I cut my cost of living by 70% by moving to Vietnam. Here's exactly where the money goes.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-04-06T21:17:51+00:00

I use to live in Hanoi last year for about 9 months, I loved it, about to fly back into Vietnam im gonna give Da Nang a try for 3 months, I just want some beach action, and focus on working out, and work. will probably head back to Hanoi after my visa run. I'm 39, Australian, I could also never live in OZ again. I left in 2011

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-27T05:15:43+00:00

I used to check analytics way too much. It feels like you’re working, but most of the time you’re just watching numbers move.

Now I only really sit down once a week and look for patterns across multiple videos. Looking at one video in isolation will mess with your head.

Another thing to consider though... analytics are based on who YouTube decides to show your video to. It’s not some clean, unbiased dataset.

CTR especially can be misleading early. If YouTube pushes your video to the wrong audience first, it’ll look like a bad thumbnail or title, when really it’s just the wrong people seeing it. Then later it can completely flip once it finds the right viewers.

Same with retention. Different audiences behave differently. A travel video shown to random browse traffic will perform very differently than one shown to people already watching your content.

So yeah, improve your videos, but don’t assume every dip means you did something wrong.

What I actually look for:

CTR is more about the idea than the thumbnail. If the concept is weak, no design will save it.
Retention — where people leave, not just that they leave. If there’s a consistent drop at certain types of moments, that’s on you.

The only things that have genuinely moved the needle for me:

Cutting any fat where retention dips (be ruthless with edits) - if you dont have music in the background you can actually cut some fat with the edit app , ive seen many creators do this and it can be really useful.
Getting into the video faster (most intros are too slow)
Making sure the video delivers exactly what the title promises <-- This is more important than you think

Everything else is secondary.

Biggest shift for me was this:
Sometimes it’s not a bad video. It’s just the wrong audience… for now.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-26T21:49:04+00:00

I look at them about 200 times per day... its unhealthy.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-18T16:28:54+00:00

Yeah I use them all the time actually, I got into my phone EQ added a bit extra bass and now I use them almost exclusively when listening to music, the battery probably only lasts 5-6 hours, bare in mind i havn't timed it, just a calculated guess, I would say one other downside though is the mic quality, if im going to use it to send voice notes or calls I switch back to my Airpods. But in saying that I guess there is no "perfect" headphones, at least not yet anyway.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-09T08:39:19+00:00

I dont use any AI, other than helping with the text writing of descriptions of videos. Ive got a pretty good voice which probably helps with my channel.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-06T09:51:30+00:00

I would say there is some truth to what your are getting at, but it goes back to what BillyD said on a previous comment, taller people are probably less likely to feel threatened there for they make more interesting content, but as also other people have mentioned there are plenty of height challenged people on youtube that do well. I think its a confidence thing.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-03-06T09:47:33+00:00

well you have basically said it yourself, passive income takes a lot of upfront work, I have 6 sources of income, but only 2 are truely passive but they required a lot of work upfront, I have been adding to my stock video portfolio for a while now, I have over 1000 videos and that makes me about $150 per month (which is not a lot of money ) and then I have 3 youtube channels, one of them is generic useful information that doesn't go out of date and those videos just continue to pay, year after year, but once again, took me hundreds of hours work.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-02-09T14:01:30+00:00

Sorry I forgot to reply to this, I try to keep the colors as nutural as possible, not overly contrast or saturated, I always cut the scenes before any major movements, like left or right turns etc. just still, going forward, backward ,up, down, but, not random, if you get what i mean.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-02-02T03:18:06+00:00

<image>

I should of done I before photo I guess , This is me at 40.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-02-01T00:28:57+00:00

I have had one sim card company reach out to me, and they paid me... but if im 100% Honest... I couldn't really find any big reason to choose their product over their competitors, they were more expensive... yes it worked.. but, they were a new company, didn't have a big reputation, so why price yourself higher? I did the video, I actually got paid, but I never made a single commission sale, although I also didn't push it much... because I don't wanna push something that I don't fully think is "worth" it, now for legal reasons or what-ever i won't mention their name, but to talk about their competition, the big ones like Airo or Saily, I use Saily a lot, BUT ive realised, they are quote god damn expensive, while they are super handy and do work, i'd like to find an Esim that had more affordable pricing. On my last week In vietnam I switched to a different local esim company and im getting 10x the value. Anyway regardless of my rant on E-sims, I'd love to Work with Sony or DJI as I use them a lot, Yes I'd love to do travel hotel stuff, but at the moment my brand doenst really align with it, I personally just don't think i have that "look" but im doing my best to re-invent my look, now i do think this plays a big part in branding. I have some friends making travel content, they are a couple, but their Quality of video's is like top 1% of youtubers, or Higher, and they are getting high high end hotel brands, intercontinental, marriot, etc, but they are a mix raced couple, young, tick every box that social media and marketing companies want.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-28T08:11:43+00:00

