Hi all,
For years I've wanted to live on the road and travel - but never had the funds to do it or really any means to do it such as a proper vehicle, etc.. Things are at a point in my life where the money is no longer an issue, neither is having a vehicle. I have a fully paid off, reliable vehicle capable of traveling everywhere I want it to go - I spent 2 years paying off the 4 year loan early and have been saving up.
I can currently count on about $1500/month net income from my job (after taxes and bills, etc.). Not much but it adds up quickly. I'm also inheriting a small amount from both sets of grandparents who are recently deceased - which I intend to go into an emergency fund. If I were to go on this trip, I would save up for at least 14 months before doing so, giving me $21k to live off of, and $15k in an emergency fund from what I am getting from inheritance.
I would be mainly camping, and sight seeing and just generally doing whatever. That's not really the point - the point are my concerns and what I should be thinking about that I am currently not:
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I don't have much of a marketable skillset. I'm 2/3rds done with an associate's degree that I could, in theory, transfer to an online school to complete while I travel. I have about 3 years of desktop support and 2 years of office assistant under my belt, and that's it. My concern would be coming back from the travels and finding a job. I could leave enough in my savings to give myself time to find a job once I return, but having a year gap worries me.
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I'd be leaving a job with amazing benefits. Profit sharing up to 10% annual salary, a pension plan, retirement health benefits, generous time off (33 paid days off per year + 6 holidays), an easy work environment, and a good career path and decent pay, oh and tuition reimbursement for the degree I am pursuing. I have no idea how I would get a job with these types of benefits again, especially in the US.
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Socially speaking, the few people I'm close to in my life would be missed dearly, even with all the ways to connect to them digitally.
What I am asking r/personalfinance : What should I be considering? What types of things should concern me, or otherwise dissuade me? I know it's easy to fall in love with the idea of travel and get lost thinking about it, so I'm hoping for a reality check and a sanity check.
Thanks!
Submitted September 02, 2019 at 09:05PM by ingo2020 https://ift.tt/2ZGL10U
