Now that I have decided to rent my house out and move into my garage apartment I've gotten busy! I had the outside of my house painted this week, including the stairs to the garage apartment, and it has my house looking like new! Next week my wood fence will be stained.
I've been collecting boxes at work. I am going to start packing things that I rarely use. I've also started listing things for sale on Ebay!
I know now I will not be able to finish the house and move everything into storage until the end of December or the beginning of January. It is so hard to be patient. I want to do everything at one time, but finances are just not there for that. It will also be nice to spend one more Christmas in my house. I can tell you I will not be sad to move into the apartment even though it is only 469 Sq. Ft. Just knowing what I will be able to save and knowing how much faster it will move me towards my goal of getting to Costa Rica will make every day a joy!
I am reading an E-book about a man who moved from California to Costa Rica about 10 years ago. From his experiences and from what my friends who are already there is teaching me is that patience is not just a virtue it is necessary to save your sanity!!!! It's funny that patience has always been a problem for me and one of the things I have fought the hardest with is going to be the thing I will need the most for the rest of my life! God has such a crazy since of humor!
Pura Vida
Showing posts with label pura vida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pura vida. Show all posts
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Costa Rica Interest Rate
My friends, Paul and Gloria, are the authors of www.retireforlessincostarica.com . This is from their last post. It certainly caught my attention. I only wish I could take advantage of it!
From 11.75% to 12.5% Interest on a 12-Month Certificate of Deposit!
We wanted to inform all of our interested readers that our bank, Coopenae, has just raised interest rates to 12.5% on a 12 month Certificate of Deposit. As luck would have it, our initial 12-month CD at 11.75% came to maturity in late June, just after the rate was increased, and we were able to roll it over at 12.5%. Boy are we happy!
Just so you know, this is a colones account. The dollar accounts pay 3% on a 12 month CD. We got our CD last June 25th and we converted our dollars to colones at 502 colones/dollar. Presently, the dollar is 497 colones, so our earnings are even more significant, though we don’t pay much attention to the exchange rate since we live in colones.
The sad news is that one must be a legal resident to be a CD investor in Costa Rica. All legal residents also now have DIMEX on their residency cards (cedulas). Click here to read our article that explains DIMEX.
They posted this update today... Earlier in the week, the Costa Rican government decided to delay the implementation of DIMEX until October 1, 2012. After we published our newsletter, Coopenae contacted us with some good news. There is a window of opportunity until October 1st for people in the process of getting their legal Residency to invest in CDs at Coopenae.
For me, just another reason to retire in Costa Rica!
Pura Vida
From 11.75% to 12.5% Interest on a 12-Month Certificate of Deposit!
We wanted to inform all of our interested readers that our bank, Coopenae, has just raised interest rates to 12.5% on a 12 month Certificate of Deposit. As luck would have it, our initial 12-month CD at 11.75% came to maturity in late June, just after the rate was increased, and we were able to roll it over at 12.5%. Boy are we happy!
Just so you know, this is a colones account. The dollar accounts pay 3% on a 12 month CD. We got our CD last June 25th and we converted our dollars to colones at 502 colones/dollar. Presently, the dollar is 497 colones, so our earnings are even more significant, though we don’t pay much attention to the exchange rate since we live in colones.
The sad news is that one must be a legal resident to be a CD investor in Costa Rica. All legal residents also now have DIMEX on their residency cards (cedulas). Click here to read our article that explains DIMEX.
They posted this update today... Earlier in the week, the Costa Rican government decided to delay the implementation of DIMEX until October 1, 2012. After we published our newsletter, Coopenae contacted us with some good news. There is a window of opportunity until October 1st for people in the process of getting their legal Residency to invest in CDs at Coopenae.
For me, just another reason to retire in Costa Rica!
Pura Vida
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Better Idea
All righty then....After all that thought and figuring I've come up with another way.
My goal is to cut down on my living expenses so I can save money to be able to go to Costa Rica with as much of an emergency fund as I can. After looking at things from right side up I decided to look from upside down.
