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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.

How Technology Has Eased Our Financial Independence and Travel Lifestyle

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Billy and Akaisha Overlooking a coconut farm on the north shore of the Dominican Republic

Overlooking a coconut farm on the north shore of the Dominican Republic

In 1991 when we retired there was no internet, online banking, Bill Pay, stock trading or Skype. We had to make large pre-payments to credit card companies so that there would be money on our card to cover bills, and we would not be late with a payment. Not having Skype, Face Time or WhatsApp, phones calls were two dollars a minute from Mexico so a half an hour phone call home was $60USD.

And the mail… well let’s just say that if it arrived at all, it was weeks later. At that time, anything more than a manila envelope was confiscated at the border, so no Christmas or birthday presents arrived to our place in Mexico. And it was difficult to send packages up to the States too. There was no Amazon!

 

 

 

 

It was 1998 when we bought our first notebook computer which weighed 10lbs including the power source. Those were the days, and it was just the beginning. We had no idea how electronics and technology would change our lives for the better.

In 2005 we wrote our first book, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement on a CD, which we physically shipped all over the world. Today, all our books are digital PDF downloads and customers get them instantly. No more storage costs or paying shipping and handling. 

Fast forward to present time and we can do more with a smartphone than we ever could with our first PC. Now we both travel with notebooks and a smart phone.

With automatic bill pay systems we never concern ourselves over late payments anymore and can also electronically write checks for other expenses to be mailed out of the States on specific dates. We can PayPal money to friends or pay for items purchased on either Amazon or Amazon Mexico. Yes! They now deliver to our location in Chapala in days, not weeks or months! There is even an Amazon-knock-off online store called Mercado Libre which offers free shipping. We can get most things right here in Mexico today!

FedEx and DHL deliver important items from the States right to our door in two or three days.

There is no more hauling around a heavy 35 mm camera with all the lenses, either. A couple of lightweight digital cameras suffice for us and we get instant gratification from seeing the results immediately. Or, we can utilize the upgraded cameras that come with our smartphones. We carry around so much less weight now.

These days we can get movies, music, news, online classes, join forums around the world and download books on our Kindles. Email is a snap, sharing photos via all the digital media available is quick, and communication with family and friends is a breeze. We can even correspond via email or WhatsApp with our doctors here in Mexico to set up appointments or to ask for pricing.

Our global travel has gotten easier with booking airline tickets from our room anywhere in the world. All we need is an internet connection and we can manage our financial portfolio, keep up with current news and call home with any of our VOIP video options.

 

 

 

 

Now that we are taking Social Security that, too, is directly deposited into our accounts where we can easily take a withdrawal from an ATM in local currency from any authorized machine world wide. Getting a better exchange rate from an ATM than directly from a bank, we use Fidelity Brokerage accounts for this purpose and they rebate all ATM fees on our debit cards. Since we each have accounts both of us carry numerous debit and credit cards in the event that one malfunctions.

Even with the precautions one must take for digital security, our traveling lifestyle and managing our financial independence is far easier and light years quicker than just 34 years ago!

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

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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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