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Here is a great post from Ladislav's ebook, which I also put into his blog (http://expatriateobservations.blogspot.com):
Living Like a Millionaire Now
When I hit my mid twenties, I realized that getting rich was harder than I thought. I also realized that I was not motivated enough to be rich. And not smart enough. And not have the right background/connections. Etcetera, etcetera. So, I asked myself- Can I live rich without being rich? What can I do that the rich do, and still not have to sacrifice a big chunk of my life trying to get rich.
The answer is this- obtain a middle class status in the First World that enables you to have about $2000 disposable income, and spend it in the Third World. It took me some years to achieve it and then, once I did, it was smooth sailing from then on.
The rich enjoy respect and admiration- this can be obtained by moving to various Third World nations where a Western face at a local department store commands the same respect as Donald Trump’s face would at a New York department store. They think all western people; especially, the ones who had money to come to their country are billionaires. Let them keep their illusions. At least they will respect us for that.
The rich live in a big house/villa on the beach - these can be rented cheaply; we are talking a few hundred bucks a month in many Third World nations.
The rich have millions. You, too, can exchange your hard currency and become a millionaire. Nineteen thousand dollars is one million Philippine pesos. One thousand dollars is ten million (!) Indonesian rupees. So, you can now be talking about all these millions you have in the bank. And you can have them NOW!
The rich have boats and practice expensive sports. You can do the same. You can also rent a boat for very little or have a boat captain for very small money every month in some cheap out-of-the-way nation. You can rent a jet-ski for very small money, too. Golf memberships in the West are astronomical, but not in some small Third World country where you become an honorable member of the localgolf club for peanuts. You can now go and play golf like a pro and pay very little for the pleasure. And a safari in Africa nowadays is a bit over $1000 excluding the airfare.
The rich shop for nice clothes, luxury motorcycles and other things. You can visit some countries where markets are flooded with tax-free Chinese clothes as well as Chinese motorcycles and a huge variety of every possible type of item at rock bottom prices. Almost every luxury item has a cheap Chinese version of it. Shirts or pants for $3-10 a pair. A jacket for $6. Brand new Harley Davidson-type motorcycles for some $1200 only (brand new). Used motorcycles can be had for as little as $200! Household appliances can be bought for one fifth of what you pay for them back home. I once saw electric shavers for $4. Not a bad deal.
The rich fly around the world and stay at luxury hotels. You can do the same. There are ways to accumulate miles and fly around the world either for free or at very discount rates. Shop around for cheap airfares. Or get a courier flight where you pay one half of the fare. Then, you can even fly around the 1st world, but stay at youth hostels- some $22-27 a night. After you check into the fleabag hostel where you leave you clothes and get a bed to sleep, you can now go to the lobbies of luxury hotels and have a meal, walk around and absorb the atmosphere. You can go to night clubs and order a drink and check out how things are there.
The rich stay at luxury resorts. Check out some unknown resorts in the most mundane vacations spots- some industrial city in Cambodia, some small town in Africa. A beach in Albania. Try and get a hut there and stay on the beach. You will have the same sea, same white sand, and even a swimming pool nearby but instead of paying $1500 a night as the rich do, you will be paying $15 a night ( if not a week). You just need to know where to look.
The rich have luxury vehicles. Oops! Here I cannot help you. There are no knock-offs for BMWs or Mercedes Benzes. However, I have been able to get a chauffer to take me to a hotel from the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (and back in the morning) for some $27. Not a bad deal. The Mercedes Benz was old, but it was still a Benz. And I was sitting in it like a VIP.
I have seen some places where you can buy locally assembled vehicles such as jeeps with re-built Japanese engines for some $3000 or less “brand- new”. There are ways to do that.
The rich date gorgeous members of the opposite sex. Again, there are many 3d world countries where women and (men) would love to date a 1st world citizen no matter how old or ugly. There are places in the Arab world where a blond 50+ year old European woman can hope to find a passionate young Arab stallion in his twenties or thirties to be her lover. The same goes for Western men who are now a hot item for young East Euro and SE Asian girls. All they have to do is place themselves in those circumstances and, instead of busting their behinds trying to get rich for 20 years, just realize that they are already rich/ and famous if they put themselves in the right place on Earth.
If you follow you that formula, you will have a wacky but successful and extremely interesting life. You will not be admired by an average subway-riding, 9:00-5:00 Joe. You may not even be able to have a family in the normal 1st World sense. And you will have very few people opining you are doing the correct thing with most of them actually thinking that you are insane. Let them. It will be a life in which all things will be had, albeit temporarily and sometimes almost illusorily, but hey, isn’t reality and illusion and isn’t everything temporary, anyway? The idea is to approximate a millionaire’s lifestyle so much that when we reach the end of our lives, we will see that his/her life and ours have not been that different.
So, if you are ready, start working on how you can get some $2000 a month of disposable income. It is not easy but still easier than trying to make a million dollars and spending a few sleepless decades trying to achieve it. We can start living like millionaires now if we play our cards right.