I have a full one bedroom apartment over my garage. I've come to the conclusion that it will benefit me more to move into the apartment and rent my house out. This gives the real estate market a little more time to go back up, so when I sell I can get more for my home. I will still have to put the bulk of my furniture etc in storage, but it gives me a FREE place to live while my renters will be paying my mortgage and most likely the storage, so I will be able to save the amount I normally pay each month!
I have plumbers coming out tomorrow morning to fix the toilet in the apartment and put a new faucet on the kitchen sink. A tiny few more touches and it's ready for me to move in. On my house I still need to have the trim outside painted, and may have to paint some of the walls inside to help rent it faster. I love bright colors, but a renter might not like my yellow walls.
I am in an artsy part of Dallas right across the river from Downtown. The houses I've seen go up for rent in my neighborhood have rented quickly.
I have my eyes on the prize, and I think this is the best answer to get me there.
Pura Vida...
My goal is to cut down on my living expenses so I can save money to be able to go to Costa Rica with as much of an emergency fund as I can. After looking at things from right side up I decided to look from upside down.
I have a full one bedroom apartment over my garage. I've come to the conclusion that it will benefit me more to move into the apartment and rent my house out. This gives the real estate market a little more time to go back up, so when I sell I can get more for my home. I will still have to put the bulk of my furniture etc in storage, but it gives me a FREE place to live while my renters will be paying my mortgage and most likely the storage, so I will be able to save the amount I normally pay each month!
I have plumbers coming out tomorrow morning to fix the toilet in the apartment and put a new faucet on the kitchen sink. A tiny few more touches and it's ready for me to move in. On my house I still need to have the trim outside painted, and may have to paint some of the walls inside to help rent it faster. I love bright colors, but a renter might not like my yellow walls.
I am in an artsy part of Dallas right across the river from Downtown. The houses I've seen go up for rent in my neighborhood have rented quickly.
I have my eyes on the prize, and I think this is the best answer to get me there.
Pura Vida...
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Back To Working My Plan
I've run the numbers and run the numbers, and I still come up with the same answer. For the same reason I will never be able to retire in the US, I now must sell my house in order to save for retirement.
I do love my house, but I do not mind selling it with the end game in my sights. The plan I must work is to sell my house, either move in with my parents or an efficiency apartment, put my furniture in storage and save every thing I have left after the smallest of living expenses. With any profit from the sale of my home and savings, I should be able to move to Costa Rica by the time I retire.
I am actively working towards listing my house. Two weekends ago I cleaned out all my closets and cabinets and put every thing in the garage (for a garage sale) that I have not touched in the last year. I have listed several things on Ebay that I will never use again but are too nice to sell in a garage sale.
This past weekend I washed all 20 windows in my house inside and out and the 4 doors and storm doors. Now I have items at my house that will need to be repaired and painted. There are 2 painters coming out this week to give me quotes. I will have to do some of the repairs a little slower as money permits. My goal is to have it on the market in 2-3 months tops.
I put this quote at the top of my blog last week. It inspired me to move steadily towards my future. "Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action." Napoleon Hill
Pura Vida...
I do love my house, but I do not mind selling it with the end game in my sights. The plan I must work is to sell my house, either move in with my parents or an efficiency apartment, put my furniture in storage and save every thing I have left after the smallest of living expenses. With any profit from the sale of my home and savings, I should be able to move to Costa Rica by the time I retire.
I am actively working towards listing my house. Two weekends ago I cleaned out all my closets and cabinets and put every thing in the garage (for a garage sale) that I have not touched in the last year. I have listed several things on Ebay that I will never use again but are too nice to sell in a garage sale.
This past weekend I washed all 20 windows in my house inside and out and the 4 doors and storm doors. Now I have items at my house that will need to be repaired and painted. There are 2 painters coming out this week to give me quotes. I will have to do some of the repairs a little slower as money permits. My goal is to have it on the market in 2-3 months tops.
I put this quote at the top of my blog last week. It inspired me to move steadily towards my future. "Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action." Napoleon Hill
Pura Vida...
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Day Tours
Before we went on George's Retirement Tour we took a couple of day tours with Gray Line Tours.
