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  1. #251
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Don't buy a motel.
    One advantage of having little money is that (at least for me), it encourages me to think sensibly! When I had loads of money! I would splash out on the most stupid and expensive items. As the income flow decreased, I turned to loans and credit cards (this is some 20 years ago). Finally, when all the money ran out and the credit card heavies were knocking at the door, I thought "oh fcuk!!".

    I slowly climbed back a short distance from that financial misery, with a few hiccups along the way due to pretty women. Nowadays, I realise that my income is quite limited, and I have learnt to live totally within my cash means - no loans or credit or HP or mortgage. If I don't have the cash, it ain't happening. But I'm happy with what I've currently got on my modest teacher's salary...
    Groping women when you're old is fine - everyone thinks you're senile

  2. #252
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    Anyway, it looks like you've found a good spot! I though It only right to give you a few days to settle in, but looking forward to the food thread....

  3. #253
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    I'm happy with what I've currently got
    Best way to be. Mr. Micawber had it right:

    "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”

    (Not that he followed his own advice.)

  4. #254
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    One advantage of having little money is that (at least for me), it encourages me to think sensibly! When I had loads of money! I would splash out on the most stupid and expensive items. As the income flow decreased, I turned to loans and credit cards (this is some 20 years ago). Finally, when all the money ran out and the credit card heavies were knocking at the door, I thought "oh fcuk!!".

    I slowly climbed back a short distance from that financial misery, with a few hiccups along the way due to pretty women. Nowadays, I realise that my income is quite limited, and I have learnt to live totally within my cash means - no loans or credit or HP or mortgage. If I don't have the cash, it ain't happening. But I'm happy with what I've currently got on my modest teacher's salary...
    I think we have the same T shirt. I’m not loaded, but I don’t have any debt at all.
    Two ex wives made sure I was never going to be rich. ��

    Bon chance with the new digs and relocation. ✅

  5. #255
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    I think we have the same T shirt. I’m not loaded, but I don’t have any debt at all.
    Two ex wives made sure I was never going to be rich. ��

    Bon chance with the new digs and relocation. ✅
    I'll see your 2 ex-wives and raise you 1....

  6. #256
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    Er... what could go wrong?!
    Nothing it seems, and you have the flexibility as demonstrated by your fairly swift departure from Turkey to jump ship at a moments notice should the situation call for it.

  7. #257
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    double post

  8. #258
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    I think we have the same T shirt. I’m not loaded, but I don’t have any debt at all.
    Two ex wives made sure I was never going to be rich. ��

    Bon chance with the new digs and relocation. ✅
    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    I'll see your 2 ex-wives and raise you 1....
    They say there are two things you cant escape. Death and Taxes. They should add a third. Financially raped by your ex wife.

  9. #259
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    That deserves thread of it's own. Maybe even a Forum of it's own.

  10. #260
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    That deserves thread of it's own
    Saw the movie and I did make the Great Escape not quite Steve McQueen just gave her the lot and moved on easier in long run and oddly she now goes on holiday with my wife !!!

    We all get along fine under different roofs and I know how to make money so wasn't a big issue as kids had left college debt free. What she didn't really think through our uncontested clean break was my pension worth more than the house,

    Nice to see Simon health Quatre Bonnes a tad limited for me like all Isles but some people love the beach after my years at sea and lived next beach in Cornwall France California Hawaii and Portugal no longer need it , went Hua Hin about 10 ears ago now I just send the women and have a nice messy fortnight's peace with the lads and endless beer O' Clock no washing up Curry's and enough gas to fire German economy

    Bonne Chance Prof Si just a matter of time until one of those big arsed Mauriciennes mamas fatales catches her eye and its Au Revoir Candy and its Motel number 2 oe was it 3
    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    I just want the chance to use a bigger porridge bowl.

  11. #261
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    They say there are two things you cant escape. Death and Taxes. They should add a third. Financially raped by your ex wife.
    I can state with confidence that I have legally avoided paying tax ever since I left the UK some 20+ years ago. A few dollars a month for city rates for the street cleaners etc and that's it. I take the view that 99.9% of all governments and politicians are corrupt, and the money that I have earned through my hard work is all mine, not theirs to squander!

    Google the '5 Flags Theory'

  12. #262
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    Quote Originally Posted by david44 View Post
    What she didn't really think through our uncontested clean break was my pension worth more than the house,
    My ex was smarter than that, unfortunately. Straight after the divorce she bought a house that cost more than my 'equal share'. Anyway, I don't miss what I never had, I am debt free and don't need much to get by. I envy Simon's mobility although I feel ready now just to stay in one place. All I need to do is find that one place.

  13. #263
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    Quote Originally Posted by thaigrrr View Post
    People who earn their living online are still liable to pay tax if they want to do things legally.
    But more generally:
    You're of the age where you obtained "free" university education in the UK via other people's tax.
    You've also frequently referred to your future plans to live off your UK pension. I'm assuming you mean your government pension, in which case you will be living off other people's current contributions (I'm sure you know that UK government pensions are funded by current workers, not by investment of previous NI/tax).
    If you chose to stop paying into the UK system 20 years ago (which you may not have done depsite leaving 20 years ago), you'll also find that the government pension you receive will not pay for anything more than mere subsistence, and not even that in many retirement destinations.
    Despite leaving the UK 20+ years ago, I have indeed paid top-up class 2 contributions that gives me 30 years of contributions, about $850 USD per month. That was a voluntary payment, not a required payment like personal income tax. As for being liable for tax 'somewhere', that ain't so! If you are mobile like me, it is relatively easy to legally avoid paying tax on your income. This was also the situation when I was previously employed in Burma and Laos >> no tax on my salary at all.

  14. #264
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Maybe even a Forum of it's own.
    Mumsnet

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    and the money that I have earned through my hard work is all mine, not theirs to squander!
    Not much of a socialist then

  15. #265
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    Quote Originally Posted by thaigrrr View Post
    Good news that you paid the top-ups Simon, but 850USD is as I said at subsistence level in many places especially so if you have to pay rent which I's assuming you will have to do. As a simple example that we'd be both be familiar with, it's less than half what the Thai government stipulate for retirees.
    Re taxation. Very very few jurisdictions legally allow for zero taxation - why would they!! Despite what many people working online believe, tax is payable; and work permits are required too if one is to do it legally.
    PS I was going to advise you that the Turkish coast can be surprisingly cold in winter even though the sun might be shining bright in a clear blue sky - I sailed around that area about 15 years ago. But the really great thing about the mediterranean in general (for me at least) is the swimming - with no tide it's like a giant pool; Thai and Mauritian beaches are stunning in photos but not good for swimming. The sea is also extremely clean in much of the mediterranean part of the world.
    PPS about your ham radio interests. I know nothing about it, but I'd have thought that almost anything you can do on ham radio can be done on the internet, which also offers so much more (forums for example). Is it just the enthusiast in you that keeps you attached to hamming or does it offer something you need that you can't do via the net?
    PPS I'm pretty impressed that you managed to relocate around the world twice in as many months in the middle of a pandemic. Hope you've found a reasonably permanent home this time.
    Topping up with low-cost class 2 contributions was a no-brainer, but the $850 is simply to take care of basic bills etc, I do have a secondary income and savings to boost my retirement income up to about $2,000 a month.

    For working 'offshore' (online teaching), Mauritius levies no tax and I need no work permit - I simply need the correct (free) visa which I've already applied for. As I mentioned, I have zero intention of residing in a country which taxes my modest income.

    My amateur radio hobby is primarily a technical challenge to me, designing efficient antennas etc. Of course, if I can't make the contact by radio, I can always send an email!

  16. #266
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    Quote Originally Posted by thaigrrr View Post
    Thanks for the reply Simon.
    I know zero about Mauritius's tax rules, so I won't comment specifically (though I'm fairly sure what you say wouldn't have been true in Turkey, for example - it's definitely not true in Thailand), but I have set up companies - legitimate companies that employ people - in numerous jurisdictions - so I am very familiar with international tax structures. And I can say with certainty that there are close to zero opportunities to pay zero tax legally. Online work (including teaching) isn't actually 'offshore' in any legal sense. You are a scientist by education and training, so I'm sure you appreciate terminological precision.
    Your income from teaching online will decline as your age pushes you out of the market. But even if you manage to maintain c 2,000 USD per month, that would put you only at the the level that, for example, the Thai authorities for example stipulate as a minimum for retirees.
    Please don't take any of this the wrong way, I'm just interested in pushing beyond the travelogue, and I'm not trying to market anything either.
    PS I travelled the length and breadth of Laos before the Chinese took over, I loved it, but I concluded that the administrative infrastructure was too undeveloped for business.
    I know that Thailand stipulates 65,000 THB as the monthly funds transfer to obtain a retirement extension. That doesn't mean that is what it costs to live in Thailand The last time that I lived there, about 4 years ago, my detached house and large garden in Bueng Kan on the banks of the Mekong river cost 3,000 baht/month rent. My total monthly outgoings were about 20,000 baht for a modest but very enjoyable lifestyle.

    Mauritius has set up this visa for remote workers. There are no tax implications in Mauritius and no requirement to submit tax returns etc. Of course, one could be liable for tax in the country where my private students live (China, Russia, Japan, Taiwan etc), but I'm fairly sure that the authorities in those countries won't be interested!

