Ep 9: My 3 Income Streams Abroad at 62 No 9–5 Needed

You’re ready to make a big move abroad. You’ve imagined the lifestyle, the freedom, and the financial flexibility that comes with it. But there is one question that quietly stops many people in their tracks: how exactly are you going to afford it?

In this episode of The Bougie Expat Podcast, Sable breaks down the real financial foundation behind relocating abroad and why most people underestimate what they already have working in their favor.

While many assume that moving overseas requires massive wealth or a dramatic leap into uncertainty, Sable shares how she structured her life long before her move. From living in an expensive area while still saving aggressively, to intentionally living on half her salary, she explains how discipline, planning, and multiple income streams created the freedom to relocate with confidence.

She also reveals the income sources many people forget they already have, including pensions, retirement accounts, social security eligibility, rental income, and long-term investments. This episode challenges the belief that you need to start from scratch financially before moving abroad.

Beyond traditional income, Sable also explores how assets like real estate, savings strategies, and alternative investing approaches can continue generating income even after you relocate. She introduces ideas like hard money lending and self-directed retirement investing as examples of how money can keep working while you live overseas.

This episode is for Black women over 40 who are planning retirement abroad, considering relocation, or trying to understand whether they truly have enough financial security to take the leap.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The question everyone asks about affording a move to Panama
•  Living in an expensive area while still building financial stability
•  Working income alongside building passive income early
•  Choosing to live on only 50 percent of salary
• A full year of not buying new clothes and shifting spending habits
• Forgetting about social security eligibility
• Overlooking pension income from past employment
• Hidden retirement accounts like 401k and IRA savings
• Setting a personal financial survival number before relocating
• Rental property income and long-term investment strategy
• Building income streams through a relocation-focused community
• Introduction to hard money lending as an income strategy
• Using savings as a tool for return instead of only withdrawal
• Why traditional savings accounts may not be enough
• Knowing when to seek guidance before retirement decisions
• The cost advantage of moving and living abroad

Thank you for listening to The Bougie Expat Podcast.

If this episode spoke to you, subscribe to the podcast and share it with another Black woman over 40 who has been thinking about relocating abroad, retiring overseas, or designing a new chapter with more freedom, peace, and intention.

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Transcript

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Sable 0:00

Now, I will say this first. Yes, I was working and living in Maryland, DC, which is crazy expensive. And I would say I was living a pretty decent life. Um, traveled at least four times of year, did a lot of local travel, and that was international travel, did a lot of local trips as well, did a lot of entertaining, going out, played golf, and you know, that has a really heavy ticket on it. So, yes, why I had a job that actually provided, I also at the same time was building passive income. She's done waiting. She's done shrinking, and she's done building empires in rooms that were never designed for her. This is the Bougie Expat, the podcast for black women over 40 who are ready to reinvent their lives, rebuild their income, and relocate with intention. If you're done settling in corporate, tired of environments that no longer feel aligned, or quietly planning your next move, you are in the right place. Hosted by Sable, live from Panama City, Panama. Seven countries, four continents, one move she made in five months flat, income strategies, exit plans, a life designed to actually fit you without starting over broke. Let's get into it. So people always ask, how am I financially able to just move to Panama? Didn't it cost me a lot of money to move? How am I able to take care of myself? What is my income streams? Now I will say this first. Yes, I was working and living in Maryland, DC, which is crazy expensive. And I would say I was living a pretty decent life. Um, traveled at least four times a year, did a lot of local travel, and that was international travel, did a lot of local trips as well, did a lot of entertaining, going out, played golf, and you know, that has a really heavy ticket on it. So yes, why I had a job that actually provided, I also at the same time was building passive income, even before I was thinking that I was going to retire. I also only lived off of 50% of my salary. So 50% of my salary was going already into investments and savings. And while I do love to shop, I absolutely spent a whole year of don't buy any clothes. And believe it or not, it wasn't as hard as I thought. We don't always need a new outfit every single time we're going out. But we'll talk about that later. So one of the things I didn't even realize, and I had to hear it from one of my one of my buddies when I was saying, hey, I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do. What I was still kind of just figuring out was, aren't you gonna collect your social security? Totally forgot. Didn't even think about it. Didn't even, I don't know, it just kind of like left my mind that I would be eligible for social security. Sometimes we think we're so young, we forgot that we're not as young. We forget we're not as necessarily as young as we think that we are. And so, therefore, I had that available to me because I've been working since 14, probably just like you. And so I had that income. And then I also forgot I was already collecting a pension from my private organization. And so where I had worked before and had left, I was also able to collect the pension from there because I had spent the many years there. And so sometimes we really think that we don't have any money, but we don't we forget how many 40Ks have you did uh actually contributed to? Do you have your IRA account? So we do have money stashed away, but sometimes we totally forget about it. And so one of the things that I had been very adamant about was also participating in my 40K. And so I had that fund as well. And so when I decided to take the leap, I knew I gave myself a number. So while I didn't know exactly what I was gonna do for income immediately, I knew I had enough cushion for my savings that and my investments that I could at least survive. I also gave myself a number. And that number was if I hit this number, uh-oh, Houston, you're gonna have a problem. And you're gonna need to do something now to really bring in income. Maybe you're gonna have to look for a job or whatever. So I had given myself that number. But I also had passive income because for the last five years, I have been a landlord. I had been doing short-term rentals, and I started that during the pandemic, which was absolutely the best time. And so while I know a lot of people sell all of their property, they sell everything before they come. You got to think about if you if that's a good idea for you. Because for me, I didn't see any reason for me to sell my home. And I'm glad I didn't, because that home has been providing steady income through short-term rentals, long-term rentals, medium rentals, it has been providing steady income. And so I also had that up that investment. So you have to think about in your case, what investments, what savings do you have? And one of the things that we do within our bougie expat community is we talk about investments. We talk about ways to bring in income while we have moved abroad. And not necessarily from working, but just from other things. One of the things I have done over the years is we've become a hard money lender. And so if you have in your account, you know, substantial savings and you're thinking to yourself, I mean, you're not gonna spend it all in one year, right? I don't know what you have in your account, but you're probably not gonna spend it all in one year. Have you thought about becoming a hard money lender? And we'll do a video uh later on about all the different ways that you can generate money, especially from like IRAs. There's self-directed IRAs that allows you to um make investments. So I want you to think about that. If you don't think you have enough money, you probably do. You just don't know how to tap into it, and you probably don't know how to use what you have to make more money. You know, we have this nest egg that we put it aside, and all we want to do is withdraw from it. But sometimes we can withdraw from it to live and withdraw from it to give us a greater return. Because let's tell the truth savings account, 401ks, these accounts are not really paying us in the numbers of interest that we need to survive. So, what are other ways that you can invest your income? So I want you to think about that. If you are on the fence wondering if you have enough money to retire, I want you to come contact me. Let's talk about how you can invest that money. Let's talk about how you can make more money because you don't have to move and be in financial woes. And think about this. When you move, it's also gonna cost you less. And I'm gonna talk about that in the next video. So make sure you see that video. Make sure you subscribe, make sure you hit the notifications button so you know when those videos drop. Until then, make sure you're living an elevated life. That's a wrap. And if this episode resonated with you, go ahead and follow the podcast and share it with another woman who's ready for her next chapter. And if you're ready to move beyond thinking and start building your exit strategy, I invite you to join me inside my live experience, the elevated exit masterclass. You'll find the link in the show notes. Until next time, make your next move a bougie one.