The first was Gray Line's "Sarapiqui and Canopy Day Tour". I have a mixed review on this one, but could not recommend it. With that said...the tour bus was very nice and clean. The driver was excellent, and we never felt uncomfortable on the narrow winding roads. Not even when we got stuck behind an entire herd of cows being moved right down the middle of the road from one pasture to another! The boat ride up the Sarapiqui River was a little over an hour and never boring. Happily we were entertained by our tour guide who knew every inch of the river. We saw crocodiles, red toucans, holler monkeys, a huge iguana on a limb hanging over the water, and all sorts of birds. The boat took us to the place we would have lunch (that turned into dinner) and do the zip lining. This is the part I would never recommend to anyone. Yes, the zip lining itself was fun, but getting from platform to platform was a nightmare. You did not simply zip line from platform to platform like other zip lines in Costa Rica. This one had 10', 20', and 30' ladders you had to climb to get to the next platform. The zip line is in the Rain Forest, but you are at a low sea level and there is no air movement and hot as hell. They had no water on any of the 11 platforms, and many people were very weak, shaky, and over heated when we were finished. They then served the food which was hard to enjoy after the exhausting zip line climbs. After dinner we were back on the boat, down the Sarapiqui River, to the bus for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to San Jose.
The second day tour was the "San Jose City Explorer Day Tour". This was fantastic! I wish I knew our guides name. She was wonderful. She had to speak to the group in English and Spanish. She was very knowledgeable, personable, and kept it moving. We were driven in a very nice tour van all around the city as she taught us about the history of San Jose and took us to the Gold Museum and The National Theater. Both were interesting and the theater was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. We were then treated to a delicious lunch in a wonderful restaurant. Our guide then surprised us with a trip to an Emerald and Diamond store which was tucked in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They had copies of the ancient gold jewelry that was in the museum. And yes, we did treat ourselves to a few pieces. We were then returned to our pick up locations in San Jose. A very entertaining and interesting tour.
Pura Vida...
The first was Gray Line's "Sarapiqui and Canopy Day Tour". I have a mixed review on this one, but could not recommend it. With that said...the tour bus was very nice and clean. The driver was excellent, and we never felt uncomfortable on the narrow winding roads. Not even when we got stuck behind an entire herd of cows being moved right down the middle of the road from one pasture to another! The boat ride up the Sarapiqui River was a little over an hour and never boring. Happily we were entertained by our tour guide who knew every inch of the river. We saw crocodiles, red toucans, holler monkeys, a huge iguana on a limb hanging over the water, and all sorts of birds. The boat took us to the place we would have lunch (that turned into dinner) and do the zip lining. This is the part I would never recommend to anyone. Yes, the zip lining itself was fun, but getting from platform to platform was a nightmare. You did not simply zip line from platform to platform like other zip lines in Costa Rica. This one had 10', 20', and 30' ladders you had to climb to get to the next platform. The zip line is in the Rain Forest, but you are at a low sea level and there is no air movement and hot as hell. They had no water on any of the 11 platforms, and many people were very weak, shaky, and over heated when we were finished. They then served the food which was hard to enjoy after the exhausting zip line climbs. After dinner we were back on the boat, down the Sarapiqui River, to the bus for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to San Jose.
The second day tour was the "San Jose City Explorer Day Tour". This was fantastic! I wish I knew our guides name. She was wonderful. She had to speak to the group in English and Spanish. She was very knowledgeable, personable, and kept it moving. We were driven in a very nice tour van all around the city as she taught us about the history of San Jose and took us to the Gold Museum and The National Theater. Both were interesting and the theater was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. We were then treated to a delicious lunch in a wonderful restaurant. Our guide then surprised us with a trip to an Emerald and Diamond store which was tucked in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They had copies of the ancient gold jewelry that was in the museum. And yes, we did treat ourselves to a few pieces. We were then returned to our pick up locations in San Jose. A very entertaining and interesting tour.
Pura Vida...
Friday, June 15, 2012
Residency Types and Income Requirements
In 2010 the residency requirements changed in Costa Rica. The three types are Pensioner, Renter, and Resident Investor.
