47m single Canadian with no kids living in HCOL area hating my job and watching my mental and physical health decline. I’ve given myself six months max, I’m at the inflection point where time and health is more important.

1.55M CAD (900k taxable, 400k RRSP, 250k TFSA) liquid in stocks and small portion in cash ETFs. 400k in home equity.

I speak high intermediate level Spanish, have travelled many places and have trained Muay Thai for years. So SE Asia and Latin America are prime candidates. Maybe even Serbia etc.

My big concern with expatfire is what do I come back to? Renting normally requires a job and it’s stupid expensive where I’m from. Buying in Canada is also outrageous. I have family I can temporarily stay with or even look at buying a camper van, but I’m looking for advice or experiences here.

Cheers

I am considering living abroad for a few years and am wondering if I could still contribute to my Roth IRA during those years plus do some Roth conversions?

I know that if I live and work abroad I will qualify for the Foriegn Earned Income Exclusion (on the physical presence test) on the money I make in the foriegn country but will still have to pay taxes on dividends, capital gains, and interest here in the US. Would that count as earned income to qualify for a Roth IRA contirbution? Then on top of that could I do Roth conversions from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?

EX Before I decide to leave my US employer and work abroad I build up assests in a REIT or Bond Fund in a taxable account. Then once I leave I elect to transfer my traditional 401k into a traditional IRA. Now working abroad I control my income to show enough to fund a Roth IRA contribution for the year plus convert traditional IRA assests up to the 10 or 12% tax bracket?

Or is this too good to be true/need to talk to a tax pro and not reddit?

Bonsoir à tous, je me pose une question qui peut paraître bête mais ça m’intrigue vraiment.
Pour les expats, comment faites vous pour vivre avec votre argent stocké et gagné dans votre pays d’origine ?
Transférez vous toutes vos liquidités vers le nouveau pays ?
Utilisez vous une CB sans frais à l’étranger ?
N’êtes-vous pas effrayés par la possible instabilité bancaire du nouveau pays?
Comment avez-vous fait face à cette problématique? (qui n’est peut être pas réellement une problématique)
Je suppose que transférer vers un pays développé n’est pas hyper compliqué mais je suppose que cela est bien plus compliqué quand il s’agit d’un pays beaucoup moins développé..
Merci pour vos réponses !

TL;DR: 31F, tech worker, childfree, with $1.8M invested. Took a 3-month leave to test my FIRE plan in China. I initially estimated my annual spending at $50K, but my actual expenses have been much lower. I think it might be time to pull the trigger.

Assets
~$1.8M invested

• Brokerage: $1.1M — 85% index funds, 15% individual stocks
• Company RSUs: $680K — I still need to gradually sell these and move to index funds
• Cash: $50K
• Inherited property in China: Worth approximately $900K, generating $12K annual rental income. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s not unusual in China, where we don’t have property taxes.
• Pretax 401k: $320K — I probably won’t touch this before I’m 60.

Spending
After doing some research, I chose Chongqing as my home base. It’s a MCOL city in China, where the average monthly income is only around $1,100.

• Insurance: $250/month — This covers both health insurance and social security contributions (which gives me a small amount of pension after age 55)
• Rent and utilities: $300/month — For a 2b1b condo with walking distance to a famous commercial district full of foods and nightlife options. It’s super convenient.
• Food and groceries: $500/month — During my first month, I ate out almost every day and spent around $750. After that, I started cooking at home, bringing the cost down to $400–500/month. I’m still drinking too much boba and eating too much late-night street food, though. I need to cut back for the sake of my health.
• Transportation: $50/month — I don’t plan to buy a car because taking an Uber or renting a car when needed is much cheaper. Public transportation is also good and very affordable. I spent around $70 during my first month exploring the city, but since then, my transportation costs have been no more than $30/month.
• Other recurring expenses: $110/month
  • $50 for streaming and gaming subscriptions
  • $10 for VPN-related services
  • $38 for home internet and a Chinese mobile plan
  • $12 for my US mobile plan
• Entertainment: My main hobbies are video games and building/painting models. They don’t cost much money, but they do take up a lot of time! I also occasionally travel. My budget for hobbies and travel is about $1000/month but for most time I wont spend that much.
• One-time expenses: ~$2K — The place I rent came furnished, so I only needed to set up a gaming and model-building workstation, plus a small home gym. This cost me around $2K.

