47. The Sabbatical Conversation: What Financial Advisors Need to Know About Work Breaks and Client Wellbeing with Cady North

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You've run the numbers. The client can absolutely afford to take time off. And yet they won't. Or they want to, but they're terrified. Or they've mentioned burnout in every meeting for the last two years and still can't pull the trigger.

Sabbaticals are showing up more and more in client conversations, and most advisors don't have a roadmap for navigating them. Not just the financial piece, but the human piece — the identity questions, the resistance, the fear of what comes next, and the return to work on the other side.

In this episode, I'm joined by Cady North, financial advisor and author of The Art of the Sabbatical, who has built an entire area of her practice around helping clients plan for and navigate intentional work breaks. Cady brings both the planning expertise and a deeply personal experience with sabbatical, which makes her perspective incredibly grounded and real.

We cover what a sabbatical actually is (it's not just for academics or people eating, praying, and loving their way around the world), why identity is often the biggest obstacle — not money — and what advisors can do to create space for clients to explore this without projecting their own fears onto the conversation.

One insight that really stuck with me: most sabbaticals are completely unplanned. They start with burnout or a layoff, not a spreadsheet. That means your clients may already be in one without having prepared for it, and knowing how to support them in that moment is where advisors can offer something truly unique.

You'll also hear about the "runway" framework Cady uses with clients actively in a sabbatical, how to recognize the signs that it might be time to bring this up, and what planning for return to work actually looks like — including how advisors can help clients negotiate their way back in stronger than before.

RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION

About Cady North

Cady North is a financial advisor, solo practice owner of North Financial Advisors, and the author of The Art of the Sabbatical. With over a decade of experience in financial planning, Cady has developed a specialty in helping clients navigate intentional work breaks — from the financial logistics to the mindset shifts that make them possible.

Connect with Cady North:

• Website: cadynorth.com (Note: spelled C-A-D-Y N-O-R-T-H)
• LinkedIn: Cady North
• Book: The Art of the Sabbatical — available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold (print, ebook, and audiobook)

Connect with Host Ashley Quamme:

• Podcast Website: PlanningAndBeyond.com
• LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme — Licensed Therapist & Financial Behavior Specialist
• Beyond the Plan®: BeyondTheFP.com
• Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com