Pensioner Resident is required to show a verifiable minimum monthly pension of $1,000 US. The pension must be guaranteed for life. Only Social Security pensions, or similar, are permitted. No other kind of income will satisfy this requirement as it has to be a life time beneficiary to secure not less than $1,000, and petitioner should have to demonstrate that the issuance company has the ability to secure this monthly income for life. You can do this by certified copies of the financial status of the company. Expires every 2 years.
Renter Resident is required to have a verifiable monthly income for at least 5 years for no less than $2,500 US per family. You can qualify with this requisite if you have a deposit in the bank for no less than 5 years that generates no less than $2,500 a month, or you must make a deposit in a Costa Rican bank that generates this sum of money being $150,000.00 US. Expires every 2 years.
No matter if you apply for a Pensioner or Renter the money you bring into the country to meet the requirements of the status must be converted into colones. Once you converted these monies into colones the Costa Rican government does not require you show them what you do with it. Once the money is into colones, you can use this money to pay for your living expenses etc. If you do not want to use colones you can reconvert them back to dollars.
The third type of residency if called Resident Investor. To qualify for this you must make a one-time minimum investment of at least $200,000.00 US. You must demonstrate that your investments are duly listed for a minimum amount of $200,000 US with the correspondent office and that you pay taxes on it. If you sell or loose your investment you will no longer be able to renew your residency document.
Your fourth option, being a US Citizen, is to stay in the allowed 90 day period, exit the country, have your passport stamped and re-enter the country for another 90 days. A day trip to Panama is a great way to meet your requirement and spend a fun day.
These laws can change at any time. You would need to check the requirements coming from the country you are in at the time you choose to leave.
Pura Vida...
Pensioner Resident is required to show a verifiable minimum monthly pension of $1,000 US. The pension must be guaranteed for life. Only Social Security pensions, or similar, are permitted. No other kind of income will satisfy this requirement as it has to be a life time beneficiary to secure not less than $1,000, and petitioner should have to demonstrate that the issuance company has the ability to secure this monthly income for life. You can do this by certified copies of the financial status of the company. Expires every 2 years.
Renter Resident is required to have a verifiable monthly income for at least 5 years for no less than $2,500 US per family. You can qualify with this requisite if you have a deposit in the bank for no less than 5 years that generates no less than $2,500 a month, or you must make a deposit in a Costa Rican bank that generates this sum of money being $150,000.00 US. Expires every 2 years.
No matter if you apply for a Pensioner or Renter the money you bring into the country to meet the requirements of the status must be converted into colones. Once you converted these monies into colones the Costa Rican government does not require you show them what you do with it. Once the money is into colones, you can use this money to pay for your living expenses etc. If you do not want to use colones you can reconvert them back to dollars.
The third type of residency if called Resident Investor. To qualify for this you must make a one-time minimum investment of at least $200,000.00 US. You must demonstrate that your investments are duly listed for a minimum amount of $200,000 US with the correspondent office and that you pay taxes on it. If you sell or loose your investment you will no longer be able to renew your residency document.
Your fourth option, being a US Citizen, is to stay in the allowed 90 day period, exit the country, have your passport stamped and re-enter the country for another 90 days. A day trip to Panama is a great way to meet your requirement and spend a fun day.
These laws can change at any time. You would need to check the requirements coming from the country you are in at the time you choose to leave.
Pura Vida...
Saturday, June 2, 2012
My Trip
My daughter and I are back from our vacation and fact finding mission to Costa Rica. It was everything I hoped it would be.
I am convinced it is the place I want to live. The year round temperature, the views, the Ticos, the fresh foods, the slower pace of life, much better cost of living, and the wonderful Expats that are there.
I found that I prefer living at the 3,000-3,500 feet above sea level. The temperature stays right around 70 degrees year round. I visited San Jose, Sarchi, Alajuela, San Ramon, Grecia, Escazu, Santiago De Puriscal, and Atenas. We also went to the beach in Puntarenas on the Gulf of Nacoya and down the Sarapiqui River in the Rain Forest. I was in about every level and atmosphere. I can tell you 2,800 and under was too hot and humid for me.