My baseline spending is around $1,250/month, or $15K/year. The $12K annual rental income from my inherited property covers most of that. At a 3% withdrawal rate, my $1.8M portfolio could support $54K in annual withdrawals, leaving me with plenty of room for hobbies, travel, and unexpected expenses. Financially, things look pretty good. So I think it’s time to pull the trigger. My leave is ending next Monday. Can’t wait to give my 2-week notice.

Why FIRE

Honestly, I just hate working. I hate having to follow a fixed schedule, and spending most of my waking hours doing something I don't particularly care about. I was born to have no passion or big dream I'm desperate to pursue. I don't care about climbing the corporate ladder, or achieving some kind of professional success. If I can afford to live comfortably without working, why should I keep doing it? I'm perfectly happy with my current life: spending my days gaming, building and painting models, working out, and occasionally traveling. (If you are familiar with MBTI, I'm a typical ISTP :P)

Why Chongqing, China

It's very affordable here so I don't have to limit my expenses or sacrifice the quality of life. I also like the overall vibe here. Life feels less stressful, and people seem pretty chill. There's also plenty to explore. It's a city built partially on mountains. It has a unique landscape and lots of interesting places to visit.

No kids. Liquid net worth $8m. Travelled extensively in work and life. I am starting another company that I still want to work on while living abroad.

Single and straight so dating life matters but not looking for cheapest and passport bro style locations. Never had issues dating in the US so this is just lifestyle and adventure change.

I have a house that is rented out and equity is around $800k

I would like to scale my current company to sell so have liquid net worth of $50m+

I really like skiing but think living abroad would be fun to do again. I prefer mountains over beaches but not opposed to cities near the ocean.

I love the cultures but because of hearing issues have real problems learning other languages.

Where should I try / live for permanent relocation?

Hey guys,

My partner and I are planning to start investing in 2027 and want to structure things properly from the beginning, with the long term goal of moving from Australia to Southeast Asia in around 10–15 years, potentially sooner.

Thailand is our preferred place to live, and we’re trying to understand the most tax efficient way to build and eventually draw down our investment portfolio.

Our rough plan is:
• Invest consistently in ETFs while living and working in Australia.
• Potentially use IBKR and an Ireland-domiciled ETF such as VWRA for global diversification and long-term growth.
• In around 5–6 years, my partner may move to Thailand permanently while I continue working FIFO in the • Australian mining industry, potentially on a 2:2 roster and spending my time off in Thailand.
• My partner can get the Thai retirement visa and could potentially cease being an Australian tax resident, while I continue to have Australian tax obligations because of my FIFO work.
• Eventually, we’d like to fund our lifestyle in Thailand from our investments, ideally with as much flexibility as possible.

A few questions for anyone with experience:

ETF choice: Would VWRA be worth considering over Australian-domiciled ETFs such as DHHF, VGS or a VAS/VGS combination, particularly for someone who eventually plans to live overseas
Brokerage: Is IBKR a the best long-term platform for someone who expects to change tax residency and retire overseas
Tax residency: Has anyone maintained Australian FIFO employment while living primarily in Thailand? How did you manage tax residency across both countries?
Investment ownership: Would there be legitimate advantages to my partner holding some or all of the investments in his own name once he becomes a Thai tax resident, while I continue earning Australian income? What Australian and Thai tax implications should we investigate?
Drawing down the portfolio: How are foreign ETF distributions and capital gains generally treated when a Thai tax resident leaves the funds offshore and later remits money to Thailand?

We’re still at the research stage and understand that we’ll need professional cross border tax advice before doing anything. I’m interested in hearing from people who have actually made the Australia to Thailand move or SEA and can share what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they’d known earlier.

Thanks!

Me voy a vivir a España y conservo bienes en Argentina Como la titularidad de los bienes es compartida, buscar un responsable sustituo y sobre todo liquidar ganancias como no residente cuando hay varios dueños y los.montos son bajos es un poco engorroso.

Dos contadores me sugirieron no darme de baja en Arca (pago.monotributo y bienes personales) y esperar a que se vendan las propiedades.

La duda es... a mitad del.año que viene voy a ser residente fiscal en España.. es viable mantener por un tiempo residencia fiscal en ambos paises?

Me sugieren pagar y declarar todo en ambos paises para evitar fiscalizaciones

Ademas de un ingreso pequeño por alquileres, tengo una jubilacion que no tributa en argentina pero que por supuesto declararia en Hacienda.

