At 26, I was getting ready to re-enlist for my third time. Man, times have changed.
Thank you.Originally Posted by capehiker
If you have the money to pay for your hike and cover any student loan payments while you're gone, I would go for it. If you don't have the resources to cover everything, plus enough to support yourself for a few months after you finish your hike, you might want to wait a year or two. I understand wanting to go while you are young and not tied down by home, job, relationship. If you explain this to your folks, they may be more supportive. Many people have dreams that they never even try to achieve.
Reminds me of my kids' friends talking about taking a "gap year." My kids were never dumb enough to ask us if they could take one. That'd be about the same as asking if they could hike for six months.
At twenty two my old man gave me a hundred dollar bill, patted me on the back and said "good luck".
Want to go hike, grow up.
Understanding that you are 26, can I ask how you are getting insurance now?
While the ACA makes sure that young adults can be covered under their parent’s policy up until their 26th birthday, some carriers will continue coverage until they turn 30, and others will allow them to stay on their parents’ policy through the end of the calander year in which they turn 26, and still others until their 27th birthday.
Putting aside all other considerations, that could make financial sense for some or all of your hike.
If that is not an option (probably isn’t).you might wish get your own policy under the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
If you are on your employer’s plan now, extending coverage thru COBRA for up to 1 year after you leave is another option — but likely expensive since you would need to pay the full cost (no employer contribution).
Given the context of this discussion, I would just keep in mind that good insurance can not only protect you against relatively small medical bills and help you get the best medical attention—. but it also makes sure your parents could never be left holding the bag— assuming they are of the sort that would sell their house and drain their 401Ks should you ever find yourself in a really bad place.
The insurance angle is one aspect which I would share with your parents no matter what — no reason for them to worry about that,
Political sentiments aside, the ACA might as well have been tailor made for thru hikers. With only half a year of income, most younger people will make so little that the main concern would be not falling below the level where ACA subsidies are provided and you get pushed into Medicaid. I've had more than one discussion with hikers who knew exactly how much to earn in the "off season" to get above the Medicaid threshold and get an almost free ride with ACA.
So do I understand that you are encouraging him to stay on mom and dad's insurance if he is already on it? How in the world would that make them feel better? Ever hear of deductibles, copays, and lifetime maximum benefits? If he gets hurt on a hike, they would be on the hook with their insurance. I would tell my kid to get their own insurance. Sorry, time to grow up and take care of yourself. Guess I now see why this country is in the shape it is in.
Simple answer is if you are financially dependent on your parents then they get a vote on you quitting your job to go hike.
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
I say do it now before you are saddled down with kids, career, mortgage. I wish I had done it when I was in my 20s.
I thought some of the other people were a little harsh in their criticism of you still living at home.
If my 26 year old was still at home, I'd be happier with him accomplishing a goal - such as a thru hike - than sitting around playing video games and raiding the fridge.
Health insurance? Most 26 year olds are pretty healthy. I would recommend getting some kind of insurance for catastrophic injury.
I pay rent at my house, my phone bill, my car insurance, I buy all my own groceries i planned on moving out this coming new year but this being a possibility for me is making me want to wait to do so after a thru attempt. I have money saved and plan on paying off my little credit card debt and have about $5,000 for a thru hike and whatever comes my way after. Finding work afterwards is my biggest concern as I cant just come back to my job.
It’s not enough money. You need enough for First, last, security deposit and a few months living expenses. It would be understandable if you returned and your parents said no to you moving back in. Go hike for a month. Then return with enough money to get out on your own.
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My plan for while i was hiking was getting travelers insurance for emergencies. I've aged out of my parents insurance but my job currently has good insurance but obviously won't be keeping it once i would leave. I should look into ACA but not sure if I will be able to get it.
Please don’t infer encouragement — I do not know the OP, his background or his family situation. Just tossing out some possibilities.
Trying to be more clinical than judgemental for a change.
My main point was that at age 26, he and his family may already be about to see some changes forced upon them — if he is already not off of his parents’ policy.
My secondary point is that an uninsured adult child exposes his parents financial security to some level of exposure.
A healthy 26-year old might well conclude the the benefits insurance does not justify cost. Worse case scenario you go bankrupt at an age where you can still recover, and you would not have lost all that much anyway, right?
The thing is, a loving (even if misguided) parent might feel compelled to help out financially if their kid was in a really bad spot with a medical catastrophe — even if they were not obligated by law.
In otherwords, I can understand a parent wanting the emancipated child to carry insurance for their own peace of mind, as well as the kid’s own good.
Coffee made some good points about the ACA.
If you have the money saved up for your hike, and you can find answers to the insurance question, maybe this is the right time for you to hike.
The thing is, none of us know you, whether or not you are responsible, whether you follow through on projects/goals, whether you are resourceful and resilient, etc. We don't know what career you're aiming for and all that that implies with respect to income, job stability, etc. We don't even know whether you own a backpack or not.
We don't know your parents either. Are they over-protective? Are they afraid of everything associated with the wilderness? Or are they reacting to yet another hare-brained idea you've had, and not wanting to bail you out of another bad decision?
Without knowing you and your parents, many of us are making assumptions that may be incorrect, and giving advice/counsel that may be useless. If you want useful feedback, invest some time in communication.
Great on contributing to household expenses while living with your parents and saving money. But 5 grand still isn't nearly enough. It will probably cost you nearly a grand just to get to the PCT and back. Do you still need to buy gear? There's another 1K or so. You really need close to 10K saved up.
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Good rule of thumb on budget for me is $1,000 per month for on-trail expenses. Add more for transportation to and from the trail and gear. I think that the $10,000 in savings is a really good number that will ensure that you don't end the thru hike flat broke. People hike on less than $1,000 per month but, for me, that amount is about perfect for the level of lodging and restaurant food I prefer to consume on longer hikes. That's about what I spend (on trail) on the Colorado Trail and my longer PCT sections.
My advice would be get the money in place and explain why you want to do this and that, other than getting a job when you return, you are set during the hike. Maybe show them some documentaries on the hike, YT and such. Get them interested in it. That you're young you have the rest of your life to build that career. This is only 6mths.
That said, if this is going to put them in a pinch at all or if you're depending on them for some financial portion, you need to get in a better place financially. If you're depending on them then their opinion matters.
If you mean that the country is in bad shape because previous generations have allowed insurance companies to run amuck, made healthcare hopelessly unaffordable and caused healthcare bills to become the number one cause of bankruptcy in the country, then I agree with you. Most young adults have little choice but to stay on their parent's healthcare, that has to do with astronomical premiums commonly seen among insurance plans in entry level jobs and anemic high deductible plans that provide little more than glorified catastrophic coverage.
In the event that the system is the same when my kids are adults I'll encourage them to take full advantage of my decent medical plan and to use the money saved on premiums to frontload their 401k's and save for a downpayment on a house rather the waste thousands of dollars a year on worse coverage that would provide little benefit aside
from claiming financial independence from their parents.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
This is a pretty good synopsis. There's nothing wrong with living with your parents so long as you have a plan and everyone is on board. Get them informed, make a real plan for both before, during, and after the hike, and then take a step back and objectively assess if the plan makes sense and is really a good idea. Some people hike because it benefits them and their life as a whole, others thru hike just to avoid reality and their responsibilities, and there's a whole range in between. Decide where you are on that scale and it will make it more simple to decide what your next step should be.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
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