Mighty Bargain Hunter

Take this job and pause it

March 9th, 2006 | by mbhunter |

I sent an e-mail to a friend from the Lions Club to update my mailing list information. He saw the e-mail address and asked if it was my site, I said yes, and he asked me:

“So when are you going to quit that job and live off your internet riches?”

To which I responded: “Heck, I quit last week!”

Hehe … I wish!  I’m not quitting my job anytime soon or taking time off.  Nonetheless, there are a few important things to consider before taking time off, let alone quitting, as outlined in this Ginger Applegarth article on MoneyCentral:

Quit work for a year: 7 steps to do it right

The steps outlined in the article:

1. A leave of absence is (usually) better than quitting outright. You may be able to keep group health insurance, which is a big help.
2. Accept that it’s going to cost you. Employers usually won’t pay you while you find yourself.
3. Figure out how much it’s going to cost you. This includes group health care, which can be a substantial
4. Set goals for your sabbatical. This is pretty important, since moving to an environment that is much less structured is difficult. Setting goals gives the 10,000-foot view of the sabbatical, and gives a starting point to fill in the details.
5. Figure out how much time is enough to meet those goals. Time is money, and time is also of interest to your employer if your job is being held.
6. Find the money. Lots of good suggestions in the article as to how to do this.
7. Make exit and entrance plans. So that your employer isn’t caught by surprise, and your replacement can be trained.

This is my additional recommendation:

Try doing it part time for a while, either in your time at home after putting in a full day, or by taking a partial sabbatical (and a partial pay cut). A friend of mine did this before she moved to Alabama with her video production business. She took off 7 hours a week so that she could dedicate more time to the business. This is a less drastic way to try something substantial and new, but it also has the drawback that you’re still working at the other job.

Have you taken a sabbatical from your regular day-to-day? How did it go?

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