Sugerencias? Ideas? Gracias

Lately I’ve been handling more of my parents’ affairs: electricity and water bills, phone bills, insurance renewals, bank matters, medical appointments and medicines.

The problem is that I keep missing things. Last month a bill was paid late and we had to pay a reconnection fee. Small fines and late charges add up, and it’s stressful keeping track of everything for two households.

How do you all manage this?

• Do you use any app, calendar, or system to track due dates?
• How do you keep their documents (NIC, deeds, insurance policies, bank books) organised?
• Any tips to avoid late fees, penalties or policies quietly expiring?
• And how do you protect them from scam calls and SMS?

Would really appreciate any advice. Especially from people managing this from abroad, how do you even do it from that far? 🙏

I test expat fired last year in se asia and am finalizing thailand or vietnam as my chosen locations. I plan to get a 9 month apartment and then live in the US for 3 months. I'm 53, and have the funds to fly home to the us at least a couple times a year, but the flight is very long, and the time difference makes it really hard to keep in touch with friends and family in the us.

I love living in asia, and i also love visiting home. how do expatfirers deal with this, or is it just part of the game?

What do you guys think of prefering to stay at your community despite not liking the city vs moving away?

For example, Im lucky enough where I traveled alot and for a very long time. Ive seen many cities. I find my home, Toronto to be meh. I love the people but it can feel souless because of the architecture. I see a lot of corporate buildings, a few train lines, not as lively as other cities. On the flipside, I meet others who cant integrate to other countries too when they move away.

In my next life I think being a a wealthy Italian, Swiss or Spainard living in their home countries is a great life

I (35M) have been working corporate jobs ever since I graduated from college. I remember for the first few years working, I didn't take time off longer than a few days. One of my coworkers in the office actually looked at me one day and asked me if I ever took vacations because...he always, always sees me working. I'm feeling a bit burnt out.

I also recently broke up with my girlfriend. We left on good terms but it was a decade long relationship (both decided we wanted different things in life, not going to get too much into detail). I don't have any kids, zero dependents, and the dating scene is absolutely horrible nowadays.

One day, after sitting in my car coming back from work in silence, I decided I was going to take a year-long sabbatical somewhere in SEA or East Asia. Sounds cliche, since most people do that already. But...I've been dreaming of it for a long time now. Beautiful pristine beaches, amazing food, cheap COL, what else could you ask for? I went to Thailand with a few friends a few years ago and it blew me away.

I told myself at the END of this year around December, I'd quit my job, and starting January 2027 I'd make the final move. I looked into condos, living arrangements, VISA, everything. I budgeted and planned roughly 40k USD to last the entire year, slow traveling through parts of SEA and E-Asia.

I have about $500k saved up in individual accounts, so money isn't an issue. I also have a house with about $175k home equity that I was planning to sell at the start of 2027 which would help fund the sabbatical. So, if all goes to plan, I'll have roughly 700k total net worth come Jan.

Everything was looking fantastic. I was just counting the days down now, until....I got promoted. Now I went from making 70k a year to 120k. That's a BIG freakin jump. I applied for the position on an absolute whim and didn't think I'd get it. So now I'm stuck. Not to mention it came with a whole crap ton of responsibilities and stress. Despite this....IDK if I should let this opportunity of a lifetime go away....but I'd been planning this sabbatical for a WHOLE YEAR already. Doing the math, planning the places I'd travel to and stay...a whole damn road-map playbook. Shattered. IDK what to do? To make things worse my family learned about the promotion and they're so proud of me they held a big party and everything. I feel like shit now if I'd let them down. We grew up poor so I'm the first person in the family to make above 6 figures.

Chances are...if I quit 2-3 months into this new promotion, I would most likely NOT be coming back to a job this lucrative in a year's time after the sabbatical is over. The golden handcuffs is true...I'm absolutely broken.

On top of it all....I've been deeply depressed. I recently enrolled in therapy because my anxiety and depression got so bad I couldn't sleep or eat, or go to the gym anymore. I thought lightly about suicide a few times due to being burnt out from the new role at work (but I'd never do it).

And now I don't really know what to do. With Ai and the job market the way it is...I don't know if I can even find a job making 70k when I come back; who knows? I realize this could hurt my future FIRE goals (I personally want to hit 1m and then just retire outright via ExpatFIRE). Should I say f** it and just do it? Or should I stick it out for another year or two?

