why: so the government won’t be able to use your money for whatever the fuck they’re planning for the next 4 years.

as a traveler, none of my money has been funding Israel, for example.

one-step method: you basically fill out one extra tax form called FEIE while you’re doing your taxes, write down the dates you were outside of the country, and then since you aren’t in the country and are not receiving any services from the US, you don’t have to pay income tax up to a certain amount (it’s a little over 125k this year).

  • bizarroland@fedia.io
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    16 days ago

    I’m seriously tempted to sell all my stuff and just become a nomad.

    Sounds pretty dreamy all in all.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      16 days ago

      it’s pretty great.

      and it’s just about as easy as you have described.

      If you have any questions, I am happy to answer.

      I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve helped other people start traveling.

      • bizarroland@fedia.io
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        16 days ago

        I guess my only question is, if I sell everything and liquidate all of my assets I would probably have like 30 grand, maybe more maybe less.

        How long is that going to last me while I’m wandering, and what options are there to keep money rolling in?

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          16 days ago
          1. tldr: "30 grand will last you at least 5 years of very comfortable living if you’re at all trying to budget wisely.

          2. the easiest and most immediately profitable is English teacher, but remote work is vast and covers every field, so it really depends on what you’re interested in.

          1 full)

          totally depends on your habits and proclivities, but I lived on less than $300 a month for about a year. a lot of hostels in Asia and Europe have monthly discounts and they’re already like $7 a day. in Asia they can be $2 a day for a bunk bed in a room.

          private rooms are 10 to 15 bucks a day, but if you’re going to do that then just go to a hotel and pay for the month, which you can easily get for $200 to $300 a month all utilities included.

          I’ve been doing this a while, so right now I’m living in India paying $300 a month for a private two-bedroom two bathroom full kitchen, living room and dining room house plus rooftop terrace parking garage, the whole package, all utilities included plus free unlimited Wi-Fi.

          about $0.90 will get you at one entree of chili goby, 2 to 4 rotis and a side of dal or curry.

          kabobs are about $0.20 here, potstickers are up to $0.10 each.

          anyway, you can live extremely cheaply in the beginning and then figure out what you want and go from there.

          If you have 30 grand and no experience traveling, you can rent private condos or houses in a couple dozen countries off tge top of my head for less than 500 USD a month, all utilities included.

          in the cheaper countries, you can spend $20 a day eating out at the fancier restaurants or go to the mom and pop shops or cook yourself and spend $1-3 a day on simpler meals.

          If you want to pamper yourself and live in more expensive countries, you can double all those prices, but the more you travel the better you’ll get at traveling and finding good prices.

          30 grand will last you at least 5 years if you’re at all watching your money,.

          annually, you only need a couple thousand to live indoors and eat as much as you want, several thousand to to live privately end comfortably and enjoy entertainment everyday, and a few thousand after that to splurge most of the year.

          2 full)

          important consideration is that you only need to make five grand a year for all of your expenses well traveling in the more affordable countries (of which there are dozens), anything after that is play money.

          If you have zero skills or certifications, English teaching is the easiest and quickest way to make money. you’re instantly making $12 to $20 an hour repeating primary colors and fundamental vocabulary to smart well-behaved children for 45 minutes at a time.

          you can get a tefl certification for 40 bucks on Groupon, that lasts for a lifetime and increases your pay up to $20 even without experience.

          or you can just fly over to China and you’ll get a job that week starting at an absolute minimum of $12 if you fuck up the interview and dress like a homeless person.

          Last I checked, Saudi Arabia (and some provinces in China) was paying $6,000 US a month for English teachers.

          that’s the easiest, but there are plenty of other jobs you can do.

          there are too many jobs to list, you can write articles if you’re good at writing, you can get free it certifications and work as an SEO optimizer, you can literally pick berries and work seasonally in some countries.

          I knew a Spanish couple who are just trying to choose a country and they just moved to whichever place had berry picking work that year, worked a couple days a week.

          If I know your interests, talents or proficiencies I can suggest more specific jobs in that field, but again, you only need to make five grand a year to live very comfortably, and you only need a couple grand to live in a dorm and eat good food everyday.

          If you have those savings you’re talking about, you have a minimum of 5 years to figure out a way to make $5,000 bucks a year to maintain your standard of living, although you’ll probably save money the longer you travel.

          • bizarroland@fedia.io
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            16 days ago

            I’m definitely a jack of all trades, but I have a bachelor’s in IT and like 10 years of work experience.

            I feel like the competition is pretty high for people in that category though, but I could probably handle a couple hours a week of berry picking and English teaching.

            • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              16 days ago

              yup yup.

              any bullshit part-time job in IT will more than fund your lifestyle indefinitely.

              get a job you like? even better. and you have 5 years to find that job that can pay you 10% of the US salary and you’ll still save $1,000 a month without trying.

              and you can always try out other jobs just for fun since you don’t have the unrelenting financial pressure of the US ripping dollar bills out of your account everyday

              oh!

              I’ve got a great one.

              are you tall?

              China still hires tall foreigners to wear suits to walk around buildings and pretend they’re advisors.

              so you dress up in a doctor’s coat and pose with a hospital administrator for a photo op, maybe give a prewritten speech at a textile conference, they’ll pay you to do that, more money and work. the taller you are hahaha.

              anyway, you’re all set.

              find any job that pays you $1 to $2,000 a month, sell all your shit and fly to whatever country.

              shoot and you’re at the end of this year too, so if you leave before the end of January next year, and stay out the rest of the year, you’ll be able to use the feie for your 2025 taxes.

              go ahead and show me any other questions if you think of them

              • bizarroland@fedia.io
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                16 days ago

                Yeah I’m 6’1 but I’m native American so I don’t think I will fit into their thing cuz they tend to prefer white guys

                • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                  16 days ago

                  prefer, yes, but especially for the walking around job they’ll take anybody tall.

                  their prejudices are real flexible in that regard.