Thanks for the comments.

I just turned 40 last week. I am certainly not rich but have managed to save enough to ‘almost’ semi-retire if my wife and I live cheaply. I am definitely going to continue to work on projects I enjoy and that still means work, but I am not going to be tied to set hours or a set location any longer.

10 years is plenty of time to phase out of any job, particularly if you plan to continue earning money online.

I’ve planted my online income seed this year with Financial Samurai, and I have to imagine that in 8 years of consistent networking and writing, I should be able to generate a decent online income and travel the world forever.

I like your thoughts, and I wrote a post called “Knowing When To Walk Away – Financial Planning For An Unknown Future” on Wise Bread. Essentially, I ask readers to walk away from your job after a certain age, and not after a certain level of income accumulation.

I lived in Osaka, Kobe for a couple years and loved my time in Japan!

Best,

Sam
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..The Katana: Nobody Really Cares More About You Than You 11/22

Yes, I agree that Europe can be inexpensive as well, particularly if you stay out of the larger cities. I have family in Hungary so I try to visit there regularly. A drink in a bar in Budapest will cost $3 to $6. In the country side, it is possible to find a drink for about a $1. That price differential is similar for rent and meals as well.

However, I still feel that countries like Bali, Thailand and the Philippines offer lower prices for comparable services.

We like a lot of luxury…some 5 star hotel stays, top restaurants in Prague, France, Italy, Spain etc, expensive piano lessons across continents for our child, 3 lap tops–2 that are macs, nice clothes from France & Italy for our child, large new modern home with a pool & fast cable internet for the winter in southern Spain, dolphin swims, theme parks & lots of museums,groceries delivered, lots of dental work done etc etc.

It could be done for much less than we do it. Everyone thinks Asia, but we were paying less for lots more luxury in Spain than a fellow RTW family did in SE Asia. We are frugal types so we do not splurge constantly and put thought into our budget, but we would not want to live a life without luxury. On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that some people spend over 100K/year to see and experience much less than we have. I’ve seen families pay 5 or 10K just for a week or two of vacation and think what a waste of money.

In this economy, I think one needs to really watch currencies. We are really glad that we mostly got out of the dollar in 2005 as the fundamentals do not look good for it. I would also be very careful of stocks and bonds in this economy as the major economic shift going on will continue for years. Many of the major problems have not even begun yet.

I couldn’t agree more that people tend to over-estimate the amount needed to effectively retire. One can retire and still build one’s nest egg if one makes wise choices. The Terhorts retired at 35 over 25 years ago and wrote a classic book about it.

You actually can live & travel the world on nothing ( people have done this, including my brother), but if you want comfort in your life, a great education for your child/ren and more security for your future to add to your free life, you’ll probably want to spend more. Even in the US, most retirees live on 25/30K a year, so it makes sense that one can live well on that amount or less in cheaper places.

Thanks for the comment. What was Cambodia like? I haven’t been there yet. Is that a good place to stay for extended periods of time?

Another thing to take into account if you’re price shopping destinations is the ongoing political circumstances. The Airport shutdown at Bangkok last year was in many ways a good thing for the tourists and expats that were over there. I was getting hotels/guesthouse rooms for 1/3 the normal rate, and scored a great deal on an apartment in Sukhumvit. Whenever there’s something that scares off the package deal tourists, have a careful look, check out whether it’s dangerous or not (in this case it wasn’t) and considering going. You’ll get everything on offer, at a really low cost, without being surrounded by tourists.

1 bedroom apt $350 cable included(Nice apt community by a reputed mgmt company) with swimming pool
video library etc.
Gas – $50 (it was around $1/gallon at that time)
Groceries – $100
utilities – $30 (Hosuton is the energy hub and subsidized by state)
entertainment – (restaurants ,movies etc) $70- $170
Do you know there are many $3 haircuts shops around in Houston.
Also there are so many restaurants there that you always find good meal specials.
I used to eatout a lot.
I believe living costs are still around the same except for Gas.