Читать книгу The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing - Hallam Andrew - Страница 10

Meet Billy and Akaisha Kaderli. They live better than the typical American retiree. But they also spend less.

If you struck up a midweek conversation with them, you might peg them as early retirees. The energetic 61-year-olds share the glow of a couple freed from the rat race. But a few things make them different. They spend long-term stints (sometimes years) in low-cost countries. They also retired when they were just 38, and will mark their 25th year of retirement in 2016.

Previously, they owned a restaurant in the United States. Akaisha ran it. Billy worked at an investment firm. But in 1991, they quit. While most of their friends were acquiring large houses, new cars, and filling their homes with fine furnishings, the Kaderlis downsized. “We sold most of our possessions,” says Akaisha, “including our house and our car.” For a quarter of a century, they've lived off their investment portfolio. Today, it's worth more than it was the day they retired.

To stretch their income, they moved to Lake Chapala, Mexico. But they enjoy bouncing around, renting homes in new locations for months at a time. Some of their favorite hubs include Thailand and Guatemala. They commit to community projects, meeting people, embracing different cultures, and learning different languages. They have a mortgage-free apartment in the United States, where they stay when they visit family.

The Kaderlis have also discovered how to bask in luxury on a shoestring. Through TrustedHousesitters.com, they found a luxurious home overlooking Lake Chapala in 2013. They stayed four months without paying rent. “We may do more of that in the future,” says Akaisha, “if the right opportunity arises.”

Their living costs may be low, but the Kaderlis don't scrimp. “We have a great deal of fun,” Akaisha says, “living on $30,000 a year.” In 2013, they spent roughly $3,900 on housing, $5,400 on transportation, $6,600 on food and entertainment, $6,900 on medical expenses, and the rest on miscellaneous costs.11

The Kaderlis are the authors of The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement (CD-ROM, 2005). They also maintain a helpful blog, Retire Early Lifestyle, at www.retireearlylifestyle.com, where they share their stories and tips for living well on less.

Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher, authors of The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget (John Wiley & Sons, 2014), live much like the Kaderlis. Located in a small town in Ecuador, they spend roughly $25,000 a year. “We live well… We go out to lunch and dinner once a week.. we enjoy the occasional martini or scotch, and every evening with dinner we polish off a bottle of wine.” Their costs include at least one annual trip to the United States, occasional fine dining, and a worldwide health care policy that costs roughly $5,800 a year, with a $5,000 deductible.12