Pack in the job, rent out the house, get in the camper van, fuck off

Same.

I can’t take you seriously blossom 😂😂

I was right @Wildwalksinjanuary, your glass is half empty.

Sabbaticals cost organisations money.
They need to advertise, interview, go through the whole HR scenario and why should they? It's a favour only.

Op can ask, and they can say no and put her on the redundancy list. I am not sure I would be so quick to advertise I was thinking of leaving to a company laying people off.

It is definitely the case when we have been working somewhere for years that complacency sets in, and we forget how privileged we are to have a good quality of life, to make a difference and have a comfortable future to look forward to with plenty of options. Security and comfort.

Things in this country are just about to take a massive turn (as they are already doing so across Europe) and I wouldn’t be giving up a secure profession right now with the financial view I have of what is to come this year.
The markets are reacting very, very badly to Reeves’ plan, Labour are struggling to contain the unfolding crisis and we are heading into a recession. This is not the moment to fling caution to the wind. Things looks even worse in Europe sadly.

We can’t underestimate the power of financial buffers and choice in today’s world. Keep the jobs - travel this summer and plan some wonderful holidays.

She said there’s no indication on the intranet that she can. She’s going to raise it with HR. She may be sufficiently valuable to her employer that they’ll be prepared to be flexible, she won’t know until she asks.

She's said she can't get a sabbatical.

Do it, do it now. Ask for a sabbatical from work, if they agree great if not don’t worry about it. You don’t know what tomorrow brings and therefore do it while your health is good & no demands on you by elderly parents.

Do it! I'm resigning next week & taking 6 months off to travel, life is short, live that dream, good luck x

I have a rental house and it's horrendously stressful.
Also remember that the mortgage is no longer seen as an expense so if for example your rent was £1000 but your mortgage was £500 you would get taxed as if you were making £1000 profit when you aren't. Unless you are mortgage free then it might end up costing you money rather than making you money.
Strangely I also have a lodger and that's probably better as it's tax free.

Do it!
DONT sell your house! You need somewhere to come back to, if you choose. Give it to an agent to manage meanwhile.
You will kick yourselves if you don't seize this opportunity.

Absolutely do it. With the pension age now increased to 67 (I'm a decade younger and have lost around 6 friends / acquaintances to cancer), I'm not hanging around waiting to see whether I'll have a)some health or b) still here by nearly 70. I have spent the last 5 years having to be a part time carer for my DF (died last year), and now my DM is ailing. I'm stuck again with campervan staring at me through my front window. When; when, I sometimes think, will it be my turn to be free?
Go while you can. My philosophy is to plan and enjoy/risk every minute now, doing what I want to do - hopefully until I'm at least 70. Then after that if I'm stuck having to watch telly (or whatever tech it may be), not doing much, for the rest of my days, I'll be happy.

If neither of them is earning for a year all their tax personal allowance would be unused so it’s perfectly possible that the rent would be tax free. £25k is a lot of rent.

Sounds amazing.

Something I would have love to have done.

Just as long as you've got enough savings behind you. Especially to cover you in the event of something happening with the house that proves expensive.

I've had a few awful tenants over the years in the house I let out. One paid the first month's rent, late, and didn't pay a penny thereafter. It took 6 months to get them out - had to go to court and Bailiffs were involved - and the house needed to be completely re-decorated and re-carpeted.

And remember to budget for the fact that some of the rental income will go on general upkeep of the house and income tax. And if you have a mortgage you'll need to change it to a buy to let, which could be expensive at the moment.

Find yourself a good, reliable landlords' agent. Mine has been invaluable.

Either scenario can be considered a bit of a disaster mid 50s! Op might not love her current job but it sounds like a reasonably well paid profession at least, I wonder how a minimum wage one would measure up post trip. Which might be all that’s on offer, and she may have to do this job for a very very long time.

If op chooses this knowingly that is her choice, and for her it might well be worth it. Life is for living after all and I hope she finds a way to do it comfortably.

YOLO!

You had me on side just from the title!

You can't compare making a choice about leaving work with being made redundant. One is- a choice!- the other is someone else's decision

The result is the same. The difference is you plan and make arrangements for the former, the latter often comes out of the blue.

Respectfully,@Startingagainandagain I don't think the OP has queried with her mortgage provider yet if she can rent out her home. It was at the 'idea' stage. I have friends who rent out homes and can assure you that most letting agents are useless or mediocre at best, and there are often a lot of things that need attention- boilers packing up, showers not working, leaks, washing machines breaking down, all the usual stuff that can happen over a year.

UNPAID RENT that necessitates a court order.
REFUSING TO VACATE THE PROPERTY - can take 2 years with the legal backlogs. Letting agents can't influence this at all.

It's not completely realistic to suggest tutoring. That requires good online access, reliability, (usually the same time , same day every week) and could be a tie on holiday. As a parent I'd not be too happy about a tutor working remotely overseas from a camper van, partly as I'd know their real goal was to have a break from teaching and the may not have much investment in my child.

You have no idea if she could be a remote assistant.

It all sounds so easy but getting the work, not having any IT issues etc is another matter.

