As mentioned in my recent post, I’m trying to take a sabbatical in a few years. I haven’t brought it up with my employer yet, because it’s several years out and also there’s a good chance I will have to quit my job altogether. I’m planning to take off 9-12 months, although this plan could change over time based on any number of factors. Maybe I’ll get a new job! Maybe I’ll buy a house (ha) and need to pay the mortgage! Maybe there will be another recession! Fun things…

However, the current plan is to take some time off and reset, and I want to plan for that in advance so that I have enough money. Really there are two separate, but intertwined goals.

• Save enough money to take a significant period of time off and not feel overly stressed about having enough money.
• Feel like I’m in a good place with my retirement savings knowing I won’t contribute to it for a year.

Maybe there are other finance related goals to consider, but these are the two I’ve come up with for now. I’ve laid out how much money I need to save each month to get these two goals in place.

Spoiler Alert: It’s A LOT.

Some considerations:

• I will have to pay for my own health insurance
• I need to make sure I have money on top of my emergency fund in case anything disastrous happens
• I want to have more money saved than necessary in case it takes me a long time to find a job

Again, I’m sure I’m missing something, but this is my thinking for now. I’ve definitely let lifestyle inflation creep into my life and I’m aware I’m going to have to cut back on a few things to make this happen. More on that in the future!

Do you think there’s anything else I should consider? Let me know!