How To Figure A Budget For Your New Life Overseas

 Jan. 4, 2012, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Here are the expenses that any retire overseas budget should include.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

How much will it cost you to live in the overseas Shangri-la that's calling your name?

The bulk of any budget is given over to housing--rent or a mortgage, if you have one--so start here. Are you going to rent or to buy?

I strongly recommend that you rent at least at first, for 6 to 12 months, to give yourself a chance to try the place on for size before committing. However, if you do eventually decide to invest in a home of your own, recognize that property ownership comes with carrying costs. As a home-owner, you'll have maintenance and repair costs, insurance, in some places property taxes, maybe grounds-keeping, etc. As a renter, you have none of these liabilities, which is why renting long term can make a lot of sense for the retiree abroad.

How To Retire Sooner Than Never

Jan. 3, 2012, Santa Fe, New Mexico: If you wait to reach some preconceived level of net worth or income before retiring, you’ll never retire. Instead, figure how much money you have right now for retirement and then identify the places where that retirement budget will buy you the retirement lifestyle you’re looking for.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

"My 40-year-old friend Bill told me that he believes he needs US$5 million to retire," writes Overseas Retirement Planning Guru Paul Terhorst.

"'Part of that will be equity in my home,' my friend explained. 'But I'd like to have US$4 million invested. With today's low interest rates, even with US$4 million I'll barely have enough to live.'

"Bill figures that, even if he can earn 5% on his US$4 million stash--tough to do these days--that's still only US$200,000 a year. If he pays half that in taxes, he'll have to live on US$100,000 a year, in an expensive house, in the fast lane he's used to. Also tough to do.

When Is The Right Time To Retire Overseas? Right Now!

Jan. 2, 2012, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

"When is the right time for you to retire and move abroad?" asks Overseas Retirement Planning Guru Paul Terhorst.

"Right now.

"Okay, I don't know you personally, but I know some things about you. You've likely traveled overseas, and you've got good reasons for thinking you'd like to relocate beyond your own borders. You've likely even already created a short list of places where you think you might want to spend time.

"So what are you waiting for? I figure you should go for it, sooner rather than later. Why? Because odds are, your retirement will work out fine. In the past 25 years, I've heard from literally hundreds of people who've moved overseas, many in their 40s and 50s. I wrote 'Cashing In on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35,' a hard-cover business bestseller in 1988. I got hundreds of letters then and still get e-mails today. I hear the stories, the investments, the choices these people made.

The World Map This First Of The New Year

Jan. 1, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland: On this first day of New Year 2012, here’s how the world map looks from the perspective of the foreign retiree, global investor, and international entrepreneur.

Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,

Looking at the world map as we launch New Year 2012, here's what we see:

Perennial Bests

• World's Top Retirement Haven: Panama

Yes, still, Panama. Panama City is no longer cheap, but elsewhere in the country sure can be. And, for such a little country, Panama serves up tremendous diversity, meaning you can find almost any retirement lifestyle you might be looking for, from cosmopolitan Panama City to Caribbean island hideaways, Pacific coast fishing villages, colonial cities, mountain towns, and expat enclaves.

In addition, Panama offers more than a dozen options for establishing residency, international-standard and very affordable health care, downright cheap health insurance (if you qualify), and the best infrastructure in the region. This country is safe, stable, and accessible...everything a retiree could be looking for.

Make Your Own Reality In 2012

Dec. 30, 2011, Baltimore, Maryland: The best reason to retire overseas is not a reduced cost of living but an increased quality of life and a broadened, more positive outlook on the world.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

Standing in line in Target earlier this week, our cart overflowing with super-discounted stuff we'd decided we couldn't live without and had to buy to lug back to Panama with us, Lief asked me the question that we can't help but return to from time to time:

"Why do we choose to continue living overseas? Wouldn't it be easier and maybe even cheaper to move back to the United States?" he wondered.

Some things would be more affordable, yes. (Thus the Target shopping spree.) Important items in our budget, though, would become dramatically more costly, especially health care and health insurance. And, returned Stateside, we wouldn't be able to afford little luxuries like full-time help around the house.