Want to save big? Consider relocation.
I have always dreamed of faraway places. Ever since I was a kid, I could get lost for hours flipping through the pages of a world atlas or watching documentaries about people living on the other side of the world. So, it was natural that a year after college, I took off to travel. In no hurry to go home, I then moved to Guatemala.
Though my soul was bohemian, my head was begging for safety. I knew I could never be a bartending wanderer or do some other kind of unsteady work just to scrape by. I wanted a solid money cushion to support my crazy adventures, whether I'd need a $2,000 last-minute flight home or enough to settle down and furnish a new place.
So, when other working travelers were struggling, I was working for a law firm in the city, making around $3,000 a month. My rent was $200 (which included a weekly maid, all bills, HOA, doorman and gardening) for a shared apartment in the best neighborhood of the city. I could walk to bars and cycle to work.
Spending less than 7 percent of my take-home pay on housing and an occasional $3 for a taxi meant I was able to save a lot of money early on. This isn't the case for most people, of course. The average American household dedicates about 33 percent of their income to housing, and 16 percent to transportation. If you're doing the math, yes, that is about half of your income. It is these items that you should tackle first if you are trying to increase your savings rate.
The third line of any American's budget is food, at around 13 percent of take-home pay. My Guatemalan diet included delicious fruits and vegetables, meat on a daily basis and little treats like an expensive piece of French cheese now and again. Dining out cost about $2 for a quick lunch and about $12 when I would go out with my friends. My total food budget was around $150 a month, or 5 percent of my paycheck, and could have been a third of that if I stopped dining out or paid more attention when grocery shopping.
When you sum up these "Big Three" — housing, transportation and food — Americans are spending 62 percent of their money. I spent 12 percent. This meant I could save 50 percent of my income and still live on 38 percent after my "Big Three" were covered.
That said, I did not move to Guatemala for the money. It is an amazing country with a lot of diversity, natural beauty and cultural wonders, and I love how easy life is down there. I spent three years living in the city and then moved to Europe on a whim because, hey, money buys options.
Five years later, though, I started missing Guatemala. And, before I knew it, I was crossing the ocean again with two suitcases and dreams of building a guest house. By then, I was living off my writing income, which had surpassed my last job's income. I was prepared to quit my day job and become a location-independent freelancer.
When I left, my investments were generating enough passive income for me to live pretty lean. Should I lose all my writing clients, I would have to tighten the belt pretty hard to make ends meet, but I was confident in my ability to generate an income while letting my nest egg grow and adding to it.
Once again, having money made taking the leap much easier. And living in such a cheap country shaved years off my financial independence date. As soon as I landed, I started renovating a guest house, investing in land and growing my finance blog. After three years, my passive income streams were covering my expenses many times over.
You are usually considered financially independent when you have 25 years of living expenses saved. You can then use the 4 percent safe withdrawal rate rule to live off your nest egg forever. If you live on $40,000 a year, you would need to save $1,000,000 to retire. But, if you can live on $20,000, you would only need $500,000.
With the median American income around $50,000, it would take 20 years of saving 50 percent of your income in order to save that extra $500,000. By moving to Guatemala and slashing my expenses in more than half while maintaining my income, I could reach financial independence in just a few years.
Now, I am not saying you should drop everything and move to a developing country. I love this place, but it is not for everyone. However, there are lots of opportunities for arbitrage even in the U.S. Moving to a lower cost of living area, especially if you are able to maintain your income level, can help you become financially independent and retire early. Think about it — it costs over 30 percent more to live in the District of Columbia or Hawaii than it does to live in Mississippi or Oklahoma. Is it worth your financial freedom?
Learn how to get your finances in order for your next trip.


