IL Postcard

Day 2: Retire at 44 (and Collect an Income From Anywhere in the World)

Date: 10/06/2009 Author: Suzan Haskins

Dead silence. That’s about the last thing you want to happen at a high-energy conference when one of your best speakers finishes his presentation. Especially when you’re ready to go to on a high-energy coffee break.

In this case, though, silence was golden.

John Curran isn’t a professional speaker. He’s not a high-powered financier or an expert real estate investor. He’s not a writer or real estate developer. He doesn’t work for International Living. In fact, he doesn’t work at all.

And that’s exactly the point.

John Curran has a story to tell. And tell it he did, today at the International Living Live and Invest Overseas Conference.

In my opinion, John Curran’s presentation was the most powerful of all those given by our extensive cast of experts.

John’s expertise? He’s an exceptionally expert expat. But more than that, he seems to have found the key to getting this expat life "just right," as Goldilocks would say. He was able to get off the non-stop Merry-Go-Round so many of us are on. And he was here to tell us how he did it.

When he finished, the audience was quiet. Lost in thought, I guess, although amidst that silence you could almost hear the wheels turning.

I’m Suzan Haskins, writing to you from the conference here in Las Vegas. I thought I knew just about everything about being an expat. After all, writing about that topic is how I make my living.

But sometimes you can’t see the trees for the forest. And it takes someone like John to remind you what this expat life is all about.

How to Retire at 44

John said some things that caused me and everyone else in the audience think about what we’re doing with our lives and where we go from here.

John and his wife, Sue, are former teachers. “Teaching is rewarding,” said John, “but not in a financial sense.”

So how were they able to retire at age 44?

“We did our homework,” says John. You’d expect a former teacher to say that, right? And yes, that homework included International Living.

If I were to insert a commercial break here, this is where I would tell you that International Living is putting together a complete package of nearly everything that's happening at this event—we’re recording all 28 presentations and 18 workshops and making copies of the handouts, PowerPoint and visual presentations. We call it our Live and Invest Overseas Conference Package.

I’d also tell you that getting your hands on John Curran’s presentation alone is worth the price of the entire kit and caboodle—the points he makes are common sense but they’re also the little details we often forget or choose to ignore.

If you have even the slightest interest in this idea of living an expat life, get your hands on John’s presentation. Check out his PowerPoint presentation. Listen to him talk about his experiences. Look at his photos. And especially…listen to the lyrics of the song that accompany his photos.

I’m not going to tell you more. In fact, I’m not even going to tell you where John lives. Because that’s not as important as his message, which is:

• Decide what you want and don’t settle for less. If you do, less is what you’ll have.

• Jumping off the merry-go-round with your eyes open doesn’t ensure a smooth landing. But jumping off with your eyes closed almost guarantees a crash landing.

• Your odds of winning a jackpot in Vegas are slim but you won’t win if you don’t give it a go. However, your odds of winning a jackpot out there [in the expat world] are great.

Money seemed to be on everyone’s minds today. Maybe it’s because we’re surrounded by money-gulping slot machines here in Las Vegas. Or because we’re at a gorgeous upscale hotel, where everything is resort expensive. (“My property taxes were a little over $11 this year. See how far that gets you in this hotel,” John Curran said.)

Every speaker, including Roger Peterson from Costa Rica, Phil Hahn from Belize, Mike Cobb from Nicaragua, and Cecilia Campbell from Argentina talked about the low cost of living in those countries. Like our experts from Mexico, Panama, Ecuador and Europe did yesterday, they supported their words with facts…and gave us the nuts and bolts about how and why we should consider these locales.

We also heard from some very savvy financial experts who explained how to make money instead of spend it. (Like one attendee told me, “Every casino owner in Vegas knows there’s no such thing as a sure bet. But I’m damn sure of one thing: I’ll bet everyone here has taken a financial hit this year. And we’re looking for a way to turn things around.”)

Buy Foreign Currencies, Gold, Silver

Greg Adams to the rescue. He’s the president of Sovereign International Asset Management and a Certified Financial Planner. Along with moving ourselves offshore, he says, we’d better have an offshore wealth management strategy. That’s more important today than ever, he says, since before too long we may be restricted from moving money out of the U.S. Greg’s advice: diversify away from the U.S. dollar, and buy precious metals like gold and silver.

Kristin Kuchem, a currency trader and vice president of well-respected EverBank, told us the same thing.

“What’s the difference between bronco riding and bull riding?” she asked. “When the bronco tosses you off, he runs as far away from you as he can. When the bull tosses you off, he turns ‘round and charges you. He wants to harm you.”

Today’s economic climate is like riding that bull, Kristin said. “And there’s still a rough ride ahead.”

To get out of the bullpen without getting pulverized, she too recommends asset allocations that include metals and foreign currencies.

Both she and Greg offered up an investment checklist—things we can invest in right now…today…to help grow our portfolios. (Kristin told us which country’s currency increased in value 23% in 2008, relative to the dollar. It’s still strong this year and she expects it to stay so into 2010.)

