In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Living Your Best Life after 65: How do You Want to Spend Your Money?

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived. - James J. Lachard

Enjoying nature at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

You have worked your butt off for many years saving, investing and doing mostly the right things. Your financial assets have accumulated and you are ready to retire. All of the arrows are pointing up and you are good to go.

Retirement life is better than you ever expected. As the years pass your net worth continues to grow and you are feeling confident and have relaxed into your lifestyle.

Then you get sick.

Health insurance covers most of the expenses and you move on. Then something more serious happens and costs are exploding. You find out that the  in-home care and services you need are not covered by your policy. Your nest egg is starting to strain and the financial security that you have worked your entire life for is slip-sliding away.

Long term care insurance?

According to a MarketWatch story, a 55-year-old couple buying one common long-term care policy today can expect to spend more than $5,000 a year on premiums. Those with certain pre-existing conditions are not insurable or may have a waiting period before the policy kicks in, so it is recommended to apply for coverage earlier in your life rather than later, adding years to your payments.

Paying for a long-term care plan when you are healthy is like a slow drip depleting your assets and what if you never use it? The money is gone, never to be recovered. Not only that, but what the care plan covers changes over time, so what you are purchasing in your earlier years is not necessarily what you'll be receiving in the years for which you might want the help.

We, too, are wrestling with this issue and looking for answers to “what if.” This is not a fun topic, and none of us want to talk about a possible dependent future, but the reality is that at some point we all are going to slow down and need care.

Time for reflection

Do you really want to spend your hard-earned money on high-priced health-related expenses?

No doubt this is a worrisome theme for all of us who are aging.

Fortunately, we have experienced living outside of the US and have enjoyed the reduced costs of living including quality healthcare for better pricing. Friends we made in these foreign countries in the early years of our retirement have since passed on, shedding some light on a possible care plan for our future.

From our experience and observation, our first choices for affordable long term care would be to settle down in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Chapala, Mexico or the Antigua/Panajachel, Guatemala area where you could hire a daily helper for an affordable price per day and where doctors still make house calls.

This is about as good as it gets in a tough situation other than depleting our assets and living out our final time in a nursing home in the States. We would prefer to gift our money to organizations and projects of our choice, not spend all of our hard earned cash out of need to cover our final days.

Aging in Place - Sample numbers to consider

We spoke to Dr. Luis DePena in Panajachel, Guatemala, who was able to give us some working figures for medicine and in-home care for this geographical area. It was his opinion that, unless one needed dialysis, which could not be done in Pana and which is very expensive, generally speaking, pain and other various medications would cost approximately 8,000Q (about $1,045USD) per month per couple or about $12,540USD a year.

Currently according to the government, the minimum wage for a resident of Guatemala to cook, clean and provide daily care is about $13USD a day or $4,745 per year.

The Adventurer's Guide to Guatemala

What about a doctor visit? They still make house calls!

Of course you will need to spend money to feed your help, and most likely for a child that they would bring with them to your home. And there are costs for your rent, food, and other medical supplies like Depends, dressings and salves as well. But the estimated total expenditure for pain and other meds, in-home care and 78 Doctor’s visits would be just over $21,000USD per year. Again, this is per couple.   

Pricing in Thailand or Mexico is very similar.

My experience in the States vs Mexico

A few months ago I injured my lower back. I tried every home remedy including heating pad, stretches, TENS unit, medicated back pads, and a compression belt.

While in the States, I decided it was time to get this sorted out so that we could get back to our traveling lifestyle. Two months of chiropractic treatments and deep tissue laser light therapy wasn't getting the job done completely.

I started developing other symptoms and different problems, so I went to an urgent care place in our city in Arizona. The doctor barely examined me by looking at my back while I was standing. He didn't touch me or physically manipulate my legs around to check out the condition of my back.

However, he did give me some pills but told me I needed an MRI before he could do anything else. It would be weeks before an appointment time opened up. 

Medicare Advantage covered this appointment.

We returned to Mexico on a Thursday and, our doctor came to our home on Friday. He did a much more through examination, gave me a shot and pills as well as a prescription for an MRI. The cost for the home visit and pills was $1000 Pesos, or $55USD.

We called the hospital that Friday afternoon and received an appointment for the MRI the very next day. The MRI cost $200USD, and they will send me the results to me and to my doctor on Monday.

The difference in care, pricing and timing is immense. It's something to seriously think about.

Care Resort Chiang Mai provides pools, sauna, Jacuzzis, fitness facility and a library

Compare that to what you might be able to find in the city or state where you are currently living. According to the Genworth 2024 Cost of Care Survey, the National Annual Median Cost of a private room in a nursing home in the States is $127,750 annually, while the national annual median cost of a home health aide is  $77,792.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance says the average stay in a nursing home is 2.6 years for women and 2.3 years for men. Using the above figures, you are looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars for a couple to spend their final 2-3 years in a nursing home, and a considerable amount of money for in-home care beforehand.

Do you have enough savings allotted for this future expense?

Opening up the options

We have written about continuous care before and have listed the prices you would pay in Mexico. The national median cost of independent living in the States according to the latest Genworth Cost of Care Survey, released in March 2025 is $5,900 monthly or $70,800 annually.

Instead of paying these costs in the States, one can find assisted living care in Mexico for about $24,000 - $32,000USD per year which includes rent, meals, laundry, WiFi, cable TV, transport and many times, a fitness room, a swimming pool and a nurse on site. As Boomers age, we see these homecare opportunities overseas becoming even better as foreign lands realize the benefits for their citizens to take careers in health service and provide quality care in resort living facilities to an aging population. 

We have friends that are planning on living in a upscale hotel suite with numerous restaurants, room service, fitness facilities, pool and cafes all the while doctors can keep them comfortable.

Some foreign facilities offer massage and on site nurses

Perhaps it's time for you to open up to your options. We realize not everyone is inclined to move overseas. Then again, not everyone can or wants to spend their assets to afford US pricing either. And some - for one reason or another - do not have family they can rely on to care for them when they age.

Even though it’s a difficult subject to broach, knowing you have affordable alternatives can bring you peace of mind.

The Chapala, Mexico Living Guide

What's Your Number? - How much money do you need to retire?

About the Authors

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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