    I must disagree with you concerning my age pushing me out of the market. I'm an online science teacher for primary grade students, 63 years old in a couple of months, and demand for my lessons just keeps on increasing (since I moved in 2016 from in-class to online teaching). I know of no other online science teachers who are 'real' scientists like me - they are simply science teachers by training, with no science/engineering career experience.

    What may happen is some medical reason to slow down, which is why I'm saving money now so that I have sufficient total income from savings and pension to live a modest but hopefully healthy and happy life wherever I may be (which seems to be Mauritius if all goes OK).

  17. #267
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    why I'm saving money now so that I have sufficient total income from savings and pension to live a modest but hopefully healthy and happy life wherever I may be (which seems to be Mauritius if all goes OK).
    ^ and hence Candy, she'll never keep nagging for new shoes, handbags or whatever new thing Mrs Mubago has next door

  18. #268
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    ^ and hence Candy, she'll never keep nagging for new shoes, handbags or whatever new thing Mrs Mubago has next d
    She may want a new hat

  19. #269
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    Quote Originally Posted by thaigrrr View Post
    I wish you well Simon. You are always very positive which is a good thing.

    I remember your positive posts about being an owner/manager/receptionist of a Phuket hotel.
    I remember your positive posts about your projected future in North Cyprus; but then the reality of your recent experience in Turkey.

    I don't remember any contemporary posts (ie posts made at the time) about Myanmar or Laos, only your regretful posts after the fact.

    As for age pushing you out of the online teaching market, it is inevitable, the question is - when will it happen?

    In the end you may well find that the UK ,with all its faults, is where you end up, because as an "OAP" without sufficient funds to support himself you will be entitled to means tested support payed for by current workers out of their NI and taxation, in addition to your bare bones pension.
    You're - not nearly as subtly as you think - really trying to wind the fella up, aren't you?

  20. #270
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    Quote Originally Posted by hallelujah View Post
    You're - not nearly as subtly as you think - really trying to wind the fella up, aren't you?
    My impression too.

  21. #271
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    Quote Originally Posted by Iceman123 View Post
    She may want a new hat
    he could buy her one with the money he saves on dental bills

  22. #272
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    Quote Originally Posted by hallelujah View Post
    You're - not nearly as subtly as you think - really trying to wind the fella up, aren't you?

    Doom and gloom comments like his go in my left ear and straight out my right ear.... He's just a glass-half-empty kind of guy. I prefer my glasses half full

  23. #273
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    Doom and gloom comments like his go in my left ear and straight out my right ear.... He's just a glass-half-empty kind of guy. I prefer my glasses half full
    A 60 day visa on arrival gives you the chance to take a good look at the place. You seem to have moved very quickly and done a lot of pre arrival research, in order to get where you are now.
    I hope it all works out for you. ✅ you

  24. #274
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    A 60 day visa on arrival gives you the chance to take a good look at the place. You seem to have moved very quickly and done a lot of pre arrival research, in order to get where you are now.
    I hope it all works out for you. ✅ you
    Sometimes you get a gut feeling about a place. When I was in Turkey, it was nice enough, but that 'gut feeling' was missing. Here in Mauritius, I'm already into a routine > get up at 6am, jog on the nearby beach, swim, back for breakfast, so some shopping, start to teach etc.

    Since the annual visa costs nothing at all, I have applied and currently going through the documentation process, which seems very sensible and straightforward. We'll see how it goes, but I can't see any issues that concern me so far.

  25. #275
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    Quote Originally Posted by thaigrrr View Post
    Thanks for the reply Simon.
    I know zero about Mauritius's tax rules, so I won't comment specifically (though I'm fairly sure what you say wouldn't have been true in Turkey, for example - it's definitely not true in Thailand), but I have set up companies - legitimate companies that employ people - in numerous jurisdictions - so I am very familiar with international tax structures. And I can say with certainty that there are close to zero opportunities to pay zero tax legally. Online work (including teaching) isn't actually 'offshore' in any legal sense. You are a scientist by education and training, so I'm sure you appreciate terminological precision.
    Your income from teaching online will decline as your age pushes you out of the market. But even if you manage to maintain c 2,000 USD per month, that would put you only at the the level that, for example, the Thai authorities for example stipulate as a minimum for retirees.
    Please don't take any of this the wrong way, I'm just interested in pushing beyond the travelogue, and I'm not trying to market anything either.
    PS I travelled the length and breadth of Laos before the Chinese took over, I loved it, but I concluded that the administrative infrastructure was too undeveloped for business.
    Who is this massive twat

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