back to free: 2012

Medical Expenses In Malaysia

The cost of health care in the US was a large concern of mine when I was debating leaving work. Even affording health insurance is difficult in the US, much less trying to afford health care without it. It is one of the many reasons I thought living overseas may be a good idea. Of course there are plenty of other reasons also, but not being able to afford health care if I need it is not very comforting. Luckily Malaysia has a good reputation for health care from what I've heard. I was lucky to not injure myself while in Malaysia, but I did take the opportunity to do some preventative measures.

Scaling... mountains? fish? teeth!

While I was in Malaysia I took the opportunity to catch up on some dental work. I decided to have a cleaning that I was overdue for. I haven't always been good to my teeth in the past and regret that now, so I knew I would be looking for a dentist while I was in Penang.

I did some research online and the first thing I found was the terminology was different from what I was used to. They call teeth cleaning "scaling" in Malaysia. Then I looked for dentist recommendations from expats online. I found some and checked them out by first calling and then doing a walk-by. In the end I chose a place that was recommended by a couple people online and was able to see me right away. It was in a reasonably convenient location also.

My experience was quite good. I made the appointment the day before I wanted to go. The office was really clean and new. Much better than the dentists I've been to in the States. I walked right in and was seen right away. No waiting around. They used state of the art equipment with cameras (to show me up close the before and after) and other fancy mechanical equipment. There were two ladies working on me directly and a third or fourth hanging around helping with I-don't-know-what. I was in and out before I knew it. The pricing wasn't totally obvious or up front, but in the end it still only cost RM100 (~USD33). That was without insurance. It was less than I would have paid in premiums for the really affordable dental insurance I had when I was working.

As long as I don't need major dental work I think Malaysia is ahead at this point.

Jibber jabber

I also decided to get a shot in an immunization series when I was there. A "jab" if you will. I looked around a lot and searched for clinics the same as I did for the dentist. I walked past offices to see if they looked clean and I called a list of clinics to see how much they charged for the shot (there was a medium sized range). I stumbled across a nice clinic while walking around. It looked modern and the doctor was friendly and helpful. I left and thought about whether this was where I wanted to go and eventually I did.

When I actually got my shot I walked right in off the street without an appointment and was seen right away. The shot costed RM45 (~USD15) which is almost 10% of what it would have costed in the US according to the Healthcare Bluebook. Again I was in and out as quick as if it was 7/11.

My healthcare experience in Malaysia was good. I don't know that living without health insurance is a wise idea, but if I had to do it I'd rather do it in Malaysia than the US. In Malaysia, there seems to be a wide range in quality, at least judging by appearance, but good care is available and affordable.

My Thai Farm Life

I haven't dropped off the face of the planet. I've just dropped out of internet access. My usb mobile broadband doesn't want to play with my Thai sim card, but thankfully there are internet cafes.

After visiting some Thai cities, I'm now in the countryside staying at a permaculture farm. The farm is just a little ways outside of Chiang Mai. It's an easy ride back into the city if I want, but still far away. I'm the only one at the farm at the moment. The owner comes out every couple days to work on things and hang out. But things are taken slowly as per instructions. I have lots of time to do what I want. The pace of life here is about perfect. I haven't run out of things to do and it doesn't look like that will ever be a problem.

A field on the way to the farm.

At the farm I have electricity and running water. I have a refrigerator and fans. There are hammocks set up outside. I have a mosquito net to keep the vampires and other scaries away at night. I also have a mountain bike I can use, which is awesome for exploring the area. The toilets are new, but don't flush. You have to use a bucket of water to do the flushing manually. The water temperature depends on how hot it was that day. I get hot showers when it's hottest and cold showers when it's coldest.

There's a bird that I call the crosswalk bird because it makes a regular beeping sound like a crosswalk telling you it's okay to cross. I hear that one during the day and get disoriented. The neighbors seem friendly. This morning a grandma was working on some banana trees as I was passing by. She offered me a banana heart she just cut down. I'm not sure if that means we're engaged or something, but I guess I'll find out if someone else is under my mosquito net tonight.

