This Swedish yacht—and countless young corporates—are ready to sail away on Sabbatical. 

Earlier this month, Apple News picked up a story from WSJ about our fave topic. For those (like myself) who have been preaching this gospel for 30 years, the article inspired both validation and woe—since that sort of fame has eluded me, though the sabbaticals themselves were the true motivation and most bounteous reward.

Penned by Cady North—an FA who recently completed her own 1-year hiking hiatus—“The Art of the Sabbatical” covers the usual challenges and costs, but with some freshly updated data, like…

• 80% of college students say that they’re open to time off or a volunteering break after graduation.

• If you make ~$90K/year and take one sabbatical per decade during your career, your IRA will likely be worth ~$650K less at age 65.

• So yes, these breaks may delay retirement!

• 6% of corporations offer paid sabbaticals, while 8% allow unpaid (Society for HRM).

• But people often retire earlier than expected…

Who knows that the future of work looks like? Well, we have one hunch: VERY DIFFERENT THAN TODAY. So while younger workers rather assume they’ll work into their mid-60s or beyond, the truth is that, for some time now, folks are ditching careers much younger than their original life plan had mapped out.

So is the big leap worth the big risks? Well, this Think Tank thinks so. But we scream reminders (also mentioned in the article) to practice disciplined Fiscal Fitness like: Maximize retirement savings (when you can); live simply (when not celebrating); look for ways to stretch bucks when the travel time comes—like going where the dollar is strong, subletting the crib, and keeping an eye on return work options.

This crucial topic never really goes to sleep. Some of us who woulda shoulda coulda (and at times have) been the thought leaders admittedly take naps. But the dream never leaves the frontal lobes. It’s a daily curse…I mean blessing.

I might not be physically able…

Speaking of, while this writer still is mostly mobile, I MUST escape more time during the nasty MN winters. And see more of Portugal, Spain, and secret beaches. And, and, and… When I do, I’ll be sure and tell you all about it.

And maybe finally finish and publish one of MY books. Note to self: Keep the faith!