Retiring At 32 With $3M Usd

[ExCommando]

Hello everyone,

I've seen quite a few topics on this (and other) forums, where people question whether they can retire on $X amount etc etc.

I wanted to introduce myself, because this is something I will be doing within the next 12 - 18 months, and will chronicle the journey on this forum - it would be great to get to know some of you who are currently living in Thailand, and get your views, thoughts and suggestions.

By short way of background, my fiance and I are 31, we have a young child, and we own a very successful business here in Australia, which we have built up over the past 5 years.

The pursuit and achievement of monetary goals has been fun, but it's lost its' lustre, so we've decided to sell up, and move to our most favourite part of the world (we've travelled to Thailand quite a few times over the last few years).

The sale of the business will generate around 3m Aus (which is the same in USD), which will be reinvested into our current property portfolio, which in itself will generate around $9,000 AUS net, inflation is not an issue as the rental prices will grow, as will the capital as it will be sunk into property (failing a collosal market crash, in which point everyone is in trouble!).

We plan on chilling out for the first 6 - 12 months, and then getting involved in new business ventures as well as charity work.

Would be great to hear from anyone who has done something similar - how are you finding it?

Cheers

[GuestHouse]

I think retirement is perhaps the wrong term, 'time out' might be more appropriate since you said you'd perhaps like to start another business.

I'd suggest profession (Oz based) financial advice, property might be good, but the logic that if it crashes we'll all be in the same mess doesn't make sense.

Rule No.1 of capital - Hang onto it.

I wonder if the carpet baggers are on you yet?

[EmptyBasementBin]

Keep your money out of Thailand and you'll be okay.

BTW, international schooling, decent housing and social life soon eats up more than you'd imagine.

So will your Thai mistresses.

Good luck and enjoy it.

And don't forget my first sentence.

[Spoonman]

"will generate around $9,000 AUS net".

weekly, Monthly or yearly ?

[WebBangkok]

Hey bud,

I too thought I would retire (it just sounds good) in Thailand at 28, I dont have as much as you, but my wife and I have two properties in Sydney which gives us a pretty good income as we also don;t have to pay rent in Bangkok as my wife owns a nice house.

But trust me, after 6 months to a year of travels in Thailand, it got a little boring (was hard to imagine at the time).

So then you will be looking into a small business of somesort just to keep life a little challenging (this is what happen to us).

We came from working 7 days in Sydney to doing sweet f@#k all in Thailand and you will miss the challenge after awhile and will want to keep yourself busy.

Most people either just get a job here or open up a business, luckily for me and the wife, we studied the same thing in Uni and could open up a small company doing our thing. If you were successful in Australia with yout old business, perhaps you can open up something on a smaller scale here first to keep you busy.

Trust me, retiring early is actually harder than you think, you will be back looking to work or do something within a year I reckon.

[WebBangkok]

lol wow, I didnt even read your whole post and what your doing is pretty much what I did.

Are you my richer brother or something?

But you can do it easily with that amount of money and not hoping to bars everynight.

[Backwoods]

Hey bud,

I too thought I would retire (it just sounds good) in Thailand at 28, I dont have as much as you, but my wife and I have two properties in Sydney which gives us a pretty good income as we also don;t have to pay rent in Bangkok as my wife owns a nice house.

But trust me, after 6 months to a year of travels in Thailand, it got a little boring (was hard to imagine at the time).

So then you will be looking into a small business of somesort just to keep life a little challenging (this is what happen to us).

We came from working 7 days in Sydney to doing sweet f@#k all in Thailand and you will miss the challenge after awhile and will want to keep yourself busy.

Most people either just get a job here or open up a business, luckily for me and the wife, we studied the same thing in Uni and could open up a small company doing our thing. If you were successful in Australia with yout old business, perhaps you can open up something on a smaller scale here first to keep you busy.

Trust me, retiring early is actually harder than you think, you will be back looking to work or do something within a year I reckon.

non resident aliens have to be 50 or over to retire here anyways!

[Maestro]

We plan on chilling out for the first 6 - 12 months, and then getting involved in new business ventures as well as charity work.

Would this involvement in new business ventures and charity work take place in Thailand?

