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

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?

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.
HOME
Book Store
Retire Early Lifestyle Blog
About Billy & Akaisha
Kaderli
Press
Contact
20 Questions
Preferred
Links
Retirement
Country Info
Retiree Interviews
Commentary
REL Videos
|