Posts Tagged ‘saving’

Financial Planning for Your Career Break
Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

It IS possible to save the $’s to take a career break. Where do you start?  We interviewed a few financial experts about how to go about saving for your break.  Sit back and be inspired!

What’s Your Number? featuring Career Break Vets Warren and Betsy Talbot:

 

We know that MOST Financial Advisors would tell you that you are crazy for wanting to take break from work to travel.  After all, it will cut into your retirement savings; however financial expert, Debbie Whitlock, doesn’t think you are crazy.  In fact – she’ll give you advice on how to go about financially planning for such a big trip.  She understands the desire to take a break and won’t talk you out of it!

Sherry Ott talks with Financial Advisor Debbie Whitlock about how to start saving, tracking your spending, and creating a budget for both your career break and re-entry without dipping into your retirement funds. (Runtime – 14:04)

Transcript Part 1
1:10 – How far out do you have to start financial planning for a career break? Depends on:
– Debt carried
– Current cash reserve
– How much stuff you have
– How long is the break
– Must do your research first!
– Overall range is 9 to 24 months to start saving
4:25 – What are the steps to creating a career break financial plan?
– Budget – you have to know inflow and outflow of your money presently
5:55 – Find the missing money, it can become the key to the kingdom!
6:40 – Track every penny for 30 days
7:55 – Start making changes in spending – alternative ways to socialize
9:00 – Look at your current cash position and what it is allocated for
10:15 – Figure out where you are going to travel and create your daily travel budget
10:55 – Don’t over look the cost of re-entry
12:00 – Don’t go backwards! Once you identify where you can cut back – don’t absorb it back into your life – keep it separate!
13:10 – The planner vs. the non-planner
– There are different types of people who go into career break travel; however both types still need to do a little front-end work when it comes to budget.

FINANCIAL PLANNING – PART 2
Sherry & Debbie discuss some financial myths, how to supplement your income on the road, budgets for different circumstances and working with your financial advisor. (Runtime – 13:39)

Transcript Part 2
00:10 – Do you have to sell everything you own or dip into retirement money? It is an extreme to sell everything you own, and not always necessary.
1:15 – Take a balanced approach which may mean a bit of delayed gratification and more thoughtful planning.
2:40 – You can consider working during the career break to support your travel budget
3:50 – What if you have kids or a spouse/partner – do you need to financially plan differently?
5:00 – Need to consider what the potential additional costs with kids
6:45 – How do you engage your current financial advisor in this career break discussion?
8:10 – What do you do if your advisor doesn’t think it’s a good idea?
9:15 – Meet with your advisor regularly and consider how you will communicate when you are on the road.
10:50 – How do you know that you have the right financial advisor to be your partner in this venture?
12:30 – We are a different generation and therefore we look at things differently – including our finances.

Before You Go: Budgeting and Saving for Travel
Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Amrita Evans is an expat and freelance travel blogger writing for HolidayHypermarket.co.uk. She is well acquainted with the ups and downs of moving and living abroad, and wouldn’t give up her nomadic lifestyle for anything.

Money is the most-cited concern of potential career-breakers, and with good reason – leaving your life for the great unknown is not an easy decision, even if you’re seeking a paid career break position, and in this economic climate it is crucial to make sure you’re prepared for a lifestyle change. Regardless of whether you’re walking away from a great job, or unemployed and hoping that a trip might get you back in the game, long-term travel is a huge financial commitment that should not be undertaken lightly.

However, as the saying goes, if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough. As long as you’re prepared, your journey can be one of the biggest, most rewarding adventures of your life.

There is plenty of money advice out there, and it can be overwhelming; Meet, Plan, Go! alone has dozens of articles about saving, planning and making money. Let this starter guide be the beginning of a compendium – if you have a great idea or a tried-and-tested tip, leave it in the comments or tweet to @MeetPlanGo!