As another member already pointed out, you do not seem intent on "retiring" in Thailand, ie living in Thailand for the rest of your life or at least for a long, indeterminate period without working in Thailand. Therefore, taking it one step at a time, we are looking at your visa options for the chilling-out period of six to twelve months.

For the second step, your involvement in business, ie work, one needs to know whether this will be in Thailand.

[Maestro]

I have deleted a troll post and the replies to it.

[Payboy]

I retired at twice your age with half that amount. You should be okay, but plan ahead for the family expenses.

[Rsquared]

<deleted>........you and your lovely wife are only 31.

Congratulations on being very successful in your business ventures.

As far as Life goes, you haven't even gotten over your honeymoon period. As mentioned before, you will become very bored if you consider retirement at such a young age.

Take some time out, travel, look after orphaned elephants.....but don't retire.

I tell you what...how about we swap bank accounts, then you'll have some incentive to keep on working.

[thenervoussurgeon]

twice in my life i have"retired" and within a year or so was working again ,its hard to do when your young unless you really do have something to fill your days ,it was only when i hit 55 that i was able to only work a few days a week ,then we came here ,now as i am older i am busy doing nothing and its great.

[rijb]

Holding on to the money might prove more difficult than getting it.

[barefoot1988]

here with a young kid? seriously? try somewhere better for the sake of your kids

[overherebc]

Old ones are the best ones

Best way to make a small fortune in Thailand is to start with a big one.

PS.

The bc at the end of my name is the opposite of AD

[meand]

I would have no problem whatsoever with the being bored "problems" if I retired with that amount. And "retire" is exactly what i'd do if I did have 3 million too. Anyway, to each their own. Good luck to the op, with 3 million not much luck is needed, but good luck anyway.

[Johnniey]

here with a young kid? seriously? try somewhere better for the sake of your kids

I found that young kids love Thailand.

What do you mean "somewhere better"?

[missionrat]

Youre're not retiring, you are changing lifestyles. I have made a similar move at comparable age and savings. From what I've seen in Thaialand, I wouldn't invest a penny here. Very little money to be made, tremendous competitom from the million expats living here, huge levels of corruption, etc. If you love Thailand so much and now have some financial freedom, I would recommend staying here a few months and see how you like it. Living here as an expat is a lot different than visiting on holiday for a couple of weeks every year. Very very different actually.

Sounds like you made some money and now have no idea what to do with yourself now. Believe me I empathize. I would suggest you will need quite a bit of time and reflection to figure out the next chapter of your life.

[barefoot1988]

here with a young kid? seriously? try somewhere better for the sake of your kids

I found that young kids love Thailand.

What do you mean "somewhere better"?

young kids love sweet and candies as well. would you not agree that there is a better place to bring up kids other than here especially in the case where the child arent thai and when you have the liquidity of at least 3m usd? just my opinion though

Edited July 22, 2012 by barefoot1988

[Globalight]

EXCOMMANDO, If u r interested in starting an Grass roots org with me to EDUCATE the future generations on environmental sustainability and preservation let me know . I would like to start soon brother!

[geriatrickid]

Keep in mind that there there all sorts of permits/visas required to operate a business and to volunteer. The first step should be to secure competent Thai legal and tax guidance from a reputable law and tax firm. It costs, but it is well worth it if your intent is to be legit and to have peace of mind. All of the multinational tax firms have offices in Thailand so tax advice will be the easiest issue to resolve. Law firms in Thailand are a mixed bag, and my personal experience has been that it is best to use an Australian firm with an affiliated or correspondent office in Thailand. Have the referral and the legal file opened in Australia. I suggest that because if the lawyers screw up in Thailand, you might be able to take recourse in Australia. And yes, Thai legal firms can give bad advice and get away with it, because the avenues of redress for an aggrieved client are difficult. Whatever, the failings are of Australian legal counsel, at least the regulators and Bar in Australia do act on complaints.

Keep in mind that if you intend to maintain ties to Australia, there are taxation issues that arise in respect to personal income tax. No one on Thai Visa that posts is a qualified tax accountant, and even if they were, it would be impossible to offer a reliable assessment since no one is aware of all the facts related to your circumstances. Hence, the old adage of seeking competent legal and tax advice.