I can absolutely recommend Margarita's Bed and Breakfast in Alajuela just on the outskirts of San Jose. The property was beautiful, the rooms darling and very clean and up to date, and Margarita was the perfect hostess! You will pay for a cab to go back into San Jose for any tours or sight seeing, but it is worth it to stay in such a magical location. You can even see the Paos Volcano from her property.
George's tour could not have been better in any way. When you are finished you have a world of information to help you make your decision as to where, when, or if you want to live in Costa Rica. He took us to a furniture factory to show us what you can get for your money there instead of paying to ship your own. We attended 2 parties where Expats came and talked to us about why they had chosen to move to CR and their experiences. He took us to a hospital to teach us about the medical system in CR and about medical insurance. We sat down with an attorney who taught us all about becoming a legal in CR and how to purchase property there. He included all the pros and cons so we can make a very informed decision. George took us to many different kinds of properties to get a base line on living in different towns, and purchasing as compared to renting. It was invaluable and I cannot recommend his tour enough to everyone who is wanting to get information on CR.
In the end not only am I convinced it is the place for me, but my 28 year old daughter fell in love with it. I think we may both be living there!
We met a wonderful American couple, Paul and Gloria Yeatman, that live just outside of San Ramon. They are very active with a group of Americans that are giving back to the citizens of Costa Rica. Sign up and follow their great blog. http://retireforlessincostarica.com/2012/06/newsletter-may-june-2012/
In my next blog I will include some of the legal information shared with us by the attorney we met with. I will also be giving you information on some of the side tours we went on.
Pura Vida is now my new sign off on all my letters and blog. Everyone in CR says Pura Vida (pure life) instead of hello or good bye, and just as a passing greeting. They are the happiest people on the earth!
Pura Vida.....
I am convinced it is the place I want to live. The year round temperature, the views, the Ticos, the fresh foods, the slower pace of life, much better cost of living, and the wonderful Expats that are there.
I found that I prefer living at the 3,000-3,500 feet above sea level. The temperature stays right around 70 degrees year round. I visited San Jose, Sarchi, Alajuela, San Ramon, Grecia, Escazu, Santiago De Puriscal, and Atenas. We also went to the beach in Puntarenas on the Gulf of Nacoya and down the Sarapiqui River in the Rain Forest. I was in about every level and atmosphere. I can tell you 2,800 and under was too hot and humid for me.
I can absolutely recommend Margarita's Bed and Breakfast in Alajuela just on the outskirts of San Jose. The property was beautiful, the rooms darling and very clean and up to date, and Margarita was the perfect hostess! You will pay for a cab to go back into San Jose for any tours or sight seeing, but it is worth it to stay in such a magical location. You can even see the Paos Volcano from her property.
George's tour could not have been better in any way. When you are finished you have a world of information to help you make your decision as to where, when, or if you want to live in Costa Rica. He took us to a furniture factory to show us what you can get for your money there instead of paying to ship your own. We attended 2 parties where Expats came and talked to us about why they had chosen to move to CR and their experiences. He took us to a hospital to teach us about the medical system in CR and about medical insurance. We sat down with an attorney who taught us all about becoming a legal in CR and how to purchase property there. He included all the pros and cons so we can make a very informed decision. George took us to many different kinds of properties to get a base line on living in different towns, and purchasing as compared to renting. It was invaluable and I cannot recommend his tour enough to everyone who is wanting to get information on CR.
In the end not only am I convinced it is the place for me, but my 28 year old daughter fell in love with it. I think we may both be living there!
We met a wonderful American couple, Paul and Gloria Yeatman, that live just outside of San Ramon. They are very active with a group of Americans that are giving back to the citizens of Costa Rica. Sign up and follow their great blog. http://retireforlessincostarica.com/2012/06/newsletter-may-june-2012/
In my next blog I will include some of the legal information shared with us by the attorney we met with. I will also be giving you information on some of the side tours we went on.
Pura Vida is now my new sign off on all my letters and blog. Everyone in CR says Pura Vida (pure life) instead of hello or good bye, and just as a passing greeting. They are the happiest people on the earth!
Pura Vida.....
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