I'm currently mid 30s and have a net worth of about 550k euro, except about half of that is equity in my home. I work as an accountant and i'm seeing both my employer as well as most of my clients having a bunch of succesful pilots and implementations of AI. Right now it's still early adoption, but we are already aiming to automate most of the work at my employer in 1-2 years. Jobs here would then mostly be reduced to reviewing the work of AI and correcting it, as well small parts of work that can't be fully done by AI yet. I expect the same will happen for most jobs that mostly take place behind computers. First world countries are especially vulnerable due to having a large services sector.

I'm kind of worried for the future. I can wait till everything gets automated away, but unemployment will skyrocket and the value of my house will crash as well. So my net worth could drop significantly if i don't pull the trigger to FIRE early...

I'm perfectly fine doing lean fire in Thailand with about 3,5% SWR on a 600k portfolio, which i can probably reach in 1 year. I'd have a decent pension at my pension age (probably not accessible until 70+), so i'd only need to withdraw a small amount from my leftover portfolio after retirement.

Anyone having similar thoughts? Or am I just too anxious about AI and am i gonna RE too early, making it so i can't fully enjoy my retirement?

We are a family of 3 with my kid going to kindergarten age. We are not well off but is comfortable right now. But lately, I've been feeling a bit about wanting to taking it easier.

Bit more info: - Mid 30s - 1.1m in stocks (401k, IRAs, and other investments) - Fully paid house worth $800k if sell, or $4k/mo if renting it out.

I know it's not much compared to what I've read in this subreddit lol. But we want to start thinking about whether it's possible.

I had a 5 years visa before as my parents were Vietnamese citizens so I believe I could apply for it again. My parents also have an old house in Saigon, which I guess we could stay or help them fix up.

We could start selling off our regular investment first, and may be sell the house or keep it as a rental.

Anyone done this recently or have been planning? What's your magic number to just call it quit and move?

Hi All,

Like the title says, asking for a numbers/sanity check.

My partner (37M) and I (36F) are over the grind and want to quit our jobs and move to SEA with Vietnam being our home base. Do the numbers work if we want to quit January 2028?

Understanding there are many other factors to consider but this is just a numbers check so don’t really need add’t comments or questions about visas and health insurance etc. (that will be for a later time!)

The numbers (joint):
Cash/HYSA - $240K
Stocks - $80K
437b Roth - $250K
401K - $210K

My partner also gets ~$2200/month untaxed from the VA and I will be getting ~$1300/month pension starting at 55.

We’ve run the numbers and expect to spend $2000-2500/month in SEA for the majority of the year and spending maybe 2-3 months of the year in the US (where we would not be paying rent).

Do the numbers work? Is there something we are missing/not considering?

We could keep working if the numbers don’t work but if they do then don’t see the point in not doing it.

If we take the chance and fail, so what - we have to go back and work till we’re 50s like we originally planned to anyway.

TIA!

I’m 25, a USMC veteran, and currently a college student studying computer science online. I receive 90% VA disability, which comes out to roughly $2,300 a month, and I’m planning on using that income to travel abroad while finishing school. I’m looking to leave pretty much anytime between now and the end of the year. I don’t really have a set itinerary or timeline, and honestly, that’s kind of the point. I want to explore different countries, experience different cultures, and potentially find somewhere I’d like to establish a home base long-term. Southeast Asia is my main focus right now, especially Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, but I’m open to Europe, South America, and pretty much anywhere that’s affordable. I’m not necessarily trying to live luxuriously, but I do want to be comfortable, have reliable internet for school, and still have money left over to travel and enjoy myself. I’m mainly looking for advice from people who’ve done something similar. What countries would you recommend on my budget? What are some good long-term visa or residency options, especially ones that allow flexibility to travel between countries? How do you handle banking, insurance, phone plans, accommodation, and other logistics while constantly moving around? Any hidden expenses, common mistakes, or things you wish you’d known before leaving the US? I’m also interested in hearing from other veterans living overseas on VA disability. I’m pretty flexible and just trying to learn as much as possible before making the jump. Any tips, recommendations, or personal experiences would be appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I'm 36, turning 37 soon, originally from Southern Europe and currently living in Central Europe. Thanks to high salaries, relatively low income taxes, and no capital gains tax on private investments, I've accumulated approximately $2.3M in investments, held in brokerage accounts and net of taxes.

