Okay, the video title says $500 per month and it is true. I am going to show you video clips of people who report living overseas on those kinds of numbers. But not many people can get their numbers this low or keep them this low.
So I will share the secret tricks they used to get down to those numbers, so even if your number ends up being $1000, or $1500, or $2000 per month, it will still be lower than it would have been had you not watched this video.
But what is the point of trying to achieve monthly numbers that are lower than your social security or pension? It opens other doors for you. If you have $500 or $1000 left over every month, that adds up pretty quickly.
Pretty soon you will have a pile of money you can invest. That will create a safety net in case inflation goes of the rails again. You could use that money to fly home to see family for the holidays every year or spend a few months slow traveling the world every year.
Plus, not spending your whole retirement income each month gives you personal power and discipline over yourself. A power you just won’t have if you run out of money at the end of each month.
At the end of this video, I will give you a link so you can binge-watch everyone on this channel who has reported living on less than $1000 per month all over the world.
Okay, here we go.
Trick Number 1. Low Rents–Get Off the Internet
When you go overseas, Internet-connected landlords are getting top-dollar rents. If you don’t want to pay top dollar, forget about Internet-connected landlords.
Some of the tricks I share in this video are not for everyone. The Internet is a very convenient way to book a furnished apartment for a few weeks for slow travelers. This trick is for what happens next when you want to stay longer, for a few months or a few years.
Once you fall in love with a place and want to stick around, you use this trick to get the lowest rents possible. The foundation for a low cost of living overseas starts with the lowest rents possible.
To get the lowest rents possible, you have to get off the beaten path, and the most beaten path is the Internet. So I am going to share three short clips from interviews I did. All three are paying $200 or less per month in rent, in three different countries.
So, the trick makes the difference, not the country.
Sri Lanka Ocean Front (Clip 1 in the above video)
This first clip is of a man who rides a bicycle every morning to stay healthy. And as he rides around he looks for rental signs. He found his house on the beach for $165 USD per month.
Philippines Provinces (Clip 2)
In this next clip, Gio and one of his Filipino friends went to a neighborhood Gio liked about 30 minutes outside the city. They started talking to people asking if they knew of any homes in the area for rent.
Gio ended up paying $100 per month in rent to a larger place, but listen to what Gio says about his neighbors paying for smaller places. His neighbors are locals, not expats.
Mexico $200 Apartment (Clip 3)
In this next clip, Lahry shares that he found exactly what he was looking for in Mexico, and it wasn’t on Airbnb.
Vietnam $175 Month Condo (Clip 4)
By walking neighborhoods, and meeting locals, John was able to rent a 4-year-old condo for $175 Month USD in Da Nang Vietnam.
So, why does feet-on-the-ground work better than the Internet? There are a billion renters on the Internet. Only locals are calling telephone numbers on rental signs. And, locals don’t have Dollars, Pounds, or Euros burning a hole in their pockets.
Now, I am not suggesting that your rental budget should be $200 or less. I am just suggesting that if you get off the Internet, and meet people face to face, you will get a better place for the same amount of money.
Here is my full report about how I find perfect apartments around the world.
Trick Number 2. Smile and Make Local Friends
When people first move overseas, they like to make friends with expats who think like them. That is natural. They may like the same food as you, they watch the same sports and movies, and they laugh at your jokes because they understand your cultural references.
I am not suggesting that you forgo making expat friends. However, I am suggesting that if you remain open to making local friends, you will greatly enrich the entire experience of living overseas.
In every country, some of the locals seem naturally curious about Westerners. Many Westerners find themselves talking to people they would not have, had they remained in their home country. For example, in countries where English is not as common, educated locals, worldly locals, that speak English, may strike up conversations with you.
So, if you wander out into the world with the intention of making local friends, and with a smile on your face, the world may open its arms for you.
John’s Vietnam Doctor Story (Clip 5)
How John the Medical Doctors in Vietnam that have helped in finding love and a nice apartment.
What Local Engineers Make (Clip 6)
Making friends with locals helps you understand if you will have enough money to retire overseas. My friend Charles shares what a local engineering friend makes.
When I left the US 17 years ago, I ended up making friends with fashion a designer, and within a few weeks, I found myself running in circles that I did not have access to when I lived in the US. I even ended up walking the runway in a fashion show and subsequently getting invited to several extravagant parties every year.
