Читать книгу The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing - Hallam Andrew - Страница 12

When figuring out how much money you'll need, focus on your own lifestyle and needs, not somebody else's. Thirty-five-year-old Ben Shearon, a British professor living in Sendai, Japan, shares his retirement expense projections.

He and his wife, Chiho, lost their home to the Japanese earthquake in 2011. “That turned me into a pretty hardcore minimalist,” Ben says. “I have seen how fragile life can be.” The experience strengthened his desire for earlier financial freedom. Rather than working, he'd rather travel, read, keep fit, and spend time with his wife.

Ben and Chiho seek financial freedom when Ben turns 45. They save 50 percent of their household income, now that their three children are “mostly grown up and more or less independent.” Ben hopes that he and Chiho can live off dividend and interest income from their stock and bond market portfolio. They're considering retiring in Malaysia or Thailand where the weather is better and the costs of living lower.

Working full-time as a teacher trainer at a university in Sendai, Ben also consults on English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks and writes a blog. Chiho runs a small private school, which also absorbs a lot of Ben's time. “Right now it's all work, work, work, but we are hoping to gradually scale that back as we hire more people to help us with the school.”16

Currently, they don't own property.

Ben and Chiho estimate their annual retirement costs at $47,100 (U.S. dollars). Because they're hoping to retire in 10 years, this sum will need to be adjusted for inflation. If inflation averages 3.5 percent, they'll require $66,439 each year (a decade from now) to give them the equivalent buying power of $47,100 today.

Figure 1.2 illustrates how their numbers look when plugged into the compound interest calculator at www.moneychimp.com.

Figure 1.2 Ben and Chiho's Postinflation Adjustment

SOURCE: www.moneychimp.com.