Samantha S, Author at Women’s Money

02Jan 2022 by Samantha S No Comments

9 Lessons Learned: Preparing to Quit my Job to Take a Sabbatical

This is my last “regular” column for Women’s Money. Over the last year, I’ve written a regular series about planning to take a sabbatical – you can find all of my posts here. To sum up the past year, I’ve put together a list of the six primary accomplishments and nine things I’ve learned as I’ve prepared to quit my job and take a sabbatical. What I’ve Accomplished Here are my primary accomplishments on my path towards a sabbatical: I’ve created a sabbatical plan that involves taking a sabbatical abroad. I’ve considered why I want to take a sabbatical, including 8 signs of burnout. I’ve done some serious reflecting on my hopes and fears - including talking about my first sabbatical, fearing quitting during a recession, questioning whether I should take a…

19Dec 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

Find Those Who Support Your Sabbatical

Sabbatical Sundays

I told one of my oldest friends (we go back to middle school) that I was planning to quit my job and take a sabbatical. “You’re such a millennial,” was her reply. (Technically, I’m an “elder millennial” - I barely make the cutoff.) Rather than be happy for me, she thinks my plan is flaky. She asked if I was going to become a scuba instructor in Bali. As much as that would be awesome, I’m not Elizabeth Gilbert of “Eat, Pray, Love.” Also, just the thought of scuba diving makes me feel claustrophobic. So, I won’t be transforming into a Bali scuba instructor anytime soon. Instead, I plan to take my kids and spouse with me as I travel around the world. But hearing the skepticism from my friend…

06Dec 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

Don’t Ask: What Should I Do With My Life? Ask This Instead

Sabbatical Sundays

If you’ve been reading my Sabbatical Sundays series long enough, you know that I’ve been struggling to find my purpose. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do with my life. Additionally, I’ve been reading books, watching TED talks, listening to podcasts, talking to people, thinking, and journaling. I’m a few months away from quitting my job, without much of a plan. Some days, I feel truly spectacular about that. I mean, who doesn’t want to just have a bunch of free time to read, exercise, clean out closets, cook, and travel? But other days, I don’t feel so spectacular about my plan. I worry about money, and I start browsing LinkedIn, looking at job opportunities. I begin to question if maybe it’s just another…

07Nov 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

The Best Question to Help You to Find Your Purpose

Sabbatical Sundays

“You cannot be anything you want to be -- but you can be a lot more of who you already are."- Strengthsfinder 2.0, Tom Rath As part of my work to figure out what’s next after my sabbatical, I’ve been doing a lot of reading in order to try to find my purpose. I’ll share a list of recommended books at a later point in time. One of my recent purchases was StrengthsFinder 2.0. For those who aren’t familiar with it, StrengthsFinder is part of Gallup. It leverages enormous amounts of data to help people uncover their strengths. I highly recommend it. In the intro to the book, Tom Rath challenges the conventional wisdom about trying to improve your weaknesses and, notably, that you can be anything you want to…

31Oct 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

The Great Resignation – Why We All Want to Take a Sabbatical

Sabbatical Sundays

In case you’ve missed the news lately, one of the biggest talking points is “The Great Resignation.” It seems everyone is quitting their jobs these days and effectively leaving the labor force with undefined plans about what to do next. The Great Resignation As an “elder millennial,” here are my thoughts on The Great Resignation, why I plan to take a sabbatical, and why I think so many are in the same boat. 1. We Have Already Lived Through Several Recessions and Know Our Country’s Reslilancy One of the primary reasons to work is to make money. But, having lived through several recessions, I know that what goes down must come up and vice versa. What does this mean? We will experience another market crash. But it isn’t going to…

24Oct 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

Quitting Your Job Without a Plan

Sabbatical Sundays

James Clear posted some timely questions in his weekly habits email recently. One of his questions was: “If you want to find a better path, you have to be willing to explore a different path. Sounds simple, but how often do you try something different?” I’m now just a few months away from quitting my current role. While I have some specific plans, I’m not entirely sure what’s next. That’s right, I’m going to quit my job and take a sabbatical, but I don’t have an exact plan. This has led to sleepless nights lately. I’ve Googled “what’s my purpose in life” (I’ll save you the time, Google can’t answer this one for you…), watched numerous Ted Talks, listened to podcasts, and have been reading books trying to figure out…

26Sep 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

Best Unique Travel Resources for Planning a Trip

Sabbatical Sundays, Travel

I remember a trip to Ireland about 15 years ago. We drove across the entire country. How did we know where to go? We purchased an Irish road atlas from a travel store. I also used Mapquest (yes, remember Mapquest?!) to pull up the step-by-step directions on my home computer, then I printed them out and brought the printed directions on our trip. Now, I often travel to cities and don’t even do restaurant research ahead of time. I just use my Google Map to find-top rated restaurants “near me.” As we plan our extended trip for my sabbatical, here are the top unique travel resources I’m relying on to plan our search. Top Travel Resources for Planning a Trip We have become so incredibly dependent on the internet, but…

19Sep 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

How to Set Up Price Alerts to Find Cheap Plane Tickets: 7 Tips and Tricks

Travel

Given that my passions include travel and personal finance, it should be no surprise that I love searching for cheap plane tickets. A key to finding cheaper plane tickets for an international trip is to start your search early and set up a price alert. This gives you a baseline price and then allows you to strike and make a purchase when you see a good deal. Setting Up Price Alerts for Plane Tickets Here are my seven best tips for setting up a price alert and finding cheap plane tickets. 1. Get a Baseline Price Today The first step to finding a cheap plane ticket and setting up a price alert is to know the baseline price for the itinerary you are traveling. What tool you use doesn’t matter, but…

12Sep 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

Where Should I Travel Next Internationally? 9 Unconventional Ways to Figure It Out

Sabbatical Sundays

When you have an extended period of time to travel, like I will with my sabbatical, or even when you are just planning your next week-long vacation, you have to figure out where you should travel next. Have you been considering traveling abroad and found yourself asking, “Where should I travel internationally?” If so, these tips can help you figure it out. Ways to Figure Out Where to Travel Internationally Figuring out where to travel abroad doesn’t need to come down to spinning a globe and going wherever your finger lands. There are some unconventional ways to find an international travel destination that you’ll enjoy visiting. Here are some out-of-the-box ways to answer the question, “Where should I travel next internationally?” 1. Consider Your Personal Bucket List Do you have…

05Sep 2021 by Samantha S No Comments

How to Plan a Sabbatical Abroad

Sabbatical Sundays

Now that I have a plan for what I’m going to do during my sabbatical, I’ve really started getting into the weeds with more planning. Of course, taking at least part of my sabbatical abroad means a very different set-up than if I was taking it at home. But that’s part of the fun of it all. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to take you down my rabbit hole of planning a sabbatical abroad. How to Plan a Sabbatical Abroad Here are the four main steps to planning an international sabbatical and what you have to look forward to over the next few weeks. 1. Decide Where to Go As I previously announced, we are going to take our sabbatical in Europe. But, we have to…

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