Few people asked me, how I can afford the 3-month vacation, money-wise and (especially) time-wise.
Money-wise, I didn't really save specially for this trip. I usually save about half of my salary every month (now you see the huge advantage of eating instant noodles for almost everyday), although sometimes less due to heavy purchases. So, roughly, and I have mentioned it before, the funding for this trip comes from 10 months of savings. Although, after recalculating the budget again, now I might have to increase the budget a bit, about 1 more month of savings.
Time-wise, as I am working full-time, normally I won't be able to do this long trip. I consider my long period of leave as a sabbatical, which is a period where a person takes an extended absence from a career. God knows I need it. What I did was I applied for unpaid leaves. I checked with my HR department about both Singapore law and company policy regarding unpaid leaves: how long I am allowed to take unpaid leaves.
From Singapore legal perspective, it looks like there is no specific rule about this. But as I am working under an Employment Pass, there is a minimum of yearly salary that has to be satisfied. Taking unpaid leaves means I don't get paid, so I have to make sure that my yearly salary is still above the minimum requirement or I won't be able to renew the pass. One thing to note is that, luckily, the public holidays are counted as paid holidays!
From my company policy perspective, the HR manager said that it should be okay as long as it is not more than 3 months (still subject to approvals). But I will have to take all my annual leaves first and then use the unpaid leaves for the rest. I have been saving up my annual leaves, so the 3-month trip consists of the annual leaves for roughly 1 month and the unpaid leaves for 2 months. Sadly, my bonus will definitely be affected, as it is calculated based on the working days too.
I'm very lucky that my company has been very understanding and helpful. Getting the approvals were easy, and I can still have my job back when returning. Probably, as my boss is an American who was also a backpacker, he knows that this kind of trip is good for both the person and company too. It's getting more and more common for the westerners to take sabbatical or gap year. You can read here and here for more info about sabbatical.
For all of you reading this blog, you must have a dream to travel to some places you are interested in and have longed to go to. My two cents, don't wait too long. Do it while you're still able to, as no one knows what the future will bring. As someone said to me, you can always make money, but you can't make more time. Another really good info about this which I really recommend can be read here. So, start saving and taking risks, now!
This is not the end yet of the series. More are coming.
UPDATE: read the fourth part here.
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