It’s been a while since our last journal entry, and it’s about time for an update since I’m sitting on a plane waiting to take off for a work trip. I won’t have many more of these!
Speaking of work… That’s one of the big questions we get asked about the hike… ‘what about your jobs?’ It’s a fair question, most people couldn’t imagine just quitting a good stable job… It’s just a scary prospect for a normal person. And to be honest, there was some degree of thought for both of us regarding if we could really survive for six months without working. Well, let’s put that another way… financially survive for 6 months… I don’t think there was any question if we could just survive the not working part.
We both had slightly different solutions for the ending work problem. I had the option of applying for an unpaid leave of absence, which is a good option. I will use up all of my accrued time off in the first few weeks of the hike (which means i’ll still get a paycheck!) Once the time off is spent, I’ll begin my unpaid leave. The leave of absence will make it easier to return to work for the same company, assuming there’s a suitable position available. So the leave of absence isn’t completely without risk, but it does offer a little bit of a safety net for once the hike is over.
For both of us, the ability to leave our jobs for six months also relied on some good saving habits over the last year. It certainly helped that Casey paid off her last student loans early last year, and I am working towards reducing his monthly financial burden by paying off one student loan and getting my car paid off before the trip begins. In fact, once my car is paid off (this month!), I plan on selling it, which should give us another nice little chunk of change to stash away for the hike.
The other big question we get related to leaving our jobs is about heath insurance. Obviously this is pretty important to maintain, especially with the increased possibility of some kind injury inherent in a long distant hike (most commonly overuse injuries). We’ll both be able to continue our coverage for the duration of our trips under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). Essentially, this act let’s us continue our health insurance coverage under our current policies, albeit at our own expense. This is one of the monthly expenses that we had to plan for. For others out there estimating how much per month insurance coverage will be, let me put it this way… it depends on your current coverage. Based on what Casey and I were quoted, I think people could expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $800 per month… and even more if you have greater coverage levels. For anyone else out there considering a thru hike, this is certainly an expense to consider.
The bottom line on planning around work, insurance, and finances, is that we’ve spent the last year preparing and planning for this. While I’m sure it’s possible to financially prep for a hike with much shorter notice (maybe a nice lottery win?), the fact is that does take some planning to make sure the hike can be completed with the funds put aside. I’ve read that running out of money is one of the top reasons people need to stop a thru hike. By planning out our finances, and leaving enough time, we’re hoping we’ve reduced the possibility of not finishing.
