seminars, reading textbooks, etc. Attending an expensive conference can be free
and easy when you offer your time as a volunteer. It’s worked for me 80% of the
time. I usually just tell my honest story.
- This
is a great occasion to sample a different culture, climate, new activity, or
simply see the world. Simplify down your life completely by living out of a
backpack for a while. It’s amazing how enlightening and freeing it can be, to
remove yourself completely from daily responsibilities and agendas. See the
tips below on how best to do it. This can (and should be in some way) connected
to Learning.
Tips for
affordable and enriching travels:
- Watch
for deals and sign up for alerts; certain people centralise these around specific location (YULair for example).. these days, Asia is a real
bargain (700-800$ flights from Montreal), and you can live comfortably on 20-30$ a day (all costs included),
which is often less than what we spend in Western countries on food and drinks
alone.
- Fly
on points if it makes sense. A variety of signing bonuses are available from
banks and credit cards. Multiple blog entries have been written (elsewhere)
outlining the best deals. In Canada Europe ,
paying the additional 80$ in taxes + fees (if flying crappy United). Deals are
much more interesting in the US New
Zealand
- When
possible, and if travelling for a while, long enough to stay in one place for
one month and more, look into getting a work-holiday visa. They are available
until age 35 (inclusively) in many countries (at least for Canadians), such as
for New Zealand , Germany , Switzerland
- WWOOFing
is a rather well known travel-learning concept where you work a few hours a day
in exchange for room (and board, most of the time). Look it up. You do not have
to be a registered user or go to a registered place to enjoy the benefits of
this logical and practical energy exchange. In the same way, many hostels will
let you stay for free if you contribute a few hours time of your day. This
makes travelling entirely affordable. I got to stay in a magical sustainable
site in New Zealand where half my days would be spent learning about sustainable
agriculture working with wonderful people and in the other half, I would swim,
mediate (lessons with someone), learn guitar and ukulele, play, cook, discuss,
read, etc. My only costs during those 3 weeks were the chocolate and peanut
butter I shared and needed on top of the beautiful vegan food we were fed.
- Couchsurfing-type
online communities are great for a few days spent in the (more expensive)
bigger cities. For cyclotourists there is also warmshowers.org. You are hosted
for free, and can cook homemade meals (for your host as well), thereby making
the experience very affordable (and enriching).
- Don’t
be afraid to tell people what you are doing and what you need. This is how I
was offered free accommodation in a miniature room on a hotel boat in Amsterdam
*** How to
deal with expenses and financial stress ***
Regardless
of financial fallbacks and cost cutting.. you will still be faced with
opportunities to spend money that force you to reconsider your spending habits.
Your friends are renting a posh cabin for the weekend? Ooops, can you afford to
spend 200$ for three nights not including food? Perhaps you wouldn’t have blinked
before, while working a steady job, but if you don’t know where your next pay check will come from, or
maybe you are now picking up restaurant work for 12$/hour instead of your
professional rate of many-times-more; a few hundred dollars here and there can
be a big hit for your wallet.
On the flip
side, you made this career decision yourself for all the benefits it can bring
and complaining about being broke is just not worth it. When you let financial stress get to you, you can feel worthless, wonder about your purpose, requestion your quest... Leave your friends out
of your dilemmas, but mostly, try not to get caught up in the stress. It leads
nowhere but to negative energy and scrooge behaviour for you and everyone
involved. Instead, take a long term perspective with the situation at hand. The extra spending probably means borrowing
this money from your retirement savings (= future money). Is this worth it? Does your “you” at
retirement agree with this? The fact is, you will either retire with too much
money or too little, as noone knows how much they will need and for how long.
But society incites you to plan for worst case scenario. A 100$ won’t make a
difference here. Not if it means doing something you've always wanted to do, or cherishing quality time with people that matter. But if the “content” of your weekend (ie. the expenditure)
doesn’t associate with any goal you might have with respect to your time off,
than maybe you should skip this one. It’s not part of your bigger plan.
Whatever
you do, don’t waste time regretting expenses or missed opportunities. There
is a reason for everything, just keep moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment