Sam and I continue to plan the ultimate mid life gap year riding through Europe and the UK on our Ural sidecar motorcycle affectionately known as Sassy. As we race ever closer to departure, I would like to share how we made this happen.
Budgeting the trip of a lifetime
Since we have been together, Sam and I (mostly Sam) have tracked all of our monthly expenses. She has also prepared pre-trip budgets and post trip reports. In essence we have developed a very solid daily expenditure calculation from all the data. Tracking from our trips to Italy, Scotland, Portugal, Bali, Cuba, Belize, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, across Canada, our place in Montana and so on. These excursions have been experienced in many forms: all inclusive, bed and breakfast with flights and tours, motorcycle travel with/without camping, hotels, RCI membership, places with and without kitchens. Based on all of this we are able to put together a solid budget for our mid life gap year breaking it down to a daily expense which is honest and fair. For this adventure we hope to house sit half the time to reduce accommodation costs, live locally as well as to meet wonderful people and their pets. So far we have almost 2.5 months booked! We also plan to see family on our travels and anticipate some reduced expenses there. Luckily I was also able to bank some overtime, save some holidays and will be receiving a steady paycheque for the first two months of our year off.
The numbers
Our daily rate for this expedition includes costs for restaurants, groceries, accommodation, fuel, insurance (medical and MC), flights, MC transport, repairs and maintenance, ferry’s, Chunnel passage, personal care, clothing, admissions and excursions. We will still have a few things at home to look after as well such as fire and theft insurance for our car and stored personal items. Some work expenses for the leave of absence including pre-paid benefits, union dues and a pension buy back for the year. With all of the above considerations included we have a total budget of around $93K or about $130/day per person. This is a bit higher than our usual but we will likely come in below those numbers as we are almost always under budget. Depending on the trip we have historically been between $55 – $130 per day per person.
Invest your nest egg
As of today we are fully mortgage and debt free! If you do what we did and sell all your major assets don’t just throw it in the bank and whittle it down on your trip, let your money work while you take a break. We have found a safe and easy way to invest our house money while keeping it liquid. All of this with a surprising rate of return. Talk to your local investment specialist to get some ideas. We are expecting a few thousand per month in income from our investment. This will be our only income for the year so taxes should not really be an issue but it will sure help reduce how much we spend from our savings! Selling it all and investing the money may not be the way you want to do it but there are other options. Maybe you could rent out your home long term like others we know have done. Or perhaps have it managed locally as an AirB&B or VRBO accommodation. There are many ways to do this the key is making it happen.
Here we go, 10 days till lift off!
There is light at the end of the tunnel! We hope this all helps you realize anyone can take a mid life gap year! Follow along with our Ural motorcycle sidecar journey for inspiration, share our website with your friends and family and subscribe to get regular updates.
Take care and keep on travelling,
Dan & Sam
**A special shout out to our real estate agent with Remax Real Estate Central Alberta, Dustin Henfrey. He did a fantastic job looking after the sale of our rental property. He was responsive, organized and took very good care of my long term tenants finding a buyer looking for a revenue property. I can not say enough good things about his highly professional level of service and care. If you have any real estate needs in the Red Deer, Alberta area I would highly recommend Dustin to take care of your purchase and or sale.**
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