[digitalconquistador]

OP, one thing to consider: if you want to live a western lifestyle in a third world country, it's going to cost you just as much as it would in the west if not more.

You could survive in Bangkok or something on $1,000/month, but I wouldn't want to. I would suggest trying it out for a month or two to see if it's for you.

[GeneralMacDaddy]

Already lots of good advice here covering many basics. I am going to take a slightly more philosophical angle.

The reality is, that because you are way too young for retirement of any kind, with a (hopefully) long life ahead of you, there is just no way 300k is going to cut it. It may seem like a lot of money, but it isn't.

Furthermore, what I didn't understand at 25 is that my taste and requirements would significantly change in my mid 30's, really just 10 years later. For many men, what you want at 25 and 40 tends to be very different. You may find yourself wanting a family, or otherwise more expensive lifestyle at 40 then you do now. Staying in a run down shack at 25 may sound fine, but may not be down the road. The last thing you want to do is lock yourself into that lifestyle forever. Or it may be a health issue you have to deal with etc where things get way more expensive.

So if you just hung out at the beach for 15 years, during what should be both a highly productive and high earning time of your life, you are setting yourself up for a potentially very serious problem at 40+ where you will have no money, no marketable skills, plus honestly no desire or capability to work since you have been laying around on your ass for 15 years...you could be in serious trouble.

So my advice is, don't plan stop "working" at 26 for the long term. You don't have to keep working in a cube, but you should be planning to do something to generate cash. Sure, take a "mini-retirement" Tim Ferris style, take 6 months off and have a good time, travel etc.

But you should be thinking about how to invest that money so it grows, while you continue to do something and add to your nest egg. Not many people have liquid cash of 300k in their mid-twenties, so you should set yourself up for REAL retirement in your 40's with at least 1 Mil +, which really is the minimum.

What to invest in? So many options and good advice already given here. But I would use your money as a down-payment and leverage a whole bunch of bank money in the process if you are going the real estate route, interest rates are still incredibly low and people are always going to need a place to live. Apartment buildings with 10+ units are rarely going to be a bad investment in the long term and could be in your range with a 250k down-payment in 3rd tier USA cities. Or buy a business. Tons of options in that price range or even more with SBA leverage that is relatively easy to get on any solid business. Take yourself to the next level with this gift, don't set yourself out to pasture just yet you have a lot of life left to live.

Good luck!

[samsamsam]

General MacDaddy,

First of all, I appreciate your efforts to be helpful. I respect everyone's efforts. But the OP hasn't said much about what he can handle.

You can't get fixed 30 year mortgages with anything that has 5 units or more. So this rookie is going to be exposed to interest rate fluctuations. Refinancing risk. At a point when he wont have a job because he wants to do nothing. Also the bank is still going to look at his employment situation to grant a mortgage. And he lives in Canada.

It is hard enough to deal with real estate let alone a multi unit complex and I think it is unhealthy to think that real estate has little risk. Especially for someone who seems relatively clueless. While I don't totally respect the OP from wanting to quit on life, I wish him no evil and I just don't sense he is up for a big RE move.

One of the best ways to ensure success with real estate is obviously buying below fmv. Often that means buying below and rehabbing it. It then gives the option of selling or renting. But this requires experience and buy the OP has said very little about what he can do.

[Gótico]

OP, I’m going to be honest in saying that you appear clueless, and that this money is probably not doing you any good at this stage in your life because you do not know what to do with it. This perception, which I share with Sam³, may be exacerbated by your form of writing, which is hardly a hallmark of typographical meticulousness; but nonetheless, I’ll try to advise to you, although you’re free to ignore of all of this because (a) it’s your money and your life, and (b) I’m younger than you.

In your opening post, you said you were a European citizen, which is certainly convenient. It means your travel freedoms are dramatically increased, although I speculate you’re from one of the poorer member-states, the countries of Ostmitteleuropa. Should you ever fall ill, the Old Continent’s doors would remain open for treatment, and the Western European safety net wouldn’t let you starve; but you cannot possibly predict how the Continent will evolve over the course of your lifetime, which is why I would encourage you to seek citizenship in Canada, where you currently live. Assuming, for example, that you’re a Bulgarian citizen, your options outside of Europe are incomparable to those of Canadian passport holders. The certainty of having an open door in Canada ― which would, in the case of shit hitting the fan, aid you in times of both health and financial troubles ― would be invaluable, even if it takes a few more years living there. It would not, I should add, close the door to Europe.

Those awfully dry legal matters left aside, it’s pretty obvious that you are not ready to do anything with the money; you are consumed by a hazardous urge that renders you vulnerable to scams and dishonest schemes promising a life of lethargic joy. You’ve had a windfall of cash. Consider yourself lucky, but aside from getting an investment adviser, don’t do anything. When the winter rolls around, go on holiday to a perpetually sunny, albeit relatively cheap, destination; Thailand and the Philippines come to mind, and they’d do wonders to calm you down a bit.

