Has anyone done this?

I am considering quitting my job, take a year off and travel/volunteer somewhere in south america.
Please share your ideas, experiences, thoughts

5/9/2011 12:42:27 PM

this thread is relevant to my interests

5/9/2011 12:44:06 PM

Thought about it.

Problem is, losing a years worth of income in your 20's, even if you're making 30-40K, has a cumulative effect, and will end up costing you several hundred thousand down the road in compound interest.

I'd rather just work and make the most of my limited time off.

5/9/2011 12:49:12 PM

lets say i saved up enough money to last me a year without any pay and i dont care about the compound interest...i am more interested in finding El Dorado.

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 1:02 PM. Reason : lunch time folks....i hope to see some posts when i come back]

5/9/2011 12:59:10 PM

You may not care now, but you'll wish you did when you're 65.

Either way, good luck.

5/9/2011 1:02:24 PM

Please humor us and show us the math the proves losing a year's worth of income, even if you're making $30,000, will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in compound interest. Are you implying that all of that $30,000 would have otherwise been invested? How much can you even save when you earn $30,000?

5/9/2011 1:04:15 PM

Your monthly deposit of $0.00 for 40 years with an interest rate of 8.00% compounded Monthly
with an initial starting balance of $10,000.00

Year Balance
1 $10,862.31
2 $11,798.98
3 $12,816.41
4 $13,921.58
5 $15,122.05
6 $16,426.04
7 $17,842.47
8 $19,381.04
9 $21,052.29
10 $22,867.64
11 $24,839.54
12 $26,981.47
13 $29,308.11
14 $31,835.37
15 $34,580.57
16 $37,562.48
17 $40,801.52
18 $44,319.88
19 $48,141.62
20 $52,292.91
21 $56,802.17
22 $61,700.27
23 $67,020.74
24 $72,800.00
25 $79,077.61
26 $85,896.54
27 $93,303.47
28 $101,349.11
29 $110,088.53
30 $119,581.56
31 $129,893.18
32 $141,093.98
33 $153,260.64
34 $166,476.44
35 $180,831.85
36 $196,425.13
37 $213,363.04
38 $231,761.53
39 $251,746.52
40 $273,454.84
Final Savings Balance: $273,454.84

Read more: Simple savings calculator -- Bankrate.com http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/simple-savings-calculator.aspx#ixzz1LsMhwPHY

5/9/2011 1:06:17 PM

Hyperinflation will eat away all your assets through direct and indirect inflation tax in 30 years.

Live like there is no retirement, because there literally is none for our generation.

5/9/2011 1:06:22 PM

I would love to average 8% a year over 40 years, lol.

5/9/2011 1:09:50 PM

that's honestly no way to live

the mental health/life experience/insight you gain and the lasting effect on your life may be worth more than some extra cash to leave for the kids in your will

5/9/2011 1:10:09 PM

DO IT!!! I would do it if i were in your situation, Tarun.

5/9/2011 1:10:33 PM

Do it, you shouldn't assume that you'll even be around to retire.

5/9/2011 1:14:34 PM

Quote :

"Year Balance 1 $10,862.31 ... 40 $273,454.84 Final Savings Balance: $273,454.84"

Compounded monthly? So you mean an APR of 8.62%. And your number is a result of:

(1.0862)^40 x $10k = $ 273k

Now say inflation is 4%, and you put it in the right investment vehicle to get the capital gains tax of 20% (by then).

273k - 10k = 263k capital gains, x 0.2 => 54.7k taxes

total after taxes:
$220.8 k

Inflation multiplier:
1.04^40 = 4.801

Adjust your total for current real dollars:

$220.8 k (2060 dollars) / 4.801 = $ 46 k (in present dollars)

Total equation is:
(10 + (.8 * ((10 * (1.0862^40)) - 10))) / (1.04^40) = 45.93

Let's say inflation rate was 7.5% instead, and you're making that 8.62%.

(10 + (.8 * ((10 * (1.0862^40)) - 10))) / (1.07500^40) = 12.22

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 1:16 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2011 1:15:39 PM

Let's do something large.

5/9/2011 1:16:09 PM

I was just responding to madman. I'm well aware of the concept of inflation.

Plus I'm putting all 10K in my roth so no worries about taxes.

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 1:19 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2011 1:18:00 PM

since you mentioned volunteering in South American here's a great organization that matches volunteers with projects
http://volunteerworklatinamerica.org/

5/9/2011 1:18:30 PM

two of my college roommates spent several years in Indonesia after graduation as part of a research project on orang pendek, an undocumented bipedal primate supposedly living in the Sumatran forests

http://www.ncsu.edu/park-scholarships/news/article.php?id=61

5/9/2011 1:25:50 PM

I would love to do something like this. I think I only have the balls to do a few months, and I wouldn't intend on doing anything beneficial to others, but I would love to grow personally. Maybe then I'd want to help others more, who knows. Seriously though, now is likely the only time. You'll probably have responsibilities later that prevent this sort of thing, and even if you don't it's better to get some personal growth in early rather than late, in my opinion. I'd trade all my money for a more "productive" 20's. Do it.

