How much does it cost to take a year off?
August 5th, 2008I have friends who have taken the following long trips:
- Three years in Thailand
- One year traveling in South America
- One year surfing in Costa Rica
- Seven months in Africa
People have very vague memories of what their trips cost, even though that’s the subject that other people planning such a trip are most keenly interested in. When I move to a new country, I try to write down every expense for the first six months I am there to teach my subconscious how to estimate cash flow in the new location. I’ve decided to do the same thing for this trip, and my spreadsheet tells me that I’ve managed to break the minimum budget before even leaving my apartment, as follows:
- One around-the-world ticket with nine stops: $4,065 (a good deal, I thought).
- Relocation expenses to ship my stuff to the US: $3,370 (estimated — might be more or less, but I won’t know until Monday).
- Passport renewal fee, postage, etc.: $152
- New camera: $560 (ridiculously overpriced because I bought it (a) in the UK, and (b) on the high street)
- Health insurance (one year in advance): $3,675 (not too high, but not a fun thing to have to pay for)
- Private Chinese lessons at SOAS: $1,155
In the interest of science, I’ve also netted my assets and liabilities to arrive at a net worth figure, x. At the end of the year, I’ll recalculate it, and be able to give an exact accounting (in the literal sense) of my time off.