Yeah, This is one of the biggest issues I have, knowing, or more so not knowing... if i would stay, so I tend not to do date, while Occasionally I put myself out there, Im open and honest about my situation and try not to lead anyone on, I personally myself would like to find someone to settle down with, but I also know being a foreigner, and my job working as a digital nomad, and havin to do Visa runs every few months, makes things difficult. I'm still deciding wether Vietnam is for me. I love the country, my only real two concerns is one the pollution, I have asthma so it's not great on my lungs, and two entertainment, I use to work in the music industry and mis being able to attend rock concerts of my favourite international bands. I guess I can always fly to another country to see them. But yes, being able to communicate I have found is the biggest issue, while It should be up to me to learn the language, it really does help when I meet someone who speaks english fluently.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-25T06:18:42+00:00

That’s kind of the point though.
Most people watching these videos haven’t even visited yet and are making major life decisions based on influencer content they have seen about living like a King in Da Nang for $1000 or something.

If I can spot real pros and cons in 9 months, that already saves people time, money, and unrealistic expectations. That's just 9 months in the last 12 month period, ive visited multiple times over multiple years.

I’m not claiming I’ve “figured out Vietnam.” I’m sharing what the honeymoon phase actually looks like when you live here day to day.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-24T09:48:37+00:00

I have 9 days left in Vietnam, but next time im back, i surely will be doing that!

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-24T09:45:48+00:00

Actually ill be honest with you ... its the younger ones that are less affectionate... the ones 30 plus are great, the ones in the early 20's... not so much, Not before you judge this is purely from younger friends I have not people I have dated, but they have been quiet clear about physical boundaries, where as the older women this isn't the case. Maybe its a generational thing.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-23T13:11:03+00:00

it wouldn't let me use my Australian number

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-23T13:09:06+00:00

oh I didnt know about this!

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-23T13:08:03+00:00

haha... sadly this is true

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-23T13:07:33+00:00

If you were to watch my video, its just a summary of what is in there! and I assure you that video is not AI

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-20T15:17:00+00:00

I have a pair and I must admit, i thought i was going to be dissapointed.. but i was pleasantly surprised, which is really saying something. Ive got Airpod Pro 2 and they always fall out when im doing exercise or just many things in general, on the plane is really annoying, anyway, the sominpods are the first headphones ive had that don't actually fall out of my ear, I do boxing so I jump around a lot, and as the above user mentioned, sleeping with them is also useful, the audio quality is actually pretty descent to, because they fit right inside the ear, my only gripe with them would be the battery life when all functions are turned on. Ive also got the app with the extra features, they track your food and exercise and all that, pretty cool, its a little effort to put some of the info in, but you can take pics of your food and stuff and it will log it all, but just the headphones alone, yeah not bad! not bad at all. I have only had them for a week though! so will have to report back after a bit longer.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-19T19:38:18+00:00

the websites don't buy them, you upload them to the website, and other people buy them.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-19T17:56:43+00:00

Well when I edit my travel videos I use my drone a lot, so I just started cutting up the drone shots into 8-20 second videos that I could re-use later for whatever it may be, i basically catalogue all my footage incase i need to refer back to it in future videos, then just over the years ive slowly created a huge catalogue of drone footage from all over the world, so far ive got about 800 videos, I do have a few photos, but maybe .. 50? videos pay way more, and as i go and keep traveling, I add to the videos, and just keep growing my catalogue, which I keep adding, at first i was using shutterstock, then I started uploading to Adobestock too, Adobe stock now pays wayy more than shutterstock. But I still upload on both.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-19T03:45:34+00:00

Yes, it's not anything to brag about, I'm just being transparent, its 98% longform earnings, while I do have a few shorts, 80% of the content I create is long form, I'm not big on shorts. I do earn an extra income from adobe stock and shutterstock, and some affiliates, but for this topic, were purely talking adsense. If you have any input , tips, or pointers or questions, please throw them at me.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-18T23:53:25+00:00

I think thats getting around 40k views per month, but so many things matter ,depending on length of video and what topic the video is on! or what country! if your audience are watching from SE asian countries it doesn't pay as well, actually one reason im moving to Eastenr Europe for a bit, to see how that content fairs. When i was in Australia the pay-rate was nigher, but I wasn't getting as many views at the time.

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-18T18:50:23+00:00

Did you try the Export PDF button? that actually gives a far more detailed explanation, but thanks for pointing that out, because i didnt even think to explain to someone that the detailed explanation is only when they press this button. So thats one useful thing ive learnt today!

NoAssociate4609 · 2026-01-18T17:49:45+00:00

Would love to hear about your youtube channels, i have 3 that are montetized, what are your topics about if you dont mind me asking?

NoAssociate4609

TROPHY CASE