How long a mini retirement can your money fund?
A mini retirement is retirement spread through your life instead of saved for the end. This calculator tells you how many months your assets buy today, and where in the world they buy the most.
Your numbers
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Your runway appears here
Pick your country, enter monthly expenses and at least one asset. The numbers update as you type.
SabbaticAid uses historic averages, not a crystal ball. Not financial advice. Talk to a real advisor for big decisions.
The mini retirement idea, and the maths behind it
The idea, popularised by Tim Ferriss, is simple: instead of deferring all your free time to your sixties, take several breaks of three to twelve months across your career. The financial question is different from a conventional retirement. You are not trying to make money last forever, only for a defined stretch, and you expect to earn again afterwards. That makes the runway calculation the right tool: total liquid assets, monthly spend, yield along the way, and the number of months that produces.
Passive income is the lever that makes repeated mini retirements sustainable. If your investments throw off 800 a month and you spend 2,400, you only draw down 1,600. The calculator shows both numbers, and the net monthly drain is the one to watch.
Geography is the biggest multiplier
The same portfolio funds five months in Zurich and fourteen in Lisbon. The fiscal relocation explorer recalculates your runway for ten other countries using cost-of-living indices, and lays out the tax and visa reality for each. For a mini retirement the visa question is usually simpler than for a permanent move: most destinations allow 90 days visa-free, and Portugal and Spain offer longer routes for people living off savings or remote income.
Planning the re-entry
The part most mini retirement plans skip is what happens at the end. Budget one to three months of job search, keep your professional network warm during the break, and decide before you leave whether you are returning to the same field. Research on career interruptions consistently finds that shorter breaks, under two years, with some continued professional contact carry the smallest lasting wage penalty. Use the risk score and the re-entry buffer in your plan to size the break accordingly.
Questions people ask
What is a mini retirement?
A planned break from work of a few months to a year, taken during your career rather than at the end of it, funded from savings and investments and followed by a return to work.
How is this different from a sabbatical calculator?
It is the same engine. A sabbatical usually implies an arrangement with an employer; a mini retirement is often self-funded between jobs. The runway maths does not care which one you call it.
Can passive income fund a mini retirement entirely?
If your monthly yield exceeds your monthly spending, the calculator shows an indefinite runway. Most people are not there yet, but seeing how far off you are is useful in itself.