5 Hard Facts & How Living in the Philippines can Help People

CAUTION - THE CONTENT IN THIS ARTICLE IS SOBERING FOR THE UNPREPARED

This article is a little more hard hitting than my other articles, but some of you are asking.  I hope you find your sobering answers inside my article - 5 Hard Hitting Facts How Moving to the Philippines can Help People Live a Happy Quality Life.

​Even in the best of times, saving for retirement is often a monumental and difficult as - especially with the middle class opportunity shrinking, economic “cliffs” and personal budget tightening measures - it's not only daunting... it's scary. As a results, many Americans are starting to look at options to make their finances for retirement more assured. Here are 5 hard facts on retirement and how living abroad can provide viable solutions.
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Americans live for approximately 19 more years after retirement (and living with more happiness & less stress, this leads to an even longer life). This represents 20-25% of your entire life and further, approximately half the population will live longer than average life expectancy. Many Americans (especially baby boomers) have realized that apart from declining middle class opportunities, a potential bankrupt social security system and other economic disasters and woes, their savings are simple not going to last. Many have discovered that living aboard can significantly increase their odds of having sufficient money in their Golden Years.

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With the 2016 presidential election on the horizon, Social Security is getting a lot of attention, and not all of it positive. Americans will have to wait and see how things shake out in the coming years.

​​Real estate values. Many retirees are expecting to cash in on their number one asset, their home/property. The survey conducted by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association for FICO found that home prices in the United Sates are unlikely to recover before 2020 and mortgage defaults will persist for years, says a survey of bank risk managers. The report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate from the Urban Land Institute, predict above-average growth for South East Asia, well ahead of that for the United States and Europe, and other survey’s from across the global predict South East Asia and specifically the Philippines, will see significant growth in real estate value, as more and more investors jump into the largest emerging market on the planet. 

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Luckily for many, the real estate values have recovered in many parts of the country, though foreclosures are still happening. And affordable real estate is readily available in most of Central America.

Medical costs will continue to rise, as well as your need for medical attention. It is a well known fact that US medical costs will continue to rise as will insurance costs. The aging population in US will also require more medical treatments as they age. It is also a fact that medical and dental treatments and procedures in places like the Philippines will save you from 30% to 85% compared to the USA.

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Currently, the average Social Security retirement payment is just $1,220 a month. How far does $1220 go? Not far in North America. There are several areas in South East Asia, like the Philippines, where $1200 covers your monthly cost of living expenses, rent utilities, food plus leaves a little extra. For example in the Philippines, when outside of the densely populate urban centers or tourist traps, a nice 2 or 3 bedroom house is around $400/month, utilities including cable and internet will run you around $150/month, food is $300/month approximately.  ​

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While it may be possible to live on $1,220 per month in the Philippines, it will be increasingly more difficult as time goes on. Also, be aware that $400/month will get you a fairly simple house, probably unfurnished, and you probably won’t be able to afford a car and will primarily use public transportation (not necessarily a bad thing). 

The average cost of an assisted living facility is approximately $40,000 a year in the U.S. Projections estimate that about 3 million US expats will join the million+ already in South East Asia, Mexico, and Central America within the next 10 years. Other estimates place the number closer to 10 million by 2025. That, added to the shortage of affordable assisted living facilities in the US, creates a huge opportunity for investors and developers. When you search the news online you can find numerous investors, developers and existing assisted living facility businesses already moving away from the USA to take advantage of cheaper development costs, lower cost of living, less expensive but still highly skilled labor, and the growing number of baby boomer expats becoming expats. Living abroad for retirement has become a reality for many Americas and it is projected to become a major consideration for the baby boomer population which are now hitting retirement age at a rate of 10,000 per day in the US.

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Assisted Living Centers is still a largely untapped market. The Philippines currently has thousands of nurses who are looking for work. Many expats have hired nurses and care givers to live with them in their homes so they can get high quality care. Much better than what one can expect in many places around the USA, Canada and Europe.

I hope this sobering information is helpful for your planning purposes.

When you are ready to make the change from living in the USA (or wherever you are on the globe), then consider learning from my expertise on this matter. Soon my new book/video series will be available -
 The Rat Race Escape Manual: The Easy way How to Move to the Philippines