Engaging Ways to Earn an Income…and Enhance Your Retirement Overseas

“Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale,” said motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. After all, no matter how low-priced the destinations we write about can be—you can’t live anywhere for free.

Fortunately, you’ve got all sorts of good options today when it comes to augmenting your nest egg. I’m talking about ways you can earn but, at the same time, set your own hours, work at something you love, and still enjoy a stress-free life in the sun. And you can do so in any of the good-value destinations we tell you about each month in these pages.

Back in Canada, Susy Giddy was a tennis coach. When she and her husband Martin moved to the lively beach town of Cabarete in the Dominican Republic, they called upon a life coach to help them execute their move. That inspired Susy to become a life coach herself and set up her own business. “I have clients all over the world who I work with through Skype,” Susy says. “I do my work when I want to work. It’s perfect for me and gives me a great life.”

Then there’s Belize, which we’ve been pointing you to as a retirement destination for years. This country is at a tipping point today, though, and if you’ve yet to consider it—now’s the time to do so. The pace of development has rapidly increased and it’s creating hot opportunities for small businesses and savvy entrepreneurs. In this month’s cover story, IL Belize Correspondent Laura Diffendal, who lives and owns a boutique hotel in Placencia, delves into all the reasons why this casual, welcoming, warm country is a place you should consider now.

If you like the idea of earning abroad, but want to work just a few hours a day, teaching English might be the perfect income earning opportunity for you as there are plenty of ways you can do it—and never set foot in a classroom. In easy-going Penang, Malaysia, Bob and Patti Jackson have turned their native English skills into income. “We make a decent living teaching English online, four to six nights a week, working from 6 p.m. until 9 or 10 p.m.,” says Bob. “That’s gives us our days totally free to do what we want.”

There’s no one, single right way to retire overseas. If you like the idea of trading up in retirement, but you’re worried about how you’ll bankroll it, this is the issue for you…