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A recipe for obtaining financial freedom in Bali, as well as some thoughts about FIRE (financial independence retire early) from a first-world expat point of view.

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The Rainbow and other Illusions

There is no "over the rainbow" if its a circle

Neill Kramer

Apr 7, 2023

This dear reader is what a rainbow really is:

Remarkable yes?

This particular rainbow was captured at 30,000 feet by pilot Lloyd J. Ferraro.

We usually see a rainbow from Earth, and so we only see half of the arc. For those of us who know and love rainbows, isn’t it strange when you see it from 30k feet? Strange and yet also awesomely beautiful.

This image can also be a symbol too, of all that we don’t see and don’t know when we peer out into the world and start making assumptions. The sense we make of the world hinges on fragments or partial views.

When you need the ride of a lifetime, you need Switzerland.

If for some reason you don’t feel the urge to go out there and see a new piece of the puzzle that is Planet Earth, then go ahead and click on the above video. Humor, travel, two great personalities and more in under 5 minutes.

Yet another view of the world. Humans are getting older…

Asia faces a problem: Its population is aging faster than any other continent’s. A growing percentage of people in Japan, South Korea and China are over 65, and those countries’ economies are suffering because of a lack of available workers. Governments are struggling to find the money to support retirees.
The problem is pronounced in Japan.

The No. 1 key to a happy life: ‘Social fitness’

We can look at the world in innumerable different ways, but when it comes right down to it, the key ingredient to staying positive and smart aging is having a few key relationships. Put another way, social isolation is a killer.

There’s lifespan, but also healthspan

Due to the modern diet, lifestyle changes and advances in science our life expectancy has been increasing each generation.

However, this increasing life expectancy isn’t paired with a proportionate increase in healthspan. In fact, old-age brings with it a prevalence of age-related health issues and aging is now known to be the biggest risk factor for poor health.

On average there’s about 16 years where our health is not optimal. These are precisely the years that we need the most financial support.

One of the primary reasons I retired in Bali is because of the low cost of living:

The above estimates are based on one person living modestly. I’d encourage you to do some financial planning in order to feel more secure about how long your nest egg will last.

Our views of where we stand psychologically, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially are subject to the same limits as seeing a partial rainbow. Our situation is always relative: to how we live now versus how we plan to live as we get further down the road. For example, what if we changed our geographic location? What are the implications?

In my case, because I find myself surrounded by Indonesians who live a very different life (based on financial limits) than I do, I have become humbled by seeing them thrive by accumulating massive social and spiritual wealth.

Sometimes the framing of the problem is the biggest challenge. Is the glass half full? Is the rainbow an arc or a circle?

Later,

Neill