This Is How You Could Retire Before 40 Without $1 Million

Keep the Cost of Healthcare Down

Retiring abroad has allowed the Kaderlis to take advantage of low-cost healthcare, which helps them keep their annual spending low. They had a health insurance policy with a deductible of about $10,000 to $12,000, Billy said. But they dropped their policy because they found it was cheaper to pay cash for medical care in the countries where they have traveled and lived.

Most years, they’ve spent about $3,000 to $4,000 on all of their healthcare — including medications, glasses, dental care and even emergency surgeries. The care they have received has been fabulous, Billy said, noting that many of the hospitals they’ve been to overseas even provide translators.

They did enroll in Medicare recently when they turned 65 and signed up for Part B coverage, which covers doctor visits, services such as lab tests and surgeries and medical supplies. Even though Medicare typically can’t be used outside of the U.S., the Kaderlis avoided a potential penalty by enrolling now rather than waiting to see if they will need it if they ever return to the states. That’s because the monthly premium for Medicare Part B goes up 10 percent for every year you qualify but don’t sign up.