Learning about the expat lifestyle
Thursday, July 12, 2012
By Benjamin Harper
CNN Money along with USA Today are only a handful of news agencies that are reporting what the DOL and U.S. Census Bureau have been talking about for 2010 and 2011: the average salary of a working adults is $26,000 a year after taxes. Unfortunately, most Americans who are living as part of a family of four face a cost of living that is around $60,000 a year, which means they are short around $8,000 annually. In other words, most Americans are living in debt and on borrowed money.
Before most people reach thirty years of age they have achieved around $300,000 of debt. $225,000 of that debt is related to the cost of a home, with the average cost of a car running around $30,000 as of 2011. Credit card debt and school loans make up the last chunk of that $300,000, leading to a never-ending cycle of debt to where the average individual will never see an early retirement because they will be working the next 40 or 50 years of their lives to pay off the bank.
It is for this reason that weren't more expats are choosing to leave the United States behind and instead enjoy a life of freedom in places like Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. The life of an expat in countries where the cost of living for a family of four rarely rises above $20,000 a year allows most people to enjoy an early retirement. When you have a salary of $52,000 a year at a cost of living that is only $20,000 a year, you are left with over $30,000 a year of income that you can do anything you want with.
Think about it this way: if you can find a three-bedroom home in a place like Uruguay or Mexico for $25,000 to $35,000, why would you want to pay $200,000 or more for a home in the United States? It is this reality that more and more expats are choosing to accept as their own, because they can go to another country and enjoy an early retirement for pennies in comparison to what it would cost to the United States.
When you can put a baseline of $30,000 a year in your pocket on an average, ordinary, middle-of-the-road salary while living as an expat in another country, it's absolutely feasible that you can put together enough cash in a couple of years to completely retire, long before the traditional twilight years that most people are accustomed to. There is no reason to wait until you are 65 years old to enjoy a life of absolute freedom.
Before most people reach thirty years of age they have achieved around $300,000 of debt. $225,000 of that debt is related to the cost of a home, with the average cost of a car running around $30,000 as of 2011. Credit card debt and school loans make up the last chunk of that $300,000, leading to a never-ending cycle of debt to where the average individual will never see an early retirement because they will be working the next 40 or 50 years of their lives to pay off the bank.
It is for this reason that weren't more expats are choosing to leave the United States behind and instead enjoy a life of freedom in places like Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. The life of an expat in countries where the cost of living for a family of four rarely rises above $20,000 a year allows most people to enjoy an early retirement. When you have a salary of $52,000 a year at a cost of living that is only $20,000 a year, you are left with over $30,000 a year of income that you can do anything you want with.
Think about it this way: if you can find a three-bedroom home in a place like Uruguay or Mexico for $25,000 to $35,000, why would you want to pay $200,000 or more for a home in the United States? It is this reality that more and more expats are choosing to accept as their own, because they can go to another country and enjoy an early retirement for pennies in comparison to what it would cost to the United States.
When you can put a baseline of $30,000 a year in your pocket on an average, ordinary, middle-of-the-road salary while living as an expat in another country, it's absolutely feasible that you can put together enough cash in a couple of years to completely retire, long before the traditional twilight years that most people are accustomed to. There is no reason to wait until you are 65 years old to enjoy a life of absolute freedom.
About the Author:
Residency as an extranjero is one of the first items on your agenda when you decide to stay in Mexico, because while you can stay for six months on a passport you want the ability to come and go as you please.
Posted byBertie at 6:51 AM
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