You can't compare making a choice about leaving work with being made redundant. One is- a choice!- the other is someone else's decision.

A letting agent can’t prevent a non paying tenant or one that refuses to leave. There are high costs associated with renting in some cases, it’s not effortless.

Op hasn’t said she will do on line tutoring or any other work, she has said she stands to lose her job permanently and won’t get another in her field. Hence her concerns.

Unless op can source something on her return she may well be out of the jobs market indefinitely, which is very early by most people’s standards into a forced retirement, her equity won’t last long, I can tell you that much.

There is still a mortgage on the house and they only have a small savings pot. Given she has to support two people potentially for another 35/40 years plus - it’s worth working out if the year in a caravan is going to cost op her long term security into retirement.

We can agree to differ but a much larger savings pot would be better with a mortgage free home.

@lechatnoir'Unfortunately for those of us on lower incomes, we won't be retiring early and realise we might not have the energy or health to travel in our later 60's so taking a chance and stepping out of the workplace once DC have left home. And you talk about careers, but for many of us we just have a bog standard job of which there is always something - might mean longer hours or more physical but would pay the bills and not be significantly less than my £30k salary pays.
I have less than a month's salary in savings & a pension pot well under £100k - this would bring some people out in hives just thinking about it but honestly, that's the reality of our life so no point in stressing about it. We are very fortunate to have had significant property growth so can downsize & release a sizeable chunk of equity and yes if some of that can pay for an adventure in a few years, I'm damn well going to take do it.'

Agreed.

I have had to deal with many health issues as a result of some long term health conditions and my outlook on life as changed completely. I had a life threatening episode last year and I now see everyday I wake up and I am still on this earth as a blessing to be enjoyed.

I am very careful with money but I also grasp that as someone who can only work part-time I am never going to have a lot of savings or good pension.

I do have a house and I can sell it when I can no longer work at all, but beyond that there is no point of me being a slave to money and instead I focus on bringing some joy to my life while my body and mind are still functioning.,,,

@Wildwalksinjanuary 'Careful financial planning and decision making is not ‘alarmist’ and is what most sensible people do in the later stages of their career.'

You are still missing the point.

Taking a some time to travel does not prevent careful financial planning.

The OP has done her planning: she is going to rent her house (bizarre that people automatically think that being a landlord equals to having 'scum tenants' who will trash the property...) then is planning to sell it.

She can mitigate risks by taking on landlord insurance and going through a reputable letting agency who will manage the property for her. Her partner can continue to earn an income by doing some online tutoring while they travel. She could be a remote assistant and keep herself in the workplace.

There are many ways to make this work.

Suggesting travelling for a year out automatically equals financial disaster is frankly nonsense. Or that anyone who steps out of the 9 to 5 for a while is a fool...

The OP sensibly wants to do this now because she knows it will be much harder as she gets older and if she wants to support her father. Again she is putting some thought and planning into this.

You do realise that you could also be made redundant from any so called 'secure' job tomorrow at the whim of your employer and all your ' careful planning' would not prevent you having to change your routine....

You can do whatever works for you, but losing and not regaining employment at ops age isn’t going to help her at all, she does have a lot to lose potentially so it’s worth considering if the caravan trip is worth it. Everyone’s situation will be different and risk appetite.

I did a lot of travelling as a younger person in my career, I do still now travel but I am really aware of my older age and security in a way I wasn’t before. I imagine op feels the same, hence the post, otherwise she would have already resigned and be half way to Calais by now!

@Wildwalksinjanuary it's great that you have been able to travel extensively but presumably you &/or your DH earn well? You've seen the world and have had these adventures & no doubt still paying into a pension & savings so couldn't imagine being in your 50's without these things. Unfortunately for those of us on lower incomes, we won't be retiring early and realise we might not have the energy or health to travel in our later 60's so taking a chance and stepping out of the workplace once DC have left home. And you talk about careers, but for many of us we just have a bog standard job of which there is always something - might mean longer hours or more physical but would pay the bills and not be significantly less than my £30k salary pays.

I have less than a month's salary in savings & a pension pot well under £100k - this would bring some people out in hives just thinking about it but honestly, that's the reality of our life so no point in stressing about it. We are very fortunate to have had significant property growth so can downsize & release a sizeable chunk of equity and yes if some of that can pay for an adventure in a few years, I'm damn well going to take do it.

I would simply organise the trip as a dummy run this summer - take as much time off as you can, and see what it is like. If it’s heavenly make your plan for the following year. You will learn a lot from the dry run that can be applied the second time around.

In the meantime I would look into reducing your hours/compressing your days/working remotely so you can enjoy long weekends visiting different areas of the U.K. for long weekends during your dh’s school holidays, utilise all bank holidays to facilitate.

Maybe there are ways that you can have it all, and minimise the overall risk to your future. Some creative solutions, and if you decide it’s worth the risk to go for a year, then you have time to get the house into rental property order, and plan for departure properly researching the best letting agents that come highly recommended etc.

You can also request extensive references from previous landlords for new tenants. Lessening the chance of any issues whilst you are away.

Only you can know exactly how this will work and your unique risk and financial health. You could live for another 40 years so there is that to consider too…