Cheapest place to retire, it could be anywhere you choose

Where is the cheapest place to retire? This is a question more and more people are asking in 2009.

The recent economic turmoil is making people rethink their retirement plans. Some are depressed as the nest egg shrinks. Making it worse, is no one seems to have a clear handle on why the collapse happened or how to fix the mess we are in now. It's not pretty.

Take heart...if you will expand your thinking a bit, you will realize that you can still retire. And anywhere you want.

Is it going to be as you thought?...maybe not. But don't waste your time worrying about why and how things are so bad. Get over it, move on, and enjoy.

 The key is to change your thinking from the swapping years for dollars mindset.

It is better to retire now than to spend more years working to make retirement fit into the exact mold you thought it would be. The longer you wait the less you are going to be able to do the things you enjoy.

Financial planners have told me over and over I cant do what I've done in the last 15 years. They were wrong then, they are wrong now. Here's our story.

The sailboat thing may not be your cup of tea...it is not for everyone. But you can cut your spending as drastically as we did and retire early.

In my case, by retiring at 49 I could do things physically then that I can't now at 64. No one can take away the experiences my wife and I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy.

What's the downside? I may have to go back to work.

I don't think so, because I know we can live on less...we have done it and lived well. So can you.

The cheapest place to retire can be anywhere you want. Consider full time RVing, park model living or a combination of both. Think of it, winter in Arizona, spend your summers seeing our beautiful country. Thousands do it, so can you.

Some of you are saying, no way when I retire I must continue my current lifestyle...no compromise. If this is you I do not judge. If it is not you, read on, the no compromise guy is working while you are retired. He/she is swapping years of his/her life for more money. You may be amazed at where the cheapest place to retire is located

The flaw in today's retirement thinking

The flaw in the no compromise approach is the longer you work the less time you will be retired before you die. There is also a case to be made for the early retiree living longer because of less stress in the retirement lifestyle.

Let's contemplate park model living a bit. I tell the story of my friends from Oregon in the park model link. $15,000, fresh flooring and paint and they are full fledged snow birds.

They have a used park model home in Arizona and will probably spend 5 months a year in the desert. The remainder of their time will be in Sunriver, Oregon, where they have a beautiful home on 5 acres, that they built themselves. Not too shabby, and frugal as well.

Why not two park models?

Let's expand this thinking on the cheapest place to retire, to your unique situation. What is to keep you from having 2 park models and spend the seasons where you want?

Or if RVing is part of your lifestyle, winter in Arizona, Florida, etc, and RV in the summer time.

What is the downside in that scenario?

Folks please don't be bogged down by your "friends" saying you are depriving yourself by living this way. They are jealous that you are smart enough to retire early. They are still working...they may be bitter.

The cheapest place to retire could be wherever you want it to be.

You are smart, you are going to retire. Enjoy.

---