Discover Abroad

Chapter: How to Move Abroad, Retire Early, and Live Your Dream Life

While sitting down to write, it is only two days away from Halloween in the United States. While the U.S. is getting ready for a supernatural and spooky holiday, I found some financial retirement data that is freaking scary.

The median retirement savings Americans between forty-five to fifty-four have built up is LESS than $50,000.

Keep in mind that many financial planners recommend you have four times your annual salary saved by forty-five and seven times by fifty-five. With the U.S. median income at roughly $55,000 per year, most Americans in my generation are already waaaaayyy short of their retirement savings. 

Even more frightening is the final amount the average American believes they need to retire comfortably, which rose to $1.8 million last year. 

If you are an average fifty-five-year-old Gen X’er, you need to go from $50,000 to $1.8 million in 12 years to comfortably retire in the United States.

Holy Crap!

What’s the answer? Make more money?

The average income in the U.S. is already one of the highest in the world.

How about working more?

The USA already ranks 3rd in the country with the LEAST vacation days. Some 40% of Americans never take a vacation day a year. No days off to travel, go to the beach with your kids, or hang out with family.

Is the answer to work longer?

Here is another terrifying fact. You probably can’t work longer, even if you want to. Most workers over 55 are involuntarily forced into retirement due to job loss or health conditions.

Even if you wanted to delay retirement and work into your seventies, you may not have that choice. More than half of us will be forced out of our jobs by circumstances out of our control because of layoffs or health problems. 

The situation may seem hopeless, but it’s not.

What if I told you I retired fifteen years after I graduated from university?

What if I told you my net worth increased by over 60% even after I stopped working?

Did I inherit that money? Nope. My family immigrated from a developing country. My mom was a single teenage mother before that was a thing. She literally farmed rice growing up.

“Sure,” you think, “you are probably a ridiculously high-paid software engineer, doctor, lawyer, or Hollywood superstar.” Nope. My average income in fifteen years of working is roughly $70,000 per year. Decent pay, but not George Clooney good.   

Maybe you think I got lucky and was a Silicon Valley start-up genius or lottery winner? Negative. I wish I could be so fortunate. 

My story is far from a fairy tale.