You’re too young to bring your productive life to an end. I could go on about societal duties and man’s evolution throughout the stages of life, but you would not care, so I won’t. Only one thing is going to convince you of the need to remain active: the fact that your money will run out if you withdraw now. This is not to suggest that you must become a slave to your labour. On the contrary, you should limit the hours you work, focusing instead on self-improvement, education, and perhaps, the establishment of a business of some sort. Unfortunately, without knowing your qualifications or what you do now, we can’t suggest anything else.

[rungoodinc]

$300k isn't nearly enough to sit on your ass for the rest of your life. And even then, why would you wanna do that before actually accomplishing something in your life?

1) Take $20k and spend ~6 months traveling, banging a lot of chicks in the RVF-approved locations until you get bored of it (pretty sure you will)

2) Use the remaining $280k, flip it into more $, and actually be a productive member of society for the rest of your life.

[booshala]

(04-13-2017 07:42 PM)rungoodinc Wrote:  

$300k isn't nearly enough to sit on your ass for the rest of your life. And even then, why would you wanna do that before actually accomplishing something in your life?

1) Take $20k and spend ~6 months traveling, banging a lot of chicks in the RVF-approved locations until you get bored of it (pretty sure you will)

2) Use the remaining $280k, flip it into more $, and actually be a productive member of society for the rest of your life.

Before 262 got banned I believe that he detailed how he saved up around $300-$400k to live in EE indefinitely. He was a little bit older, and was pursuing his interests from what I could tell (skiing, podcasting, etc) but I think the main intent of the money was to free up his time from being locked into a 9-5 job.

Obviously, no sane person wants to just do nothing with their time, that'd be equally as bad as the drudgery of a shit job you hate. Still, I think there are a minority of people in the world who would be content with living off a 4% return off of $300k ($12,000 annually) and geoarbitrage in a cheap cost of living area while pursuing passion projects. My nest egg is higher, but that's what I'm planning to do in the near future.

[samsamsam]

Booshala,

Over the years you and 262 have demonstrated mature behavior and financial sense. You guys actually have invested over time and have a much better understanding of finances than the OP. It also demonstrates emotional control over your money. You guys didn't piss it away as you accumulated your assets. That is why I have more faith in you and 262 than the OP.

[Peregrine]

(04-13-2017 11:30 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

Booshala,

Over the years you and 262 have demonstrated mature behavior and financial sense. You guys actually have invested over time and have a much better understanding of finances than the OP. It also demonstrates emotional control over your money. You guys didn't piss it away as you accumulated your assets. That is why I have more faith in you and 262 than the OP.

Correct.

There's a night/day difference between saving up 300k and having 300k handed to you.

[PK1098]

I may have a different perspective on the OP's question. I actually think $300k is an amount to be reckoned with. It can do a lot of things if used properly. Since nobody mentioned physical gold and silver,
I would advise the OP to set a certain amount for gold and silver, not as investments but as insurance. I think it is highly necessary the OP get proper education on basic accounting and finance and put the knowledge into practice. For example, the OP can set aside $20k as investment money in the stock market. The OP may well lose all this but learning how to lose small amounts of money gracefully in the stock market is more important than earning money. Let's face it: life is not certain, so is investing. We cannot always win and we have to take losses without regret before we master our emotions and earn our fair share of profits in any investments or businesses.

[booshala]

(04-13-2017 11:30 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

Booshala,

Over the years you and 262 have demonstrated mature behavior and financial sense. You guys actually have invested over time and have a much better understanding of finances than the OP. It also demonstrates emotional control over your money. You guys didn't piss it away as you accumulated your assets. That is why I have more faith in you and 262 than the OP.

I appreciate the vote of confidence or at the very least having my name associated with someone who put his nose to the grindstone for a long time to save that cash. I really respect his drive to save up that much from a "regular" w2 salary. I tried the slow and steady gig for a while but it never really worked out. Instead, I tend to find myself in high reward/high stress situations more often than not, so it's been a much more uneven path to my nest egg... still, I get your point about working for it as opposed to just getting it.

However, my initial point was that I know that it'd only take me a day or two to find a great basket of dividend stocks mixed in with a smattering of REITs and MLP's to get to a comfortable income in a low cost of living area with $300k to play with. I guess I had to learn my lessons over that time, but even at the overbought market levels, knowing what I know, $12-$15k annual income (mostly tax advantaged) would be very doable.

[Armogan]

Retire at 26 with $300k, what?!? Seems like a unnecessarily bootstrapped life.

The OP should not spend more than 8k for the first 6-12months. Forget erosion from opportunity cost or "inflation". He will lose a lot more making bad investment decisions based on emotions. Much more likely to do this in the first year, from feeling high from the money.

Use that time to educate on basic finance, investing, valuation, etc.

KEEP working, or start. This should be a no brainer. I've said it before and I'll say it again, $300k is not a of of money. The shortcut to wealth is cash flow, not assets. With cash flow you can get loans, use leverage, etc. Essentially, buy things you otherwise couldn't afford. Banks will often lend you with cash flow, more often than not they are hesitant if you have no cash flow but some assets.

After spending some time thinking best way to use the money (6-12 months), start a business. I would say buy a cash flow generating one, but you can't really buy a 3x EBITDA business with 300k. Forget retirement.