I'm seriously considering leaving my corporate job within the next 1–2 years. I'm increasingly loosing motivation and happiness and would rather spend my time building a life I enjoy (exploring new hobbies, working on my health, etc.) than continuing to accumulate money indefinitely especially in a place i dont see myself anymore long term.

My situation:

- Age: 37

- Invested net worth: $2.3M

- Portfolio: Mostly global equities, plus approximately one year of expenses in cash

- Current annual spending: ~$70k

- Potential destinations: Southeast Asia or Latin America

- Career: General business, so returning to a comparable role after several years away could be challenging + I dont think i wanna go back to corporate if I FIRE (actually im sure i dont)

I've traveled extensively in both regions and enjoy them (in Asia especially Thailand, in latin america brazil, mexico, argentina). I speak Spanish, which makes Latin America attractive, although safety is a concern. I expect my expenses could decrease abroad, particularly if I settle somewhere I genuinely enjoy living rather than constantly traveling as for now majority of my moneygoes away in trips.

My dilemma:

The numbers seem to work on paper. A 4% withdrawal rate would give me approximately $92k annually, above my current spending. However, I'm only 36, so my retirement could last 60+ years, and I don't want to underestimate future expenses or sequence-of-returns risk.

I don't want children, but circumstances can change and never say never (future wife etc). At the same time, continuing to work purely for additional financial security has a real opportunity cost.

I'd appreciate your honest take:

1. Would you consider $2.3M enough to FIRE at 36–37, assuming a move to a lower-cost country?

2. Would you use my current $70k spending as the baseline or plan more conservatively?

3. Would you leave within 1–2 years or accumulate another 30–40% first if markets allow? So i have a buffer if my family situation would change?

4. For those who FIREd young, what risks or expenses did you underestimate?

Am I financially ready but struggling to take the leap, or would leaving now be unnecessarily risky?

Thanks!

It doesn't. Not directly at least.

Networth ≠ Liquid net worth, and when it comes to your FI number, we need liquidity (and at least 50% in diversified equities) to apply the 4% rule.

So what do you do with property?

You take the annual PROFIT, (that's your net income, after taxes, maintenance, vacancies, etc.) and you subtract that from your annual expenses. Then you use this adjusted number to calculate the size of portfolio you'll need to reach FI.

Instead of the usual:

FI number = Annual Expenses x 25

You get:

FI number = (Annual Expenses - Net Annual Property Income) x 25

Honestly, you're you're already an expat, or you're planning to become one, property is really a giant pain. Managing one across borders is just one more headache. But if you happen to already have some property, maybe this can help you decide how to include it in your planning or if it's even worth keeping it around.

I'm in my late-forties (longtime expat), married with kids who start university in 4 and 6 years' time. I reached a decent corporate level before being laid off a while ago. I turned job-hunting into a full time pursuit, but senior expat-suitable opportunities are rare and I suspect I'm typically screened out due to age. A year of this proved to be the most thankless and unproductive year of my life. A few friends suggested that I start my own advisory business, which I've done...but so far it's been only the occasional project here and there. I also got a gig teaching a course.

Although I still have career ambitions, I figure that I need to invest with a retirement mindset. My net worth is roughly $3.5M in financial assets and we own our home without debt. My wife works and earns a modest income, but this goes mostly towards some expenses + mortgage for an investment property.

My rough plan is as follows:

- Park 6 years' of living expenses in time deposits and high quality fixed income
- Create an education fund for the kids to cover university tuition/living costs
- That leaves about 60% of my assets that I need to figure out what to do with

With some rough modelling, a 6-7% total portfolio return will cover expenses beyond life expectancy. But I'll have quite a lot tied up in safe assets yielding 3-4.5%, meaning that 60% of my assets would need to be invested heavily into equities. That means I have future drawdown risk in the event of a bad market. Another headache is that my kids will probably go to university in Canada and it seems tricky to invest in Canadian dollars as a non-resident due to tax considerations.

Feedback and advice much appreciated.

Hey all, I read this earlier today, and it was a reminder to me how valuable it is to share your experiences with people, as you never know who it might help.

You can check my post history to understand how I got here.