5/9/2011 1:31:36 PM

Speaking from experience, you're better off doing it now with full health and no wife/kids than in 20/30/40 years when you'll be too old & tired to do everything you want/too poor from putting your kids through school or paying medical bills/etc.

If you're willing to quit your job and can save up the money to travel I say do it now. After I graduated I worked in Miami for a year, then traveled to Australia and Southeast Asia for two years. Granted, I could have done somewhat similar things with a fam, but if you're looking for personal growth then you're better off doing it before you get "tied down"

5/9/2011 1:43:59 PM

fuzzybunny are you 40/50/60

no

then shut the fuck up

5/9/2011 1:44:28 PM

right, bc it's completely unrealistic to assume i have more strength/energy now than i will in 40 years. and i definitely spent more money on myself when i was 23 and living off of peanut butter sandwiches than i will when i'm 50 and have two kids in college.

heaven forbid i actually put a little thought into something and use common sense to decide how i prioritize my life. i apologize for not being as intelligent as you are and realizing that if i haven't been to the moon i can't know what the moon is like.

5/9/2011 2:21:16 PM

froshkiller with the KO

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

5/9/2011 2:25:05 PM

Quote :

"speaking from what I expect my experience will be"

5/9/2011 2:51:30 PM

First of all, is there anyone on here who doesn't expect to have less energy at age 53 than age 23? If so, what kind of diet/exercise regimen are you on bc I'd love to try it.

Second, I obviously meant "speaking from the experiences I have had and the assumptions most people have for what the future will entail..." I'm sorry I didn't break down my thoughts into the tiniest increments possible to ensure everyone's comprehension. Though this is America/the internet/TWW so I probably should have known the audience a little better.

Also, are you all thinking about going on a sabbatical too? Because I didn't realize I was answering your question. I could have sworn the OP asked for "...ideas, experiences, thoughts" and has yet to come back and say what I replied wasn't good enough info for him.

/feeding the bridge creatures

Lastly, Stein, why you gonna attack a man that you know IRL? That's cold-blooded brotha

5/9/2011 3:17:28 PM

Big ass math problems ITT

5/9/2011 3:18:04 PM

man i had a bet going that you couldn't take the dick out your mouth long enough to vomit a word wall

but i guess you proved me wrong

5/9/2011 3:18:11 PM

Quote :

"the assumptions most people have for what the future will entail..."

You seem like you're smart enough to not say something this dumb.

5/9/2011 3:20:22 PM

My rommate from NCSU is doing just that right now. I applaud him for having the courage to quit his comfortable and well-paying job and fullfill his lifelong dream of travelling around the world. He is documenting his trip on this blog: http://www.walkerswalkabout.com/

Volunteering for a cause is another way to do it. In that case you can get an arrangement where you get a stipend that will make you more or less self-sufficient. And the best par is of course making a difference in somone else's life. Although I know of some other people's experience where their volunteering effort started feeling more like a job, one that doesn't pay a lot at that, and with what they felt was a limited impact on the issue they were trying to help, so they burnt out eventually.

If you really want to be free in choosing any direction you want at a whim, meet the most people, and do a lot of partying, you could go couchsurfing: http://www.couchsurfing.org/ As long as you are a clean and interesting individual, you should be able to find places fairly easily once you build up your reputation on the website.

Or you could also pick a vehicle of your choicee and try to set a world record http://www.facebook.com/#!/itsonthemeter
I have a scooter I will sell ya that is a prime candidate for the first 50cc scooter to travel around the world

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 3:28 PM. Reason : .]

5/9/2011 3:23:28 PM

first world problems

5/9/2011 3:33:21 PM

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/01/11/120-taking-a-year-off/

5/9/2011 3:53:47 PM

i am not white if thats what you are referring to!

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 3:59 PM. Reason : and thanks for the ideas...i will look at those links in the evening ]

5/9/2011 3:58:33 PM

i am white and feel this way

5/9/2011 4:04:29 PM

Quote :

"My rommate from NCSU is doing just that right now. I applaud him for having the courage to quit his comfortable and well-paying job and fullfill his lifelong dream of travelling around the world. He is documenting his trip on this blog: http://www.walkerswalkabout.com/ "

dude that is awesome! i read that last night. thank you

Quote :

"two of my college roommates spent several years in Indonesia after graduation as part of a research project on orang pendek, an undocumented bipedal primate supposedly living in the Sumatran forests http://www.ncsu.edu/park-scholarships/news/article.php?id=61 "

Ken, did they ever find the primate? its pretty sweet if someone would pay me to do research...but i doubt i have it in me

5/10/2011 9:34:32 AM