Would you take this offer? 

You are 31 years old. You can live on vacation for the rest of your life. No need to work. On your 55th birthday you will get $1m cash in todays money as a retirement fund. 

I turn this offer down every single day. I need something better. 

Why?!

I’m too young to retire. 

It’s a waste of potential. 

I want to build more to give my son a secure future. 

But this is my BATNA. This is my fall back position. 

So how can I run off into the sunset with that nice retirement fund waiting for me? 

I’m rich as hell.

I’m in the 1% club. And so are you. 

If you earn $35,000 a year you are in the top 0.81% richest people in the world by income. Think about that for a minute. We are lucky. Be grateful. 

I own two properties, one worth around $600k and one around $400k. The mortgage on the longest one will be paid by my 55th birthday (if I don’t over-pay it or refinance it). When I rent both these houses out, they cover their mortgages and expenses and leave me with around $1000 extra cash flow each month. 

$1000 can go a long way in many parts of the world. And a million dollar retirement fund can go even further.

Geo-arbitrage

Geo-arbitrage is basically making your money work smarter by earning in one country and spending in another. I think the term was coined by Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Workweek*. It’s a simple but powerful concept.

I could be living the bleach life in Thailand, where a condo can rent for as little as $300 a month.

Mexico also offers a similar lifestyle at a similar price point, and has the benefit of being close enough to America to return to visit my Florida Airbnb whenever I feel like it. 

In Costa Rica the average salary is around $600 pm. And the country is beautiful. And they have free healthcare. 

So I’m certain I could retire right now and live a happy comfortable life in any of these countries. Not to mention the $1m retirement fund that would be waiting for me down the line.

I don’t say this to brag. I say this to motivate myself. I say it to remind myself that if I’m unsatisfied with my current life situation, it’s entirely my choice.  I say this to show you that your options are better than you think. I say this, if you don’t own rental property, to encourage you to explore it as an investment. If you like the idea of someone else building your retirement fund for you, take a look around this blog for a little inspiration.

What’s your Plan B? Let me know in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading.