{
  "slug": "sabbatical-fund",
  "title": "Sabbatical Fund Calculator",
  "heading": "Career Break / Sabbatical Fund Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sabbatical-fund",
  "summary": "How much to bank before you take time off.",
  "description": "A career break needs living costs, a buffer for the job hunt back in, and health coverage. This sizes the fund and how long it takes to save.",
  "formula": "Fund = (monthly costs × months off) + reentry buffer",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=sabbatical-fund",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "costs",
      "label": "Monthly living costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "months",
      "label": "Months off",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 36
    },
    {
      "id": "health",
      "label": "Monthly health coverage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 450,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "buffer",
      "label": "Re-entry buffer",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "months",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 12
    },
    {
      "id": "save",
      "label": "Monthly savings ability",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1800,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "fund",
      "label": "Fund needed",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "saveMonths",
      "label": "Months of saving required",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "Monthly burn while off",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "livingOnly",
      "label": "Living costs only",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly living costs: 3500 $",
      "Months off: 6",
      "Monthly health coverage: 450 $",
      "Re-entry buffer: 3 months",
      "Monthly savings ability: 1800 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Fund needed: $35,550",
      "Months of saving required: 19.8",
      "Monthly burn while off: $3,950",
      "Living costs only: $21,000"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly living costs ($).",
      "Enter months off.",
      "Enter monthly health coverage ($).",
      "Enter re-entry buffer (months).",
      "Enter monthly savings ability ($).",
      "Read your fund needed on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "costs": 2100,
        "months": 4,
        "health": 250,
        "buffer": 2,
        "save": 1100
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "costs": 3500,
        "months": 6,
        "health": 450,
        "buffer": 3,
        "save": 1800
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "costs": 5600,
        "months": 10,
        "health": 700,
        "buffer": 5,
        "save": 2900
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the career break / sabbatical fund calculator work?",
      "a": "A career break needs living costs, a buffer for the job hunt back in, and health coverage. This sizes the fund and how long it takes to save. The underlying maths is: Fund = (monthly costs × months off) + reentry buffer"
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "5 values: monthly living costs, months off, monthly health coverage, re-entry buffer, and monthly savings ability. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the fund needed result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Sabbatical Fund Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sabbatical-fund)"
}