text:
Stantec expands into mining with planned purchase of Mcintosh
Stantec is planning to expand its services into mining by signing a letter of intent to acquire McIntosh Engineerin...
May 29, 2008	Canadian Consulting Engineer
Stantec is planning to expand its services into mining by signing a letter of intent to acquire McIntosh Engineering.
McIntosh has more than 200 employees, mostly located in Arizona in the U.S. and Sudbury and North Bay in Ontario. With special expertise in underground hard rock mining, McIntosh has served many of the largest, deepest and most technically challenging mines in the world. The company's services range from mine conceptualization through to detail design, and construction management. Its president and CEO is Scott McIntosh.
During 2007 McIntosh had gross revenues of approximately $32 million. The transaction with Stantec is expected to be completed in July.
Stantec now has 9,000 employees operating in more than 100 locations in North America.
Stantec trades in New York
Stantec increases its revenues
Stantec announces good results and details on acquisition of Jacques Whitford
Stantec improves gross revenue over last year
Staff changes at Leber Rubes and Associated Engineering
Geologists and geophysicists in Alberta to change names?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


LIMITED TIME ! WHOLESALE BULK SIZE Women's Body Oil For RE-Bottle to sell for a profit ! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FINAL STOCK SALE !ALL SALES FINAL ! NO RETURNS ! Make More Profit buying my discounted prices! Sale into Spring! Bring new compliments wearing body oil and selling it also ! Fill your creative bottles ! An 8 oz. bottle will fill 24 - 1/3 oz roll on classic glass roll on bottle ! Retail for $4 - $5 per bottle ! SELECT HERE !


It is a pocket watch with a wrist band.
My mother-in-law received it from her mother-in-law who is from Holland. I received the watch about 10 years ago and am looking for identification.
There are markings on the wrist band, but not on the watch. The markings read "ALPAKA" and "KJAG"
If anyone can give me information, I would appreciate it.
Alpaka is a mix off nickel, copper and zinc.
KJAG or KJ is a jewelers name Kollmar & Jourdan.
I have one of these in gold but I'm still not quite sure of it origin. You need to check the band thoroughly for the name Union, I believe that's the maker. Also, the 4 clasps open, to release the watch, so as to become a pocket watch.
I have acquired a pocket watch that was my father's who was in WWII, very similar to Oma's watch without a wrist band. It may have been acquired during that time, but I'm not sure. When I opened the back part of the watch I discovered the engraving that says "cylindre70rubis". Underneath that is a beautiful flourish engravement. On the inside of the cover is engraved the number 9491 with a 7 underneath the 2nd 9. Above the numbers, there is a diamond shape engraved with some sort of markings inside.
Any clue as to the history of this or the artisan or company this is from? It seems from the other comments that have been written so far, that its origin is from Holland. Also, any particular value that can be put on it?
My father is Dutch and I have the same watch, except it is missing the little chain. I would love to know more about it. My Dad is 74 and it may have belonged to his grandfather, so it may be quite old. If you find anything out please let us know.
I'm from Holland and I have the same wrist band.
It belonged to my grandpa's mum.
I believe Alpaka is a sort of silver. not sure.
I was looking at the watch this morning and noticed a tab in the back. I decided to open it. I was totally surprised! It has a few more markings and words.
An arrow and under it 0.800 inclosed in a rectangle.
The engraving says, "1re Qualtie Cylindre 10(or 70) Rubis", then the numbers 1053 with the number 3(under the 1053).


Personal transformation may seem hard, but these simple tricks will help.
Personal transformation is seldom a quick and easy process. It's hard enough to find 10 minutes in the morning to meditate, let alone to shift our entire worldview. Yes, there are the rare few who have a "wake-up call," and achieve swift transformation from a profound epiphany or fortuitous life changing experience. For most people, it takes significant effort and time to alter old patterns, habits, and beliefs. The more ingrained our thinking and behavioral patterns, the more intentional we need to be about change and growth. If you want to quickly transform unhelpful and destructive patterns you'll need to confront your beliefs head on and create new experiences.
Here are six practices to help you transformation into a more fulfilled, joyful, and courageous person.
Joe Wilner is the creator of You Have a Calling, an online community for dream chasers, and is a life coach, licensed psychotherapist, and drummer from the band Yes You Are. Through deep and personalized coaching, he helps ambitious, creative, and spiritually minded individuals make a greater impact, grow as leaders, and design a soulful life they are inspired by.
Start seeking what you can learn from your blunders.
Learn to respond instead of react.
…and start being compassionate instead.
Are these spiritual needs nagging at your soul?