Gap years are for college students. Sabbaticals are for college professors. Retirement is for those in their 50s and 60s. A Year Off is for young professionals.
Your Year Off Age is the age you put your working life and career on temporary hold to hit the road and pursue whatever dreams you may have. It is the age when you are financially sound, you have no debt obligations, you have a good start on your retirement savings, and you have enough money to pay for your whole Year Off.
The goal is to reach that age as soon as possible, preferably in your 20s or early 30s. You want to be young when you take your Year Off because you’re more likely to be in good health and have the ability to do all the physically demanding things that long-term and adventure travel entail.
That’s not to say someone in their 40s, 50s, or 60s can’t take a Year Off. You most certainly can and you most certainly should if capable! But the goal is to take your Year Off while still young and fully healthy.
A Year Off is for young professionals skilled at the art of delayed gratification.
A Year Off is for any young professional willing to put in the hard work of delayed gratification, which is the ability to put off something mildly fun or pleasurable now to gain something that is more fun, pleasurable, or rewarding later.
You need to say NO to many of the fun and pleasurable things you could be spending money on. You should delay the big purchases of a house and expensive car. The monthly expenses that drain your bank account and keep you from saving need to be avoided. You should use the word NO as often as possible.
A Year Off is for young professionals with a high income-to-expense ratio.
Saving the amount of money you need for a Year Off is not easy. You need to bring far more money INTO your bank account than what is going OUT. If you’re willing to keep your spending in check for an extended period and you have a good income, then you will have that large gap in income versus expenses. You’ll be able to save large chunks of money every month.
For many young professionals, it’s not a matter of whether you can take a Year Off or not, it’s a matter of WHEN. The greater the difference between your income and expenses, the sooner you’ll be able to take your Year Off. For those with little debt and high incomes, that might be in a couple of years. For others with high debt, high expenses, and lower incomes, it might be 10 years in the future.
A Year Off is for young professionals who want to live life a bit differently.
Many young professionals are drawn to what’s considered the normal progression of life: graduate from college, get a job, find someone to marry, buy a house, start a family, then work until retirement. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, and it’s a path that can lead to a lot of happiness in life.
A Year Off is just a different path you can take. It is a year long break in that progression, most likely between getting a job and getting married. If you’re already married, your spouse would have to be OK with you taking a Year Off. Or even better, use your combined earning power to save up and take a Year Off together.
A Year Off is for those willing to delay the purchase of a house.
It’s possible to buy a house or condo then rent it out while you’re gone traveling. But think about the money you need to save for a down payment. It would take quite a bit of time to save $30-40k, so that will delay your Year Off.
By waiting to purchase a house later in life, you are freeing up all that extra down payment money to pay off your debt and save in your retirement account. Remember delayed gratification! You can purchase a house later in life.
If you already own a house or condo, don’t despair. You could make it work by selling the house or by renting it out.
A Year Off is for those willing to delay having children.
If you already have children, a Year Off is still possible for you. You don’t have to travel and leave your family; you can do whatever you want with your free time. It is a great way to step away from work to spend more time with your children and to pursue personal dreams of yours.
But it is best to hold off on starting a family until after your Year Off. You will have more financial obligations with children and more financial risk so delayed gratification is best. You can have children after your Year Off.
A Year Off is not for everybody.
It is certainly true that a lot of young professionals cannot take a Year Off. Some don’t make enough money and have too much student loan debt to pull it off while still young. Others may have a physical condition or a health condition that prevents them from going.
I wish I could say that a Year Off is for everybody, but that simply isn’t true. It would be irresponsible and quite risky for some people to do it.
But there are plenty of young professionals out there who could make it happen.
I encourage you to start thinking about it and planning for it. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to accomplish it, but there’s no reason you can’t try. A Year Off is an incredible experience, so do every thing you can to make it happen.