We (family of 3) live on about 40k USD/ annually. 3.3k/month in Nairobi, Kenya. We moved from the UK in 2025. We have a NW of about $4m, mostly invested in the usual boring stuff (VTI/VWRL)

Rent $1.5k

We rent a three bedroom apartment in a building with swimming pool, cinema, Stream room & play area in one of the "up market" neighbourhoods.

Utilities $90

Bulk of this is electricity. We don't use AC, but the water heater in our apartment is very energy hungry.

Education $240

Our child goes to a "International" Kindergarten. This price includes transport to and from the school. When they are ready for the first grade, the schooling cost will increase massively, somewhere between $480 to $1000/ month. Depends largely on the school.

Car $100

We don't drive too much, 5k in the last year. So this is mostly fuel and servicing.

Food $183

We try to eat local, and the beauty of Kenya compared to a lot of places in Africa is that you can get a fairly wide range of goods locally made/ grown. For context Salmon is $26/kg+, while I can get local beef for $7/kg.

Immigration/Visa $180/month

We are on Class C permits. which cost a whopping $2k/year. We are on a 2 year permit, and with other costs call it $2.2k. So yeah, we make "donation" of $4.5k to the republic every 2 years. This covers all three of us, but uniquely allows us to work, and operate a business. We do neither, but it's nice to have the option.

House Help $150/month

We have lady who cleans for us twice a week. She's overpaid by local standards (Live-in full time is ~$100), but she is the friend of a friend so we are ok with it.

These are our biggest, and fixed costs. The bulk of the gap between the sum of the above, and the headline number is international trips, and other miscellaneous things. I keep an eye on costs but I don't really budget too tightly.

Why did we choose Nairobi?

• My wife has family in a neighbouring country, so it's lovely to be able to "just" drive across to see them whenever we feel like.
• Cost of living is low by western standards (Kenyans would think I'm a KSH billionaire), however I wouldn't call it cheap, especially once you factor in school fees.
• Kenya operates a source based taxation model, which works well for us as all of our income comes from overseas.
• Weather is great all year round. No real seasons, and lots of micro-climates, just choose your altitude.
• Altitude (1760m) means it's above the malaria zone
• While the flights are expensive, there are direct flights to several places in Europe, Africa and also Asia.
• There are lots of driveable destinations like the Kenyan Coast, Kenyan national parks, Uganda, Rwanda & Tanzania.
• There is level for every budget in this place, We could easily cut a burn and still have a decent live. We could also go and rent a villa for 10k/month. If you want it, it's here, just a question of how much you want to spend.
• Developing nations provide a unique balance of chaos and progress that is hard to explain if you have never lived in one.

Kenya is most certainly not perfect, there is petty crime, poverty & corruption. However, I think it's good for keeping me grounded, and provides a constant reminder to me that this is closer to how the majority of people in the world live (be it without the cinema and pool!).

Happy to answer any questions

Edit typo

I'm Japanese and considering becoming a Permanent Traveler (PT).

My plan is to leave Japan, establish non-resident status, obtain Thailand's DTV, and spend fewer than 180 days per year in Thailand while traveling internationally.

This means I may not be a tax resident of any country.

I have three questions:

1. Banking: Can I legally open and maintain accounts with Wise, Xapo, Revolut, IBKR, etc., without tax residency? Has anyone successfully declared "no tax residency" for CRS purposes?

2. Tax residency: If an official Tax Residence Certificate (TRC) is necessary, which countries offer the cheapest legitimate option with minimal physical presence (ideally 0–90 days), no company formation, and no substantial investment?

3. Paraguay / Panama: I've heard it may be possible to obtain a TRC with limited physical presence. Has anyone actually done this? What were the requirements, costs, and minimum days?

I'm aware of Cyprus's 60-day rule, but I'm not interested in living there.

I'd particularly appreciate first-hand experiences from people actually living as PTs.

been wondering how ppl handle their finances after moving abroad. Do you open a local bank account, stick with your home bank, or fintech firms?

I'm especially curious about safety, deposit protection and so on once you use local accounts...or you handle without ?
The thing is probably local payments will require opening a local bank account.

Following up on a post from a few months ago that talked about their expenses in Bali, I thought I would share mine as well. Thanks mate for the write up and I will steal your layout :)

For starters, I FIRE'd over 5 years ago, traveled the world, dived, ate, and lived the good life. I've been to over 100 countries and even before FIRE'ing, I had extensively traveled.

Never planned to have kids but one thing led to another. After meeting the right person, things happened, To keep it short, a few years later, 2 little kids are part of our life.

