Akaisha’s World
Are You Confused? Good!
Contrary to what you have been told, confusion can be a positive state of mind. Sometimes, discombobulating events or circumstances can show us the places in our lives where we are outgrowing the old and calling for the new. Huh?! Just as in my previous post where I spoke about the Benefits of Fear, in this one I want to let you in on a valuable se...Read More
The Benefits of Fear
No one enjoys being afraid. But I bet you have never considered that you can capitalize on this uncomfortable feeling. Wake up! Some emotions can be disquieting, jarring us from an absent minded focus on our lives – anger, fear and grief are such emotions – but none of these feelings are a waste of time. Not if you know how to utilize t...Read More
Searchin' fer Salt
When in a western country, finding table salt is no big deal. Any grocery store carries it, and usually in several varieties and brands. Easy to find. However, today I went looking for some table salt in Jinghong, China. In my pocket was a packet from the airline meal that was served to me a week ago....Read More
Economic Refugees
We meet them everywhere along our travels. From Thailand to Mexico, from Guatemala to Ecuador, people known aseconomic refugees are looking for a better lifestyle, lower cost of livingand fewer regulations than what they experience in the States. Having cashed out of the housing boom, some travel abroad where their dollars will purchase estates wit...Read More
Simplifying Currency Challenges in Vietnam
My husband, Billy, and I have recently arrived in Saigon, Vietnam. With 8 million residents, most riding on motorcycles in swarms, it’s quite a bit different from sleepy Panajachel or Antigua, Guatemala. When the traffic light switches from red to green, it’s like a starting point in a race. There is no single file and a massive group t...Read More
The Price of Security
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller Recently I have been reading a book...Read More
Our Money, Our Lives
Since we run a popular website, http://retireearlylifestyle.com/, from time to time we receive emails from our readers asking us if we are really retired. Some people sniff and say we can’t be because we sell books and have ads on our site. We left the workforce at the age of 38 in 1991, called ourselves retired and have been living off ...Read More
What Every Woman Needs To Know about Retirement
The other day I read an article about women and retirement. In this piece, the number one premise for motivation was that we should be afraid. Very afraid. It said that for the most part, men did the planning for retirement and that we as women rely on them blindly. I dislike reading articles such as this, first, because it is fear-b...Read More
Dental Care in Chapala, Mexico
Billy and I like to share our foreign country medical experiences with our Readers because we feel it gives first hand insight into what goes on. We have been proponents of medical tourism for over 2 decades now, and these personal experiences allows you to hear how the service went, if there were problems encountered and what pricing is. Hopefully...Read More
Doctor, My Eyes
It was a humbling experience. Lately, I have been spending a good deal of time at the ophthalmologist’s office having tests done on my eyes. This is something I find to be less than comfortable: Someone poking around so close to my face, touching my eyes, putting in various colored drops, anesthetics, washes and such. After several months of ...Read More
A Haunted House Sit!
So there I was, in the kitchen of a beautiful home just outside Antigua, Guatemala, speaking to a ghost. After weeks of unexplained events “ radios turning on and off by themselves, an intolerable sense of sadness in certain rooms, and a sudden chill when walking between the living and dining rooms, it was what my husband shared with me that finall...Read More
Retirement Plan in Tatters
Recently, we read a New York Times article by Joe Nocera called My Faith-Based Retirement http://www.nytimes.com/2012/ 04/28/opinion/nocera-my-faith- based-retirement.html . It was a cheerless piece detailing the failure of 401k’s as an investment vehicle, the decline of pensions, the lack of employer-sponsored healthcare benefit plans and th...Read More