 

Planning Before You Go

Budgeting isn’t fun, but absolutely critical. Catch up on some excellent advice from experts before planning and creating a cost-per-day. These two fantastic spreadsheets from David Lee have been a lifesaving resource for many. Research may take time, and this may be the most daunting act of preparation you’ll have to undertake, but it will pay off on the road.

? Make sure to include preparation costs in your budget. Travel visas can be expensive, and include unexpected costs like extra birth certificates and documentation, possible notary fees, and travel to and from a consulate. The cost of travel insurance, immunization and storing your things while you’re away should be factored in as well.

? Open a savings account just for your career break, so you don’t fritter it away on other things in the meantime.

? Make sure you have enough money budgeted for a few months after your return, as it may take some time to find a job on your return.

Saving Before You Go

There are plenty of money-saving tips floating around the internet, but it’s worth noting that saving for a career break is a little bit different – rather than cutting corners for the long term, you may need to make large savings by taking a hatchet to your lifestyle. These compromises are usually temporary, which makes them easier to bear.

? Start tracking your expenses, so you can see where to make savings – Mint.com is a great resource for this. Take stock of your assets as well, including frequent flier miles.

? Go on a money diet – put a mental price tag on everything, as you might think about calories. A night out with friends, or two nights in a hostel? A new pair of shoes, or a week’s kayak rental in Sweden? Just like a diet, you will slip sometimes, but making this a habit is a great way to get excited about saving.

? Moving in with a friend or family member for the short term is the fastest way to save thousands of dollars. This is especially true if you live somewhere with high rent, like New York or California. If you’re about to travel around the world, sleeping in hostels and tents and campervans and under the stars, what’s a few months on a sofa bed?

? Take a long, hard look at your “essentials.” Do you really need a smartphone? Could you cut the cable and watch TV online, or read?

? Switch insurance providers or gas and electricity providers. Just a few hours’ research can save you hundreds of dollars – to make sure you take advantage of the savings, set up a monthly direct debit to your savings account for the difference.

? eBay and Gumtree are a great resource – sell anything that’s not nailed down, starting with that old rice cooker you got from Aunt Barbara and have never used. Then move on to clothes: beautiful dress that’s two sizes too small, or a week of meals?

? Flights are usually the biggest cost – see if you can get some money back to fly as a courier – you can be paid to escort someone else’s belongings.

? Consider slowing down: would you rather rather see more things shallowly, or less things more deeply? Sticking to a single landmass (North and South America, Australia, Africa, Eurasia) and buying a campervan can completely eliminate your flight and accommodation costs, and there is much to be said for a life on the road.

The thought of saving enough money to take a career break or sabbatical to travel may seem daunting, but following the tips above can get you on the right track in no time!

Images: mynameisharsha, quinn.anya, KSDigital

Round the World Expenses
Monday, April 2nd, 2012

We know that career breakers are concerned about finances – whether it is being able to save enough for your break or blowing your budget while on it.

So we are excited to announce that starting this month, we will be joining together with RTW Expenses to deliver more robust articles, guidance, and information to help you plan your career break and long-term travel.

RTW Expenses started as a project of Warren & Betsy Talbot of Married with Luggage, who left in October 2010 to travel the world. Since leaving, they have been documenting all of their expenses on the road from the beer in England to the doctor’s visit in Ecuador to everything in between. (They also documented how they managed to save enough money in their e-book “Dream Save Do”.)

Betsy & Warren Talbot

In addition to their monthly expense report, we will also be working together to provide you in-depth articles and advice to help you plan your own adventure. We will be publishing more financial-based articles on RTW Expenses with deeper insights into how you can save on flights, visas, insurance, gear, travel, and much more.

We are thrilled with this new partnership as are the Talbots. “Betsy and I have been tremendous fans of the idea of helping others to plan their own around the world adventures, and this joint venture is a perfect synergy with our message.”

We will also be focusing on financial and budgeting concerns at our local meet-ups in April and May. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to see what meet-ups may be coming to your city.

What financial issues would you like us to address?

Career Break Guide Table of Contents

Meet Plan Go