You Can Learn What We’ve Learned—At a Fraction of the Cost Paid By Conference Attendees.

As I mentioned yesterday, we want to help you fast track your plans of moving to or investing in your own corner of paradise…wherever that might be.

So we're making audio recordings of all 28 presentations and 18 workshops here at the Live & Invest Overseas Conference.

We're also making copies of the handouts, PowerPoint and visual presentations. And we’re including the complete dossier given to each attendee on arrival.

We call it our Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package. It’s your ringside seat to every aspect of the conference (except, I’m sorry to say, cocktail parties and receptions).

Make an Income from Anywhere in the World

We guarantee the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package will help you quickly move forward with your plans of moving to…or investing overseas.

(If you need to make an income, or example, Steenie Harvey gave us a list of occupations that can be done from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection. She knows from whence she speaks…she herself makes money from these very activities and she shared her resources with us.)

When you order the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package you’ll catch up with those of us here in Las Vegas. You have an advantage, in fact: you can to listen to all of the presentations whenever you want, from the comfort of your home or office…and with as many breaks as you need.

Watch the PowerPoint presentations, read through the handouts, listen to the audio recordings, copy them to your iPod and listen to them any time, any place. Skip around to the presentations that interest you most, take notes... You can listen to them as many times as you like, so you don't miss a thing.

RESERVE YOUR Live & Invest Overseas Conference PackageFOR THE LOWEST PRICE POSSIBLE…

The full price to attend this sold-out event was $895—but you can secure yourself a copy of the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package for only $149… a fraction of what attendees paid to join us here in Las Vegas.

Being here in person is more than worth that amount, of course. But we do understand that not everyone can be here. Still, if you’re interested in any aspect of retiring, relocating, or confidently investing overseas we want you to have a chance to hear what conference attendees are hearing this week.

To sweeten the deal, we're throwing in a $100 voucher toward any International Living conference or seminar. Use it to attend next year's Live and Invest Overseas Conference (or any future event or seminar you may be interested in). You see, we do want you to attend one of our events in person some time soon.

But, this is a limited time offer only.

Once the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package is available for download, we’ll increase the price to $249.

Your discounted price, of just $149, includes:

• Audio recordings of all our overseas experts’ presentations
• Copies of all handouts and dossiers
• Plus a special bonus report, titled: Live Your Dream Retirement: Six Top Destinations Around the World Where You Can Invest for Profit and Enjoy Life for Less. (This report is only available to conference attendees and to you…when you order the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package.)
• And a $100 voucher toward any of our future conferences anywhere, any time. There is no expiration date on this voucher! (In 2010, we’ll be hosting events in Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, and other favorite locales still to be determined…at least one of these is sure to be a perfect fit for your personal needs.)

Reserve your copy today by completing our secure online form and save $100 on the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package.

RESERVE YOUR CONFERENCE PACKAGE HERE

We'll send the information about how to obtain your conference package as soon as we're finished making copies of the recordings, the handouts, the PowerPoint presentations, etc.

But let me repeat: we’ll only offer this low price until we have the recordings ready to deliver to you. At that point… we'll charge the full price of $249.

There won’t be a more affordable time to reserve your copy. This is special conference discount is only available for a very limited time.

And Now About That Guarantee I Mentioned…

The 25+ experts at this event cover every possible aspect of living and investing around the world. After you've heard their briefings, there'll be nothing to stop you from acting on the information they share.

Because of that, we'll return every penny you paid for this information if it doesn't help make your overseas dreams come true.

If This Information… These Tips and Secrets… Don't Work, You Pay Nothing.

You can call us at any time in the future—next month...next year...or next decade—and tell us the information didn't help you. (Or don't tell us anything. Just ask for your money back.) We'll give you back your $149. And your $100 voucher, good toward any future event—and your special bonus report—is yours to keep.

So if you're serious tapping into the opportunities still available for good living and an easy affordable retirement, I urge you to take advantage of this offer and reserve your Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package now.

Suzan Haskins
Your Conference Insider, International Living

P.S. Remember, along with all the recordings and visual presentations of all 28 presentations and 18 workshops from the Live & Invest Overseas Conference, you get a $100 voucher toward any of our next events or conferences. And you get the special bonus report, Live Your Dream Retirement: Six Top Destinations Around the World Where You Can Invest for Profit and Enjoy Life for Less. And you get all this for a special discounted price of just $149—a discount that’s only available until the recordings are ready to be delivered. After that the price goes up.

Don’t wait. Because if you do, you’ll pay more. Learn more about the Live & Invest Overseas Conference Package now.

P.P.S. John Curran’s presentation features a John Lennon song that I’m certain you’ve heard before. And it’s a perfect accompaniment to his message. Here is just a bit of the lyrics:

Ah, people asking questions lost in confusion
Well I tell them there’s no problem, only solutions
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I’ve lost my mind
I tell them there’s no hurry
I’m just sitting here doing time
I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go