How much vacation do you take?

[Alysser]

As much as possible! The only way to keep my hubby from going back to work early is to take him out of the country! We just got back from Honduras a couple weeks ago! Stuart is self-employed. There are no paid breaks ever. Even in Honduras, he was working at least an hour a day by email!

I have a very generous benefit package at work. I get 5 weeks of paid holiday time a year that can be banked indefinately. My boss encourages us to use it regularly. Every five years I get an extra week of "long service leave". It has to be used before I'm elegible for the next one.

I earn a day and a half a month of sick leave, which can also be banked. I currently have 6 months of sick leave banked. I rarely use it! I used two weeks last year; one after surgery to fix my wrist and another after I had laser surgery on my eyes.

I also have "special leave". It's kinda like personal leave for reasons other than illness. I get six days a year, but can bank up to 30 days of it which I have. People with kids use it way more than I do. I've only ever used it to attend funerals or take care of Stuart when he was injured.

I have a week booked off in May. Going to Saskatchewan to visit my family and meet my newest niece, who is due to arrive May 9. I have two weeks booked in September...I'd like to spend my 40th birthday on a beach somewhere. Gotta find a dogsitter for that before I book anything though! May dogsitter is already arranged.

I'm also doing a deferred salary plan at work. For the next five years, my employer witholds part of my salary and banks it. I get the 6th year off with pay. I could have done a shorter time period of banking, but this way it's less of a financial impact and in five years it will much much easier to find a critter sitter! I have a count down app on my phone..it's 1963 days from today until I'm off!

I'm curious as to how you find a dog sitter for 16+ dogs?

[Glacier]

I'm curious as to how you find a dog sitter for 16+ dogs?

Well, it's not easy, but first and probably most importantly, I pay and pay well! Critter care is always a big part of our holiday budgeting! I'm always a bit amazed that anyone will agree to take this place on! Even more amazed that anyone agrees twice and are still my friends after!

I have paid airfare to bring a friend here to dogsit. She used to live here so it's like a paid visit for her. I'm hoping she'll be able to come again in September. I provide a car and gas card for non-local dogsitters. Locals can use the vehicle too, especially if they have to take a dog to the vet and want to avoid getting fur in their own car!

I always leave the fridge fully stocked along with a beer fridge full of whatever their drink of choice may be! I leave cash for supplies and a gift card to a gas station if the dogsitter lives in town normally. I make arrangements with both my vets so that the sitter can take any animal in any time without worrying about the bill. I made a book with a page for each animal, includes their picture, age, any medications they take and a description of their personality and habits. It has saved a few people from freaking out when they can't touch Delta or when Felicia comes limping through the room(her limp is permanent and doesn't bother her at all, but at first glance she looks like her leg is broken!). Also has a list of the basic chores that have to be done every day and a list of emergency phone numbers.

We have satelitte tv, wireless internet and a hot tub too! I also bring back presents from wherever we go!

We had the best dogsitter ever for awhile, but he went back to university down south. I tried to convince him to get his Master's degree on line, but he wouldn't go for it! He's coming back in May for a couple months. He's staying here while I go to see my family. I think he's more excited about hanging out here than I am about my new niece! I need to find a new Todd. It was very nice to be able to go away for even for a night and have someone we trusted completely stay here.

[chocolatepuppy]

I get 4 weeks paid vacation a year, after 15 years with the company. (I'll have 20 years this coming November) At 21 years, I get 5 weeks. We also get our birthday paid which we have to take in our birthday month or lose it. I can't save days into the next year, but can save some of them and take the money at the end of the year. I usually don't take all of my vacation. The last two years saving some days came in handy towards the end of the year when I was off on sick leave. The company will let you fill in blank spots left by sick pay (waiting week) and let you take one vacation day a week as 'pay only' to cover your weekly health insurance costs.

[Randi]

Glacier, you have quite a good deal there, compared to many others - good for you! Hope you'll have a wonderful vacation with your family! When you go in September, you should consider Dominican Republic... great beaches, friendly people and it's cheap.

Sick days? Many of you talk about sick days. So you have a certain amount of sick days to use in a year? What if you are sick for more days? Don't you get paid anything, or do you have use your vacation days, then?

