Expat FI Guy – The Man Behind the Mask
I’m an obsessive optimizer working overseas for the past 10+ years. At this time, I have called Asia, Africa, and South and North America home. There is no greater luxury than time freedom and experiencing new cultures. I love solving problems and looking for better solutions for personal finance, travel, and living the good life.
Just another Financial Independence Retire Early (F.I.R.E.) blog? Not quite…
Expat FI Guy is in the tiny corner of expat living, financial independence, and life hacks. I want to pull back the curtain on living overseas and the opportunities it can present: both financial and personal. People who are drawn to financial independence are natural optimizers. However, living overseas or traveling abroad often presents challenges unique to this lifestyle.
Philosophy
Geographic Arbitrage
Geographic arbitrage can be life’s ultimate cheat code. You can supercharge your savings rate by working overseas, retiring decades before normal, or significantly increasing your quality of life in either stage. Forget cutting coupons or cutting out lattes, geographic arbitrage can have a monumental impact on your financial life.
From a non-financial perspective, geographic arbitrage can be extremely rewarding as well. Study after study has shown that experiences, not material possessions, are the key to happiness and fulfillment. Why not live that every day? What better way to experience life than by experiencing a new culture, history, food, music, and customs?
For those up to the challenge (and this lifestyle isn’t for everyone) I truly believe geographic arbitrage can unlock a rich and fulfilling life you didn’t know was possible.
Financial Independence
There is no greater luxury than time freedom. Spend less than you earn and invest the rest. The road to financial independence is that simple. Of course, there are a million things you can do to earn more, spend less, or otherwise influence your journey.
Time freedom is exactly that, freedom to do whatever you want. Some subscribe to the strict definition of Financial Independence Retire Early and view work after financial independence as sacrilege. Pay no attention to the internet police, if work or a passion that happens to make you money brings you happiness, dive in!
Life Optimized
I had a friend whose dad once told me “Never pay retail!” This stuck with me and was truly a paradigm-shifting moment. There is usually a better way to do just about everything. We’re talking about doing everything just a little better than the masses.
So what does this mean? This means doing things you have to do as efficiently as possible and unlocking things you may have not thought possible with traditional methods. Would you pay for a business class ticket across an ocean? I wouldn’t, but I achieve the same results by optimizing credit card rewards. I only buy things I have to when they’re on sale with passive tracking systems. There are endless ways to do things just a little better…
If these topics sound interesting, please consider bookmarking and subscribing below to receive email notifications of new articles.