The Sabbatical...the one year "trial" retirement

[Frugalityisthenewblack]

So, the megacorp where I work offers a 80% pay for four years/ fifth year sabbatical (at 80% salary).
I've opted for this self-funded year break so I can see how much I really need to live on and be able to plan accordingly. I will move to a small, energy efficient low tax urban condo and spend a year doing as i wish. Once I tally how much I spend over the year, it will be easier to calculate how much of a nest egg I will need and when my earliest retirement date will be. Anyone in the forum done a sabbatical?

[Bimmerbill]

That sounds pretty cool. I took 1.5 years off after being laid off in 2001/2, but mostly goofed off and didn't do anything productive. Got some job bennies (extended unemployment, retraining) and didn't do much else.

How popular is the sabbatical at your work? Will you hurt your chances for promotion/retention?

[Frugalityisthenewblack]

I know two people who've done it , one guy went sailing the caribbean for a year, the other remodeled his house. They returned to the same jobs/same pay. Promotion and employment security remained the same.