There has to be some university somewhere in the UK doing a course in eco travelling or overland sustainable tourism or something. Sign up and get yourself a student loan. That'll fix the finances as you'll never have to pay it back.

Back in the real world it's hard to give advice as it's a problem I've kicked around for decades without coming to a definitive conclusion. The only thing I would say is that, although I've never met you, (although I did see you once in the bar at a rally surrounded by fawning female acolytes kneeling at your feet!) I get the feeling that it's a serious issue for you.

Something like that is only going to get worse as the years pass. Not because you're going to be too old and too knackered by 35 but because it becomes increasingly difficult to dump everything you've achieved in other areas of your life. Weighing up doing the trip vs having to start virtually from scratch when you come back has the scales tipping more and more towards the stay side as the years pass. Even at the age you are now many men have wives, children, houses, lifestyle and "career progression" to consider. Dumping some or all of those to travel may be beyond what is possible.

Even if you don't tick many of those boxes atm you may wonder how vanishing for a year or two will impact on them in the future. I don't think it's an coincidence that a lot of long term travelling is done by people in their 20's with nothing to lose and people in their 60's (post retirement) with everything to gain.

On a more philosophical bent have you wondered why you want to do this? I don't want to start spouting psychobabble but there's usually some underlying motivation for people wanting to do anything unusual that goes beyond the obvious. This forum probably isn't the right place to bare your soul but you ought to be aware of your own motivations. Back in 2008 I cancelled a trip to Africa - something I'd spent a year planning - about a week before departure for a reason I've never told anyone but which goes right to the core of my life experience.

So, bottom line, do it or don't do it, but weigh up the consequenses of each option and decide which takes you further in the direction you want to go. Heart may be saying go now and sort the mess out when I get back but head, looking at the world of finance, employment and long term prospects, may have different ideas. If you're hoping people on here may come up with an angle you haven't considered, well, don't hold your breath, we all look to you for answers.