I had a bad dream last night about a worst-case scenario that could happen to someone retired overseas. The chances of this happening to you are low, but you need to spend a few minutes thinking about it, so you have a recovery plan in mind.
I left the US 18 years ago, and I teach people how to do it. Sometimes when I sleep, I dream about new disasters that could happen to retired expats. Although the chances are low, this will happen to one of you eventually.
Spend a few minutes thinking about how you would survive this, if it happens to you. It will seem easy to overcome until you think about all the technology created over the last decade. Listen to the problem first, then possible solutions, and you might make changes that save you.
Now, I am not trying to scare you, I am trying to load your guns so you have a way to recover if this or something similar happens to you.
The bad dream went like this.
I was walking down the street with everything I owned, my backpack and luggage. I had found a better apartment just 100 feet down the road. Halfway to my new apartment, two guys with knives jumped out of a car and took everything I owned.
My cell phone, my cash, my passport, my driver’s license, my wallet, my credit and ATM cards, my backpack, and my luggage. They even took the money I needed to pay rent in the new apartment. I had nothing left but my shirt, my flip-flops, and my shorts.
They didn’t kill me, though. And I still had money in my two bank accounts if I could figure out how to get some out. But the technology between me and my money in the bank has become so complicated that I wasn’t sure how I could access it. The dream continues.
If I were in my home country, I would just walk to a friend’s or family’s home and ask for help. But I was overseas in a new town where I had not yet established any significant relationships. So, instead, I walked to the old apartment and asked if I could use their computer.
I decided to report the stolen cards and ATMs to my two banks and order new ones. But when I tried to log in, I could not remember my password. My passwords were stored on my stolen computer.
Plus, even if I remembered my passwords, the two-factor authentication codes would be sent to my stolen smartphone. So, I decided to contact my family and have them send me money via Western Union.
The Western Union office was just around the corner. But Western Union said that I would need a government-issued ID to receive money sent by family. But my passport and driver’s license were stolen. So if my family sent money, I couldn’t accept it.
So I decided to call my family anyway to see if they had any ideas. But all of their phone numbers were stored in my smartphone and computer. I have been using cell phones for so long that I cannot remember anyone’s phone numbers.
Normally, I used Google Voice, Facebook, and WhatsApp to communicate with people, but I couldn’t use any of these because my phone and computer were stolen, and I didn’t remember any passwords. My passwords were all stored on the browser on my devices.
I couldn’t even log into my email. My password was saved in my browser but not in my head. If I could get to the US Embassy, they would issue me a temporary passport, but the US Embassy was 500 miles away from me, and I had no cash for a bus or train.
I had only been in this new town for 3 days, and I didn’t know anyone other than the receptionist in the hotel where I had slept the last 3 nights.
I suddenly realized that I might be homeless for the first time in my life even though I had thousands of dollars in my bank accounts back home.
That is when I woke up from my bad dream. What a relief. It was all just a bad dream.
But then I realized I needed to share the bad dream with everyone so we could all be better prepared for similar situations.
I will share some of the ways I will prepare to recover from such a bad situation. But read some of the solutions in the comments also. Some of the most experienced expats in the world regularly watch this channel and will likely share their ideas in the notes below this video.
Most of the problems and solutions I share in my retiree overseas course and my hundreds of written reports come from interviewing and responding to emails from experienced expats who live all over the world. So, do read the comments.
Okay, here are some solutions that occurred to me immediately when I woke from this bad dream. But remember, I have been living outside my home country for 18 years now, and I have never been robbed or beaten. Just do some thinking about this to make sure you can recover if you are not as lucky as I.
Money Belt: In my course and reports, I talk about how I maintain access to my money while living overseas. I have two different unrelated banks, each with its own ATM and credit cards. I always keep them in separate places in case one is lost or stolen. Grab that free eBook in the notes below this video.
Normally, when I go out of my apartment during the day, I carry one set of cards in my front pocket and leave the other set with my passport at home. But I was moving places in this dream. So here is what I would do when my whole world is on my person.
At night, when I go out of my apartment, I leave both sets of cards in my apartment, hidden in separate places. I only bring as much cash with me at night as I am willing to lose.
But this was different. In this case, when I have my entire world on my person, like when I am moving cities, moving countries, or moving apartments, I would put one set of bank cards in my skinny wallet in my front pocket along with my drivers license, and the other set of cards and my passport below my clothing in a money belt.
To be even more secure, I would put one card in my wallet in my front pocket, one card in the money belt below my clothing, and a third card strapped to my thigh.
The goal of this money belt strategy (when your entire world is in your possession) is to always have at least one ATM card and ID remaining so I can have access to my money while I wait for the lost or stolen cards to be replaced by my banks.
Emergency Login Data: If your electronics are stolen or crash without warning, it is good to have a backup set of user and password data somewhere. But many people have 40 to 60 different online accounts, and they change passwords all the time.
So, a written list of passwords carried with you at all times may not be practical. Plus, if somebody steal that list, you might be screwed. So here is what I do instead.
I keep my passwords in a document online, such as on Yahoo Notes, Google Docs, or any other password-protected account where you can store documents. Plus, I don’t use two-factor authentication, so I can still log in even if someone steals my smartphone and computer. I just use my email and password on that account.
But I disguise the passwords slightly, so if someone hacks that account, they can’t use the passwords because they are disguised. They have to know how to change the passwords back.
For example, you could do something as simple as moving the first few characters of the real password to the back to create a fake password. Then add one or two more random characters to the front of each password.
Then, when you need to turn one of the fake passwords into a real one, you just delete the first character and move the last four characters back to the front. You can get as complicated with your disguises as you want. So long as you don’t forget how to change fake passwords into real ones. You could even carry around a note to yourself that says, “kill the first guy and bring 4 to the front.”
Now you just need to remember one password to get into that account that has all of your passwords. You could even add a disguised form of that password to your note, “kill the first guy and bring 4 to the front.” Just don’t tell anyone which online account where that document is stored.
If you read that note and password every day for a few months and say it to yourself, you may never forget it.
Emergency Contact: Now, if the criminals don’t find your second government ID because you had it hidden in your money belt, you can have your emergency contact (back home) send you money via Western Union.
You could even give them the money before you leave the country, so you are not asking for a loan when you call them in an emergency. You could even keep your emergency contact’s name and phone number in your emergency password document.
Family and Friends Phone Numbers: Keep a list of your family and friends’ phone numbers. If your emergency contact goes missing, you can ask other close friends and family to lend you the money until you get your cards replaced.
You can keep a copy of these important phone numbers at the bottom of your online password document.
Two Factor Authentication Alternatives: Passwords will not be enough for some of your accounts. Some accounts will require two-factor authentication. However, you may find that some of your accounts allow you to set up multiple two-factor authentication methods.
For example, one of my financial accounts allows me to set up text two-factor authentication on two different phone numbers. So I can set my emergency contact’s phone number as one of my text two-factor authentication phone numbers.
So if my smartphone is stolen or goes missing, I can call my emergency contact and tell them I will be logging in at my bank, and they will be receiving my two-factor authentication code. Then they can give it to me, and I can log into my bank.
Then I can ask my bank to send me a new ATM card where I am staying overseas. So even when my technology goes missing, I can use my emergency contact to get online banking access and order new cards.
Another way to handle this is with emergency backup codes. Some two-factor authentication applications will give you a series of codes to use in case of emergency. These codes will allow you to log into that account.
You can keep these Authenticator backup codes in your password document online. Okay, make sure to grab my free eBook and watch the video in the upper right-hand corner of your screen right now to learn more about two-factor authentication in banking.