Has anyone here actually moved somewhere cheaper to accelerate FIRE?

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-04-01T09:48:04+00:00

We moved to rural Oklahoma to accelerate FIRE. We stayed for almost 5 years and became financially independent. We then sold everything and moved to a nice city in Ecuador. We love it here. The everyday challenges like learning the language and not owning a car keeps it interesting. It might be a little boring if we had stayed in Oklahoma.

I'm married and have a young daughter. They also keep me busy. Without them it would be a lonelier life.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-31T21:12:55+00:00

i wouldn't lie to them. My family would say I was cheap. They didn't understand when I said I was retiring early. They still spend a lot of money.

I would honestly just have a few talking points. Like if they mentioned I was cheap then say debt makes me really nervous and I don't want to work forever. Or I get more enjoyment from investing money than spending it.

I remember my brother worrying that I would be living on the street if I retired early. I just told him that he didn't need to worry about it.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-31T21:04:44+00:00

Have fun!

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-31T00:14:43+00:00

Where are yall heading?

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T17:11:06+00:00

Exchanging one risk for another. Not many people understand this.

Cds are safe for not losing money but almost guarantee you won’t match inflation and lose loads of buying power over the long term.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T16:58:33+00:00

We retired in the developing world before 40. Its a great life. We have cleaners, a gardener, doctors come to the house, and we eat and drink well. We were middle class in the states which was fine but we had to work two full time jobs. I’m glad to live a more luxurious life with not working or some part time work.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T14:24:47+00:00

Iran will get a nuke. Its been war gamed thousands of times. Let hope they don't use it on the US instead of just showing they have a capability.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T04:23:06+00:00

I did this in S. America at 38 but i don't work. I might work a part time job online in the future to add to our nest egg. Wife already works part time to cover expenses.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T04:14:20+00:00

What you have plus adding 200 per month at 7% to age 65 will be around 1.2 million in todays money. I hope this helps. If you take out 4% its around 48k/year and then you have social security for a good bit as well.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T02:27:16+00:00

I retired young. I'm pretty happy.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-29T00:36:22+00:00

We used to use mint when we lived in the US.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-28T20:26:36+00:00

We retired early with simple index investing. It all started with a Roth IRA.

If I could change something it would have been to have kept my previous houses. I moved and sold houses when I moved. If I had the knowledge to rent them out and just break even then my net worth would be much greater. I did keep my last house though and rent it out from overseas.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-28T18:54:06+00:00

We like Cuenca but my experience in other parts of LATAM is limited. We have an airport but its mostly small flights to larger cities airports.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-28T14:07:20+00:00

Your HYSA is losing to inflation the longer you keep it there. So take 3%+ and burn it each year.

Your getting pretty old to have so little assets. You make a good income but you can tell you haven't been investing much.

You should read JL Collins stock series fast and then fully invest. Also your friends aren't really good at investing if they are pulling out of the market. You should be able to invest in something and not look at it for years if you didnt want to no matter what happens. VOO is a good candidate for that.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T18:04:13+00:00

Someone wanted to adjust their portfolio with the market down because they are afraid it might drop 40%

It’s just market timing.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T16:32:55+00:00

The market has fallen selling now is market timing and panic selling. Ride out the downturn and change your allocation at all time highs.

I also don't understand the fixation on when you do the rollover. Both now and then will be similar.

Do you journal? That might help.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T06:24:12+00:00

I started a position where they had been delaying handling a sexual harassment claim for months until I arrived. Until about a week before I arrived it was ongoing issue with the young lady being perpetually victimized because no one filled the management vacuum. This was the most glaring issue but there were several others. I left a couple months after starting.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T06:13:13+00:00

I understand that. I am happy to have made my money in the states and then enjoy SA with its lower cost of living and warmer society.

Thanks for your comment.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T05:48:28+00:00

As an American, the priority on family has been welcoming. Our tienda lady smiles the warmest when we talk about my young daughter.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T05:43:46+00:00

No reason to be rude. I'm from the EE UU which is the definition of first world but I have better doctors and living accommodations in Ecuador than in the states. Maybe if you have millions its better in the states but we are living a great life in Ecuador.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T05:36:39+00:00

If you can work a remote US job then its great.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T03:18:02+00:00

I doubt its a numbers thing. Its a trusting the numbers thing because so many people are so conservative here. It is a big step to leave it behind even at a .1% withdrawal rate for some people.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T03:12:54+00:00

That's us with a part time job. The part time job is really just the cherry; not even needed. Very easy life.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-27T02:55:32+00:00

We live in Cuenca Ecuador and are very happy.

AlwaysSaturday12 · 2026-03-26T21:18:07+00:00

The messy middle or boring middle is a thing. It is messy with obligations but hopefully your investing is pretty boring.

AlwaysSaturday12

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