How to retire early is something that many folks think about at some point in their life. When most people think of retirees in the Philippines, they think of someone over 62 years of age, however, I have personally met a number of retired expats here who are not even age 60 yet. Or age 50 for that matter! They still consider themselves retired because they no longer work for someone else in their home country. They are enjoying the retirement life style in the Philippines and they do what they want when they want for the most part, within reason of course. They abide by the laws of their new home country because they do not want to upset their own applecart and return back home to a job after they have discovered how to retire early in the Philippines.
My dear dad always told me that the best experience is first hand experience! I discovered how to retire early in the Philippines at age 54 in 2009. By far, it has been the best decision I ever made. I am not only extremely happy here but without a doubt, I added years to my life due to alleviating stress. As in the title of one of my previous articles, it was Adios Daily Grind, Hello Paradise! I can eat fresh tropical fruit and vegetables everyday, some of which we grow on our own farm, I can eat all types of fresh seafood daily at affordable prices and the public markets have fresh chicken, pork and beef every morning! How does this sound? My family and I eat very well everyday for much less than if we were living and eating daily in Florida!
How to Retire Early Younger
Some people that learn how to retire early are retired military, who joined the service before they were 20 years old and they retired after doing 20-25 years, so they retired between the ages of 39 and 44. For most of the retired military, their military pension is more than enough to afford them a fabulous lifestyle in the Philippines. Other younger retirees served in the military and were injured in one of the Middle Eastern wars and they are receiving a disability pension from the military.
Yet others, receive a disability pension from the Social Security Administration and once again, they are financially able to enjoy a much better and affordable lifestyle in the Philippines.
Some expats who have wondered how to retire early in the Philippines receive a steady monthly income from rental properties in their home countries. Others have the same type income, only they owner financed their properties in their home country to a buyer.
How to Retire Early With No Business
How to retire early anywhere with no business and no money seems next to impossible. We often hear of those expats who failed in business in the Philippines and because of many variables, they decided to spread the word to every expat and to every person on the planet that it is impossible to engage in successful business in the Philippines. I am being kind, my friends, when I say that this is a myth. Actually, it is a lie! The expats who failed are bitter and they blame everyone in the Philippines other than themselves. I have knowledge as to why they failed in business after hearing their stories, which are all too familiar among those who indeed failed. It has nothing to do with the Philippines! This is a topic for a future article, however, being successful in business in the Philippines, to allow an expat to retire early in the Philippines, is very possible. It is not only very possible but it costs much less here to start up small businesses than anywhere else in the world that I know of!
I have personally met those who have succeeded in doing business in the Philippines and they continue to succeed. Most of them are married to a Philippine citizen but not all. Some of the successful businesses that expats are engaging in the Philippines, which produce good income while actually living here, include unique restaurants, suppliers of specialty expat type food items, shoe factory and wholesale shoe distributorship, small call centers, agribusiness and taxi franchises. There are many others! So many. The successful business expat in the Philippines is always creative when it comes to how to retire early, and they always have good, honest help on the ground to make the business go.
There is one other myth about doing business in the Philippines that I would like to shoot down in this article. Not only shoot it down but step on it and grind it in the dirt! Nothing annoys me more than to hear one expat tell another expat, who is gung-ho on doing business in the Philippines, that unless they have experience in business or their spouse has experience in business, they will fail! Not true. There are many first time business owners who are so innovative that they blow the flip flops off the other expats who think they know business in the Philippines! How to retire early and do business in the Philippines is NOT a myth.
There is the Anti Dummy Law in the Philippines and it is illegal for a foreigner to financially back his wife or Filipino friends in a corporation while he is the mastermind of the business. However, none of the businesses I have referred to in this article require a corporation. There is no Philippines law against a husband helping his citizen wife set up a business in the Philippines. None whatsoever!
If you’re looking for how to retire early then retiring in the Philippines is not only possible but it is a very good idea if you can do it today! There is no better time than today to begin those plans and no need to wait until you are 62 or older, if it is possible for you. What are you waiting for?
