I wrote in my About page that I believe I could retire once I’m earning around $500 a month. Now if you are not particularly well traveled in the developing world, you may think I have lost the plot. But it really is possible to live on as little as this, in fact you could live on a lot less if you really wanted to live on the cheap, it all comes down to how many sacrifices you are prepared to make.
Many countries in South-East Asia like Thailand or The Philippines are good options, with a cheap cost of living and a good lifestyle, but Asia isn’t the only option, other suggestions I have heard include Costa Rica and parts of South America. But if you want to live on the cheap then you are going to have to adapt your living standards and live like the locals to some extent. On $500 a month you wont be able to get a big house, a car, eat western food, or certain other luxuries that you may be used to.
Accommodation can be found for $100 or less in quite a few countries, but it wont be anything like your home back in the west. A cramped apartment in the cities or a very simple house/bungalow in the country is about the best you can hope for. Location is an important factor to consider when retiring abroad, not just which country but whereabouts in that particular country. The capital cities, the tourist areas, and the areas with nicer beaches are going to be more expensive than the rural areas, but this will mean going off the beaten track where you may be the only westerner in town and will find very few people who can speak good English. Once again it comes down to what kind of sacrifices you are prepared to make.
Ken Baylis, who has lived all over Asia and knows what he is talking about, wrote on his site on EscapeArtist.com, his own guide to retiring on $500 per month (Part 1, Part 2), and included the following breakdown of costs for living in certain asian countries:
Approximate expenses for apartment living on the cheap in Cambodia.
Rent: $90
Electric: $15
Water: $10
Cable: $35
Groceries: $130
Transport: $30
Miscellaneous – Visa Insurance etc. $75
Total monthly expenses – $310
Approximate expenses for apartment living on the cheap in Thailand.
Rent: 4,000 B
Electric: 1,500 B
Water: 250 B
Cable: 500 B
Groceries: 4,000 B
Transport: 1,500 B
Miscellaneous – Visa Insurance etc. 2,500 B
Total monthly expenses 14,250 B – $401.00
As you can see these totals actually come to less than $500, however these are extremes and you would have to do a hell of a lot of adapting to live like this. If I don’t end up making as much as I’m hoping from this site, I may end up living like this, but to live relatively comfortably I would say I’d like to have at least $500 coming in each month, and hopefully build up from there.
Life in developing countries is not like it is back home. Things move much more slowly, power outages are common, and facilities can be poor to say the least. Certain things that you take for granted back home are not going to be around, and you are just going to have to get used to it. Moving abroad isn’t for everybody, but things do get easier as time goes by and you adapt to your new surroundings.
Doing voluntary work is another option you could consider as some of these programs offer to cover all your living expenses and allow you to live virtually for free. Obviously this will involve working, however it could turn out to be a hell of a lot more satisfying than sitting in an office each day, and as I’ve said if you enjoy what your doing each day it doesn’t really count as work.
I hope this shows that it really is possible to retire on $500 or less, IF you are willing to make certain sacrifices and adapt. You may have to give up some of those material possessions that you think you need, adapt to a warmer climate (if you want to live on the cheap air con can have a big drain on your electricity bill so you may need to stick with a fan), and learn to live like the locals do, then you really can retire on $500 a month.
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