I've lived all over the world but it was clear to us that Bali was our favorite place for having a proper life, especially with kids. Everyone has pros and cons, but Bali checked the most pros boxes for us with the least amount of cons. I won't get too into detail why this is but mainly that Bali offers everything you want in a first world city life condensed into a laid back island format. Countless top quality cafes, restaurants from all around the world, trendy spots for date night, the most beautiful gyms in the world, ease of making friends, beach, surf, and proximity to the best dive sites in the world (speaking from experience as a dive instructor and having over 1000+ dives).

So with that said, let me get into my expenses living the good life in Paradise raising our two little kids.

In total, we spend around $8,000 a month without travel expenses. All figures in $USD to keep it simple wiht current exchange rate at 18,000 IDR to $1 USD.

Villa and staff costs: $2,100

• Villa Rent: $1,500

  • We bought a villa in an area outside of Canggu that is fast becoming the hottest neighborhood in island. We paid roughly $350k usd for a 420 sqm 4bd/5ba villa on a 500 sqm plot of land. Renting a similar villa of this quality would be at least $4-5k a month.
  • The villa was built by another foreigner and he must have killed someone because we got a great deal on it.
  • I financed it by taking a margin loan against my portfolio with a 4.5% interest rate. Monthly payments are roughly $1,500

• Electricity: about $180/month

  • We have a huge house and with kids, we need to keep the ACs running. Normally, our villa gets great natural air flow but with the problematic burnings we've had lately, we've had to close the doors and run the AC more.
  • THe pool pump is running for several hours a day especially as we have to service our 12m pool

• Full time maid: $250/month

  • We have a full time maid. THe normal rates in Bali are working 6d a week for 8 hours. We have ours come 5 days a week as it's overkill.
  • She cleans the entire villa. This includes laundry which is constantly running with a family of 4.
  • She also buys groceries for us and we have her cut fruit for us twice a week so there's always fruit in the fridge
  • Sometimes she takes care of the baby when our nanny is out

• Gardener 2x a week: $60

  • We have a huge garden with hundreds of trees/plants
  • I have a few coconut trees and the gardener makes sure to cut them for me when they are ripe
  • Currently planting papaya and mango trees

• Pool Guy: $50

• Banjar trash collection: $30/month

  • This used to be like $15 but inflation...

• Home Insurance: $40

  • Prorated by month (paid yearly)

Food and dining: about $3,000

This includes all groceries, restaurants, going out, delivery. We spend a lot on food because we eat a lot. Part of the Bali life is living this healthy, fitness focused lifestyle. I'm constantly at the gym, playing padel, etc. and I make sure we all eat a high protein, healthy diet. This means more premium foods, high protein items, and less street food. I target 200g of protein so even within Bali, you gotta spend some cash.

We go out dinner with friends 1-2x a week and go to one of the trendier restaurants in town. We constantly meet friends for lunch/coffee as well.

Alcohol consumption is almost non-existent since it's all about healthy living in Bali (tourists party at beach clubs but the people that live long term in Bali don't). Dinner at a night restaurant for 2 will be somewhere between $40-60.

We don't really watch our spend because we have the budget for it. The $3,000 is just an estimate and it could be +-$500.

Childcare and School: about $1,000

• Daycare: $500
  • Our older one goes to a daycare nearby. It's a beautiful open space with lots of trees, green space, and honestly it's just an amazing place. Couldn't imagine anythign else.
• Full time Nanny: about $500/month
  • We have a full time nanny that works 6d a week for 8 hours a day. She is an aamzing person and we've had her for awhile.
  • The typical cost for a full time nanny in Bali is 5.5-7.5m IDR ($300-$400). We decided to pay ours more as we really value her ($450).
  • We give her a little overtime to stay for a few hours at night when we go out at night.

Transportation: about $80

We ride scooters in Bai because that's the main way to get around. We purchased two scooters upfront so there are no monthly holding costs. As our baby is young, we rented a car for a few months until he can be on a scooter for $250 a month. I won't bother adding that into the bduget as it's temporary.

I have a bigger bike and I fill it up 3x a month. It has a 12L tank and gas is around $0.8 a liter. My wife has a smaller bike with 6L

• Fuel: $70
• Occasional airport ride: $10

Health insurance: about $500

We have a comprehensive health insurance plan with one of the major insurers in Europe for our family of 4. THe premium is $450 a month and it comes with a 500 EUR deductible per person. Cost for care in Bali is quite cheap for most things. For example, my dental cleaning was around $40.

