Expat & Currency
The ExpatFIRE Playbook: Retiring Abroad
Retiring abroad can cut your required nest egg by a third or more. It also adds variables a domestic plan never has to think about.
The big lever: cost of living
Your retirement number is your spending × 25. Move somewhere your money goes further — parts of Portugal, Mexico, Thailand, Spain — and you cut the spending side directly. A $48k US lifestyle might cost $28k abroad, shaving hundreds of thousands off your target.
US spend
$48k/yr
Abroad
$28k/yr
New target
~$0.7M
What a domestic plan misses
- Currency. Your savings are in dollars; your bills are in pesos or baht. Exchange-rate swings change your real spending power.
- Local inflation. Your destination's inflation can differ sharply from the US figure.
- Visas. Many countries require proof of income or a minimum deposit for a retirement visa.
- Healthcare. Often far cheaper — but confirm what's covered and budget private insurance.
- Taxes. You may owe both locally and to the US; treaties and credits decide the rest.
The cost-of-living win is real and large — but it's only durable if your plan survives a weaker dollar. Stress-test the currency before you commit, not after you've moved.
Build the plan in this order
Pick a destination, set local spending in local currency, layer in a realistic FX rate and local inflation, handle the visa income test, then run your odds. Get those right and ExpatFIRE is one of the most powerful accelerants there is.
Key takeaways
- A lower cost of living can slash your retirement number.
- Currency, local inflation, visas, healthcare, and taxes are all new variables.
- Stress-test a weaker dollar before relying on the savings.
- Plan spending in the local currency, then run the odds.