Trick Number 3. Eat Local or Cook Local (Clip 7)
When we first move overseas, we crave our comfort foods from home. For you, maybe it is steak and potatoes, burger and fries, or lasagna. That is normal and there is nothing wrong with you if that happens.
But I do have some bad news for you. No matter where you grew up in the world, there is likely some specialty food that you will not be able to get overseas. For me, it was Mexican food. There were 5 different Mexican restaurants that I really missed when I first moved overseas.
Not only that, but I couldn’t even find the Mexican food brands I knew about in the grocery stores overseas. My cravings eventually got so bad, I had to learn how to cook Mexican food from scratch to get my fix. This worked out fine because now this Mexican food addict can travel the world with no fears.
But here is the really bad news. If you try to eat your favorite foods in restaurants overseas, they rarely taste right. You see, those comfort foods you miss from home are foreign foods overseas. And the restaurants don’t know how to cook them right.
And to add insult to injury, not only do they not taste right, but you have to pay 3 to five times as much for foreign foods as local foods. So, to keep your budget on track, it will be much easier if you learn to love the local foods.
Let’s hear what John has to say about local versus foreign foods when you are trying to keep a budget.
John Korean BBQ or Local Food (Clip 8)
Your other choice is to learn to cook at home if you want to keep the budget under control,
Kim’s Fish Prices (Clip 9)
Trick Number 4. Public Transportation
Many expats that move overseas decide to buy cars since they are used to living that way in their home country. With gas, oil, repairs, and insurance, that could cost $200 to $300 US per month even after paying cash for a used car.
Other expats rent or buy scooters when they move overseas. But that is not advised unless you are a highly experienced motorcycle rider. Many people are killed and crippled each year in SE Asia. A scooter will cost you $100 or more per month if you rent but you may find used scooters for as little as $500.
Your other choice is Public Transportation or Taxis as discussed by Charles,
Charles Public Transportation (Clip 10)
Trick Number 5. Grow Your Own Food
My mother was a natural-born gardener. Her favorite part of the day was the time she spent in the garden with plants. Many people love working with their hands once they retire whether farming, gardening, woodworking, painting, playing an instrument, whatever.
In addition to the satisfaction of having something to do every day and working with your hands, growing your own fruits, and vegetables, or having chickens or other animals, is a good way to help manage your budget in normal times, and could be a lifesaver during high inflation.
Joe Raises Animals (Clip 11)
Joe shares what it means for him to raise animals for food in the Philippines,
Tim Grows Food and Eggs (Clip 12)
Next, Tim bought a place for $15k USD with enough land to grow some vegetables and some hens for eggs,
After I share the 6th trick that many expats use to make sure they have enough money to go the distance when they retire overseas, I will share a few of the risks they might face and ways to prepare of them.
Trick Number 6. Stay in The Game
Many expats keep skin in the game when they retire overseas. By keeping skin in the game, I mean they either do some part-time work online that earns extra money or volunteer for charities in a way that they feel engaged in their life.
In my retire overseas course, I share the various challenges that expats face over the years both before and after they retire overseas. One of those challenges that happens in the second year of retirement is a feeling of a loss of purpose in your life.
That feeling can become acute and can lead to depression in some retirees so it is better to know about it in advance. Then if it happens to you, then you are not surprised or caught flat-footed when it happens.
Here, Beverly shares how she will keep some skin in the game both to keep her mind sharp and make some money doing something she loves in retirement,
Beverly Has Skin in the Game (Clip 13)
Dan Has Skin in the Game
The way I keep skin in the game is to share what I have learned living overseas for 17 years in 73 countries. I have 265 written reports and a course people can take that helps them retire overseas in paradise.
I also have The Hobby Income course that teaches people how I make money online from anywhere in the world while doing my hobby. If you are curious about what that costs, then grab my free eBook or come to VagabondBuddha.com and click the courses tab at the top.
Finally, the two biggest risks you face when retiring overseas are making sure you don’t run out of money, and making sure you have enough money if some emergency happens while you are living overseas. I am not a financial advisor, but I can tell you how I have handled both of these risks in the video in the upper left-hand corner of your screen right now.
On the other side of your screen, in the upper right-hand corner, you can binge-watch the full-length interviews of all of my guests sharing their tricks about how they retired overseas on peanuts. Subscribe now if you want more of this kind of medicine. Have a great day.