One time, we needed an ambulance and Emergency room care which came to $200.

Visas and immigration: $100 per month

Indonesia is great in that you can live here without visa worries as long as you have money. It's a pay to play system where you can just indefinitely buy visas. This might change in the future but it's been this way for a long time.

We have a two year visa for all 4 of us. The rules are that you can stay up to 6 months. After 6 months, you can leave and re-enter, or pay to have it extended another 6 months. We are usually gone once every 6 months anyway so this isn't an issue. In total, this was about $600 per person.

$600 x 4 = $2400 / 24 months = $100 a month.

Gyms and Fitness: $400 per month

The gyms in Bali are second to none. They've really done well to turn it into this wellness focused space with some of the fanciest gyms on the planet. As someone that worked out at Equinox in NYC, i wouldn't trade the clubs here for anything else

We bought 1y memberships upfront at the gym of our choice. Prorated it is about $170 per month per person.

We play padel (not religiously) but at least a few games a month. A court is quite cheap now as there's probably more padel courts per capita in Bali than anywhere in the world. You can book a 60 minute court for $20!

Personal Maintenance: $300

This is of course a very variable budget that is based on what your needs/interests/wants are. For us, we like the nice things and have no plans to skimp on what makes us happy.

• Massages: $200
  • We have a massage once every week or two. We have a few go to spas that we go back to. We're too old for street massages now so we spend more for the good stuff. Private rooms, good sound proofing, and aesthetically pleasing. A 90 minute Balinese massage is $25-30.
• Treatments for the P2: $100
  • She gets Mani/Pedi, lashes, facials, Hair, botox etc. THis is just a rough estimate of the prorated monthly spend

Misc expenses: $500

Anyone with kids knows that it's not possible to maintain a strict budget. Something always comes up every month and money gets spent. Whether it's clothes, swim lessons, toys etc, something always comes. We buy a lot of random stuff on Shopee (the Amazon equivalent).

Phones, subscriptions and financial services: about $40

Here’s the rough monthly breakdown. As we are full time in Indonesia, we are able to pay Indonesia pricecs which are 1/3 of the US.

• Sim cards: $15 for two SIM cards (50Gb a month.
• Spotify Family: $5
• Netflix: $4
• iCloud+: $8
• Google One: $8

Monthly Totals

This is a high level summary of our expenses month to month. Of course this is very variable depending on what's going on in life +- $1,000 or so!

I don't factor in travel to this budget as this is super variable especially now with two kids. We travel less than before but whenever we do, the spend balloons.

We have friends with families that live on significantly less but also some that spend even more. We don't live a life of excess but we certainly do not hold back.

Without kids, we'd have a smaller and cheaper villa because we wouldn't need the space. we also would not have the nanny or school costs so I reckon our expenses per month would be closer to 5-6k.

Finances

In total, our portfolio is somewhere around $3.5m. It's invested in a lot of Tech which I've done since I started investing over a decade ago.

We also have hobbies that keep us busy and generates revenue. My blog still brings income (miraculously) somehow int he age of AI. The amounts are variable but not insignificant. This blog has been running for a long time now well before I hit FIRE so the income is coming whether I have 3.5m or 35m.

P2 works with a friend's travel business.

Both of us used to work in traditional industries.

Blog income: $5-7k a month

P2 travel: $4-5k a month

So far, we've not had to make any withdrawals from our portfolio which has been wonderful.

Hello,

I have a deviated septum in my left nostril. Actually, I've had it for over 25 years so far ever since my car accident. I went to two separate ENTs and they both asked me if I got punched in the face or any other trauma. They both recommended septoplasty, but that's gonna cost me a pretty penny and delay my ExpatFIRE goal.

I would like to keep it kinda vague, but I am about 5-6 years away from ExpatFIRE. If I sleep on my left side, my left nostril gets blocked to the point of no breathing through it. If I sleep on my right side, I breathe very well. The issue is that I toss and turn a lot so often times, I wake up with a headache despite getting 7-9 hours of sleep.

So if I get the surgery now with my HDHP, I am gonna be set back by a year or so. If I don't, I can get probably get the septoplasty done cheaper in the Philippines where I plan to retire to.