[ronz28]

Sounds like your Achilles heel is lack of diversification. Suppose a black swan event happens to real estate where yours is located...

[ExpatJ]

Bear in mind that expats in Thailand who lead a western style lifestyle- nice apartment in Bangkok, international school for the kids etc typically have expenses of 300,000-400,000 baht (or @ 10,000- 13,000 AUD) per month.

[ExCommando]

Hey everyone - thanks for the replies!

There were a few posts from people questioning why a "millionaire" is asking financial or budgeting advice - let's be clear, I wasn't asking financial advice or budgeting advice. I was seeking thoughts and views from people who have been in the same position.

Secondly, I'm not moving to Thailand to retire and sit on the beach, I'm leaving Australia beause all I have achieved is centered around the pursuit of money, which has done the opposite to what I thought it would; I expected to be full of energy and happiness, and it's the opposite.

Setting up a new business is fun and engaging, managing a successful business is stressful and disenchanting - so why spend the next 10 years making even more money, when it really doesn't bring any form of achievement or happiness.

As Bill Gates recently said, and I paraphrase "Having a million dollars brings freedom. Once you get beyond the first million dollars, it's still the same hamburger".

In my experience, once you have enough money to be comfortable in your lifestyle, you are chasing money for the sake on money - you can buy your Ferrari (which I have), your lovely hous (which I have), the toys (which I have), with the expectation that it will bring fulfillment and happiness.

For anyone who has been in this position, you know that it doesn't, and things then start to become a bit more grey and empty.

Yes, I am fully expecting the comments along the lines of, "Oh, poor you, you've got money, boo hoo". But the life not examined is not worth living, so I am looking at something else to achieve apart from amassing more and more money.

I was hoping to come on here and build some relationships prior to arriving, that could hopefully give me some insight into worthwhile things to spend my time and business experience on in the LOS - I'm very keen to give something back.

[Heng]

Didn't do it with a lump sum but much of my income is rental as well, the rest is SG and HK based interest revenue in a pretty mixed basket of currencies. Didn't really ever have a "calculate and retire point," kind of just found myself living this lifestyle for awhile now since around age 28-29, around the same as you I suppose.... 37 now, with the 'details' growing all the while. X properties becoming XX properties, X,, amount becoming XX,, amount. Just managing one's assets is quite a bit of work, perhaps more so than some people who feel they are still working. Some days I do nothing, some days you might find me carrying bags of cement because the roof of one of my buildings needs re-tiling. I often drive myself around in 4 door truck, sometimes I'm driven around in a pretty comfy minivan office/entertainment center. No traditional charity work for me though, charity begins at home and there are always ways to help and develop family members into more productive people. One of my favorite 'plays' has been to give a % of businesses to relatives (with plenty of strings and checks and balances, no controlling stock for example) even splits up to 75-25 in their favor and managing from afar (or sometimes in their face if need be). Less traditional work for me, I still get my cut, and sometimes people can really run with the ball (plenty of falls and running into trees and walls too, but that's all part of the game).

Edited July 23, 2012 by Heng

[Semper]

OP. That would be 90M Baht, so if you spend 1M/year you can stay 90+ years. How long do you expect your life to be?

[GreenSnapper]

Preserve your capital and add some yearly inflation.

The rest you can spend.

[WebBangkok]

Bear in mind that expats in Thailand who lead a western style lifestyle- nice apartment in Bangkok, international school for the kids etc typically have expenses of 300,000-400,000 baht (or @ 10,000- 13,000 AUD) per month.

wow, really lol

I eat out most days, have a house, a few dogs and a daughter and I don;t even come close to spending that much per month. Although I don't pay any rent.

You don;t need to spend anywhere near that per month to live comforatbly in Thailand.

[farang000999]

why would anyone with $3m and a young child want to move to Thailand?

here is a clue, rich Thais leave Thailand and take their children overseas.

i don't know if op is a troll but he seems a bit unusual.

what is it you like so much about Thailand?

[WebBangkok]

why would anyone with $3m and a young child want to move to Thailand?

here is a clue, rich Thais leave Thailand and take their children overseas.

i don't know if op is a troll but he seems a bit unusual.

what is it you like so much about Thailand?

You probably have not really thought that response through very well.

You're kidding me right lol