Picture this. It’s a summer day, you’re waking up without an alarm in Portugal and your big plan is spending the day drinking espressos and hanging by the beach.

Or maybe you’re waking up in NYC, soaking in the bustling noises and chaos of Manhattan.

Sounds tempting right? This is what a career break could mean.

No more having to wake up early, no more meetings with no outcomes and no more waiting for the weekend to come around.

You might be looking for a career change or looking to hop into a caravan and live the van life.

Either way, this should be a time to enjoy… but to enjoy without the stress, you definitely want to make sure your finances don’t get in your way.

We’ve got you!

Here are the 3 main budgeting tips you need to know if you’re considering a career break.

1. Learn to live on a little less

Without a consistent income, you’ll need to make each dollar stretch a little further. We’re talking Mrs Incredible level of stretch.

It may take some compromise, but learning to live on less can help you extend your career break for longer.. So you can actually learn to surf like a pro (yep.. It takes time).

This starts by setting yourself a budget… and depending on how long you want this break to last.. It may need to be pretty strict. 

We don’t often encourage strict budgets, but if you’re trying to squeeze every little penny.. You may need to go just a little bit further.

Step 1: Look through your bank statements to see what you’re spending on regularly, and how much.

Step 2: Once you’ve got an idea of your spendings, it’s time to make some cuts. Chop chop. You want to be strict with yourself but realistic too, so that your budget is sustainable.

This budget is what’s going to help you make the most out of your career break, so don’t rush it. Spend as much time as you need.

Step 3: If you want more tips on how to actually budget, we’ve got you covered with an entire Academy breaking it down. Check it out.

2. Have a runway

Unlike a suspenseful thriller, you want to know the end before you start the journey when it comes to career breaks. 

In this case, you should have a clear idea of how long you can sustain your career break before your budget turns into a full blown horror story.

That means knowing how much you’re roughly planning to spend on a day to day basis while you’re on your career break and how long you can sustain that break before you’re in the danger zone.

Make sure to keep this runway separate from your emergency fund - you don’t want to be touching that cash unless you’re actually in an emergency.

3. Have a buffer

You’ve geared yourself up to live on less and built a top notch budget. 

But you might find yourself signing up for goat yoga classes on your break, or knocking off a bucket list item, like skydiving.

And then there’s always birthdays, weddings, out-of-the-norm shopping too - you don’t want to be blind-sided by these expenses.

So you want to have a splurge buffer for any unexpected costs that are outside what you’ve budgeted for your day to day.

If you’ve been itching to take the leap of a career break, this is your sign to put it into real, and financially healthy action.