Starting off
About five and a half years ago, we made the decision to take an adventure of a lifetime with our kids. They were still so young at the time (aged 5 and 2) and imagining them as older kids was next to impossible. But we knew that by 2025, they'd have grown up and they'd be at a great age to take on a trip of this magnitude. So in January 2020, we started saving. I was able to do it through a deferred salary program that my employer offers. It means that every paycheque a portion of my salary is put away so that over the six months of my leave, I'll still be getting paid. Jon had to save on his own. As a self-employed medical professional, he also had to get permission from the hospital he works at to take a leave. Lucky for him, his boss had done something similar just a few years before — in fact, she was part of our inspiration for this crazy trip — and she agreed. I'll be taking six months off, starting July 1. Jon is taking five months, starting the day we leave. Ou...