The United States is a wonderful country to live in if you have money. Most people don’t, and this can make life extremely difficult. America is an expensive country to live in.
People of all ages are still struggling to make ends meet despite the economy is doing well and low unemployment. Although the average unemployment rate for 2017 was 4.4 percent, according to an Urban Institutes survey, about 40% of American families struggled to meet at least one of their basic needs last year, including paying for food, health care, housing or utilities. Having a job doesn’t ensure families will be able to meet their basic needs, said Michael Karpman, one of the study’s authors. Among the households with at least one working adult, more than 30 percent reported hardship.
With 40 percent of Americans struggling to afford basic needs, it’s no wonder that a survey by Bankrate.com found that 20 percent of Americans don’t save any of their annual income at all.
According to survey respondents, 39% sited the main reason for why they don’t save money is because of expenses. As I said earlier, America is an expensive country to live in.
I don’t buy the argument that Americans aren’t good at saving. Not everyone is frivolous – spending their hard earned money to purchase handbags, tennis shoes, fancy cars, and to pay for expensive vacations. Most people are hard-working adults just trying to make a living.
Based on the survey results of Bankrate.com and Urban Institutes, it seems that most people don’t make enough money to cover the cost of basic needs.
If you don’t make enough money to cover basic living expenses, how will you ever be able to save enough money to save for retirement? There has to be another way you can fund your retirement.
In a previous post, I gave several reasons for why everyone should develop passive income streams or get a side hustle (read this book – Side Hustle: From Idea to Income Income in 27 Days) in order to make more money. The money you earn from passive income and business income can be used to build your retirement savings.
What if you didn’t have to work more hours each day or start a business in order to make enough money to retire? What if you could afford to retire on what you receive from, or expect to receive, from Social Security?
Based on a 2017 article posted on The Motley Fool, the average person who signed up for retirement benefits in the past year was awarded $1,413.08 per month in benefits, on average. In the period, 1.4 million women filed for Social Security benefits, and their average award was $1,231.50. Men, however, were awarded $1,583.77, on average.
Therefore, a retired couple, on average, with only Social Security income can expect benefits totaling $2,644.50 per month or $31,734.96 per year. That’s not a lot of money to retire on in the United States, but it is more than enough to live on in other well-developed countries. In fact, in many countries a pension income that exceeds $1,500 per month will allow you to live very well.
If you don’t believe me, just go to International Living and read about some of the many retirees who now live on just their Social Security income and enjoy a much higher standard of living and quality of life by making the smart decision to move abroad. Make no mistake, these expatriates are not living in undeveloped countries where they have to forfeit common amenities, lose access to quality healthcare, and worry about civil unrest.
Each year, International Living highlights its top 10 countries and post its Annual Global Retirement Index to show several countries where retirement is very affordable and expats can enjoy a high standard of living. The index ranks the countries by 12 factors that contribute to your overall quality of life and aggregate them into a final score.
I have personally visited over half of the countries listed on the 2018 index and can vouch for their low cost of living and world class infrastructure.
My visit to Malaysia was incredible. I loved the weather, food, and overall attractiveness of Kuala Lumpur. The city has everything you can possible want and living expenses are low. An added benefit is that many people speak English so you will not have to learn a second language to fit in.
I visited Colombia over the summer and absolutely fell in love with the country. In Colombia, you can expect to receive first class healthcare and live in high quality accommodation at very affordable prices. Plus, Colombians are very friendly so fitting in will be easy.
The same can be said for other South and Latin American countries such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Panama. The only downside about many Latin American countries is that English is not commonly spoken. While there are expat communities where you can speak English, I highly recommend that you learn to speak Spanish if you want to live in one of these countries. Given the many reasons and benefits for why you should strongly consider relocating to one of these countries in order to quit working and enjoy retirement, I hardly consider learning a foreign language a major impediment to moving.
I mean, come on, is learning Spanish or another language so difficult that you would rather keep working into your seventies and struggling to make ends meet when all you have to do is relocate to a country that has breath taking beaches, year-round good weather, fresh fruits and vegetables grown organically, and some of the best doctors in the world?
Really, you can enjoy all these amenities on just your Social Security. I hope this gives you something to think about.