[pomtzu]

Sick days? Many of you talk about sick days. So you have a certain amount of sick days to use in a year? What if you are sick for more days? Don't you get paid anything, or do you have use your vacation days, then?

If you are just sick a day here and a day there, then you use your sick days and/or vacation days as needed. If you will be out for an extended period of time, like a month or two for surgery, then that's when your short term disability takes over at whatever rate of pay that your company provides for this. There is usually a 1 week waiting period for the pay to kick in, but you can use any sick days or vacation days that you still have for this week so that you aren't without a paycheck during that waiting period.

[caseysmom]

We can use vacation days too for being sick but I have so much time I could be sick for 7 months. We also have a program where if someone has a catastrophe others can donate their excess time. And as pomtzu said you can get ND
I, my daughter just had babies and she got 8 weeks paid leave from our state disability insurance.

[Glacier]

Glacier, you have quite a good deal there, compared to many others - good for you! Hope you'll have a wonderful vacation with your family! When you go in September, you should consider Dominican Republic... great beaches, friendly people and it's cheap.

Sick days? Many of you talk about sick days. So you have a certain amount of sick days to use in a year? What if you are sick for more days? Don't you get paid anything, or do you have use your vacation days, then?

The benefit plan has been a deciding factor in staying at my job several times! I've looked at the Dominican Republic but it's right in the middle of the hurricane belt and September is the height of hurricane season. Stuart has issues with all inclusive resorts too and getting to the Dominican from here without doing a an all inclusive package deal is tricky. I've been looking at Bonaire, one of the Dutch Antilles islands. It's below the hurricane belt and supposed have amazing snorkelling/diving. I'm considering going back to Cuba too. It's hurricane prone, but I'd like to go to Santa Clara and see Che's grave. Santa Clara is hit less often by hurricanes than the Havana area of the island.

At my job, we earn a day and a half of sick leave for every full month worked. That time can be banked indefinately. If you get seriously ill, you need to use all your sick leave first; before we can apply for our disability insurance plan, we have to use all our leave time. So once you're out of sick leave, you have to use any vacation, special leave, long service etc that you have banked. If you're off for more than 3 consecutive days, you have to provide a doctor's note.

[Randi]

If you're off for more than 3 consecutive days, you have to provide a doctor's note.

We have to do that also, but here, your vacation can not be influenced by your sick days.

Santa Clara and seeing Che's grave sounds like a brilliant idea! Hope you can do it!

[Alysser]

Well, it's not easy, but first and probably most importantly, I pay and pay well! Critter care is always a big part of our holiday budgeting! I'm always a bit amazed that anyone will agree to take this place on! Even more amazed that anyone agrees twice and are still my friends after!

I have paid airfare to bring a friend here to dogsit. She used to live here so it's like a paid visit for her. I'm hoping she'll be able to come again in September. I provide a car and gas card for non-local dogsitters. Locals can use the vehicle too, especially if they have to take a dog to the vet and want to avoid getting fur in their own car!

I always leave the fridge fully stocked along with a beer fridge full of whatever their drink of choice may be! I leave cash for supplies and a gift card to a gas station if the dogsitter lives in town normally. I make arrangements with both my vets so that the sitter can take any animal in any time without worrying about the bill. I made a book with a page for each animal, includes their picture, age, any medications they take and a description of their personality and habits. It has saved a few people from freaking out when they can't touch Delta or when Felicia comes limping through the room(her limp is permanent and doesn't bother her at all, but at first glance she looks like her leg is broken!). Also has a list of the basic chores that have to be done every day and a list of emergency phone numbers.

We have satelitte tv, wireless internet and a hot tub too! I also bring back presents from wherever we go!

We had the best dogsitter ever for awhile, but he went back to university down south. I tried to convince him to get his Master's degree on line, but he wouldn't go for it! He's coming back in May for a couple months. He's staying here while I go to see my family. I think he's more excited about hanging out here than I am about my new niece! I need to find a new Todd. It was very nice to be able to go away for even for a night and have someone we trusted completely stay here.

Not trying to hi-jack the thread..

but wow!! Sounds like a real good deal you have set up. If you ever need a permanent dog sitter let me know..