Is 15k enough to move abroad

ishwri · Post by **ishwri** » January 5th, 2015, 5:35 pm

I should have around 15k saved, and I have been making plans to live in a moderately cheap country like dominican republic, costa rica, or phillipines. I have an online business where I make monthly income selling things on ebay. I was was wondering if 15k is a good amount for a safety net while abroad?

droid · Post by **droid** » January 5th, 2015, 10:09 pm

In general for most places $1K a month provides a reasonable experience (say IMO $300 rent, $200 food, $200 transport, $300 fun/side travel) but you have to avoid tourist areas or malls of course. Big capitals would require to double or triple the amount.
I always recommend http://www.numbeo.com

Johnny1975 · Post by **Johnny1975** » January 6th, 2015, 1:46 am

ishwri wrote:I should have around 15k saved, and I have been making plans to live in a moderately cheap country like dominican republic, costa rica, or phillipines. I have an online business where I make monthly income selling things on ebay. I was was wondering if 15k is a good amount for a safety net while abroad?

Hi, how did you get started with your ebay business?

ishwri · Post by **ishwri** » January 6th, 2015, 7:47 am

hello, i started to selling many things on ebay about 5 yrs ago, then i expanded to amazon. The biggest challenge is finding things that sells on both and avoiding trademark violations.

Luc Furr · Post by **Luc Furr** » January 6th, 2015, 9:56 am

the Governments of countries will soon place capital controls on their currencies. Bank cards will no longer work in foreign countries. Money and incomes will no longer be transferred from one country to another. People will no longer be able to earn money in one country while working in another. Everything is about to change.

Devil Dog · Post by **Devil Dog** » January 6th, 2015, 10:33 am

Luc Furr wrote:the Governments of countries will soon place capital controls on their currencies. Bank cards will no longer work in foreign countries. Money and incomes will no longer be transferred from one country to another. People will no longer be able to earn money in one country while working in another. Everything is about to change.

Oh good God. The OP gives a legit question and gets a classic HA crackpot response. The sky is falling!

OP, look at your money the way a startup business looks at their money. Calculate your expenses. You can live in most of the Philippines for example on $1500 per month easily. Choose your own figure for monthly expenses and then use it. How much is your online income? If it is more than $1500 per month then obviously your bank account will grow every month and you can stop right there. You have plenty.

If your monthly online income is less than what your monthly expenses will be, then you have what is called a "burn rate", which is the speed which you will be burning through your savings. If your deficit is $100 per month then your $15000 will last 150 months and you would probably just go for it and try to economize a little or make a little more money. If your monthly deficit is $1000 per month then you only have 15 months of financial cushion and you need to either make more money or reduce expenses significantly. Or maybe you will want to make the trip but plan for 1 year or 6 months so you don't use up all of your cash.

ishwri · Post by **ishwri** » January 6th, 2015, 11:16 am

Thanks for the more logical answer devil dog. Im not sure tge exact amount I will be earning per month, but I know I will turn profit. You are correct, my burn through rate will be a big factor, thats why I will trying to bring in more stable monthly income. If push comes to shove, I can stay for at least 1 and half years easy without doing anything.

Devil Dog · Post by **Devil Dog** » January 6th, 2015, 11:39 am

ishwri wrote:Thanks for the more logical answer devil dog. Im not sure tge exact amount I will be earning per month, but I know I will turn profit. You are correct, my burn through rate will be a big factor, thats why I will trying to bring in more stable monthly income. If push comes to shove, I can stay for at least 1 and half years easy without doing anything.

Right, that long or longer. I think $1500 is a generous figure. You can probably live on hundreds less.

Ghost · Post by **Ghost** » January 6th, 2015, 11:53 am

Devil Dog · Post by **Devil Dog** » January 6th, 2015, 1:46 pm

Ghost wrote:
And remember: you will get ripped off in third world countries if you are a dumbass and don't learn how to deal with locals. Often.

Fixed that for you.

Ghost · Post by **Ghost** » January 6th, 2015, 10:46 pm

Montanaland · Post by **Montanaland** » January 8th, 2015, 10:25 am

This is the first time I've heard of the term "burn rate" but it is spot on! I have managed to save 60k, but would'nt fathom moving to another country w/out some source of income. Teaching english is the easiest and what I'm considering doing. If you lack a degree though I would make sure your online source of income is "humming on all cylinders" before taking the leap.

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