Sabbatical: $$money$$ talk
I spent all my money in France…
A whole year of squirreling away cash, taking on additional jobs, working weekends, and saying no to things I normally wouldn’t have thought twice about just so I could blow it all in 3 months abroad.
And, it was freaking amazing!
Finance peeps, I can feel your nervous energy - It’s ok. I am of the mind that money comes and goes. I considered it an investment in myself. (Let it be loud and clear that I know it is a privilege to be able to adopt this mindset.)
Extended getaways are expensive, and might not be your #1 financial priority when you’re worried about the rising cost of food, saving for retirement, rent/mortgage, the fact that a single mocktail can set you back $20 (?!), etc. We might be able to make it work for you though… read on for some key financial questions worth exploring & how I snuck in a lesson on systems thinking.
Budget-wise, planning a sabbatical is not too different from planning a vacation. We go where we can afford. Or, we save up to go somewhere super special.
Dust off the old calculator and ask yourself:
How much money do I currently have? How much of that can I spend on this getaway?
What is the average cost of living in the location I intend to go?
How much more money do I need to save before I go?
Do I need to generate income while I am away?
How might I save/earn more money between now and then?
And this is where the systems thinking part kicks in.
Systems thinking is the ability to see the world as a complex system of connections. As a designer, systems thinking helps me see more holistically; from parts to the whole, and from stand-alone objects to relationships and influences between objects.
Back to you: we can agree that everything is connected, right? The financial step of sabbatical planning acts as a prompt to reflect back on your purpose & chosen location.
Ask yourself:
Based on what you can afford, does the location still make sense?
OK that should keep you busy for a while!
Don’t let the emotional and analytical complexity of finances scare you out of investing in yourself.
Happy to answer any specific financial questions :)
A bientot!
Milena