Lately I have been waking up at sunrise or even a bit before. The sun and ambient noises (feral things and neighbors' loud speakers) are enough to wake me. Since the rainy season hasn't arrived yet, my job is to help the plants fight off the oppresive heat. There is an electric pump that sits in a fishy pond and I hook up hoses to that and then spray water on the plants before the sun really gets brutal. If the water falls while it's still cool it might soak into the ground instead of evaporate instantly. After that I have time to make breakfast. They provide me with food here, so I just need to think about what I want to eat and make it. There is lots of fruit (especially mangos) available so I eat that often.

If the owners are coming out to the land they might arrive around this time. We work on special projects when they come out. The latest project is getting an outdoors kitchen set up. We finished installing a sink. There will also obviously be farming related work to do. The farm is still starting out so most of the plants are not established yet. We weed or plant new things, but planting has been put on hold until the rain starts.

These mangoes want to turn yellow so I can eat them and the fire ants on the trees want to eat me.

But if the owners don't come out then I mostly have the rest of the day to myself. I have a couple other projects I could work on, but they don't take long and there's no deadline I'm working against and they aren't strictly required anyways. So I might read one of the books I have. By this time it's time to sit in front of a fan. I only got them out here recently, so they are a welcome addition. Another fun thing to do is to ride around the country roads. Drivers are few and courteous. People love to smile when you pass them. The nice thing about the countryside here is that all over the place people set up little shops in front of their homes. It's not always apparent what each place is. Riding slowly and checking things out is a good way to learn about the place. Everything I need is within a short bicycle distance. Internet cafe, purified water machine, restaurants, markets, barber, fresh produce.

Once the sun gets low I like to be back at the house. I'll make some dinner from the food I have available. I make lots of stir fries and fried rice dishes. Fresh fruit for dessert. Then I'll sit in front of the fan and either read or check out some of the things I downloaded from the internet cafe. I go to bed early. And as I dream away another wonderful day I'll hear through my sleep the large lizard on the other side of the wall that screams with rage like it's trying to be heard over grandpa's TV at volume 20.

Getting Around Penang

Public Transportation

One of the many reasons I choose to come to Penang is because they have a modern bus system. The bus system is called Rapid Penang and it is pretty well connected. You can get from one mode of transport to another using the bus. Regular fees range from RM1.40 to RM4 for rides depending on distance. The fatal flaw of the system currently is that the drivers need to make that determination when you get on the bus and you tell them where you want to go. It leaves room for human error, which unfortunately I've seen. They seem to be in a long period of testing a new tap in tap out electronic fare system, but it's not fully operational yet. The other problem aside from your driver having to accurately calculate how much it should cost to go from here to there is that if "there" is not a tourist location or main stop then you might have a hard time describing where you want to get off. I often had to tell the driver I wanted to get off at "the sleeping Buddha" even though it's a mile past where I actually get off the bus.

You pay in cash and get a receipt for your payment. They can't give change, so you always need small bills and coins if you'll be taking the bus. Sometimes checkers will come on the bus and make sure everyone has a ticket. I guess they're trying to prevent cheating.

It's possible to buy bus passes. Unless you're doing a lot of bussing around, it might not be worth it. You can get a month pass for RM90 plus you have to fill out an application and give them a passport photo and passport copy. You can also buy weekly passes for RM30 without the extra requirements. Because it was less hassle I got the weekly passes a couple times. The nice thing about the passes is I can get on whatever bus I want and not have to worry about the extra expense because it's already been paid for. It's also easier because you don't have to try to explain to the driver where you want to go. You just show your card and get on.

Walking

In Penang I probably walk a minimum of two miles per day. A normal day might have me walk double that. A long day might be around six miles. I can't say for sure, since I don't actually measure my walking, but Google Maps seems to think that's fair.

Penang is a lot like some of the other countries I've visited in regards to walking. There are sidewalks in places, but they aren't always cleared for pedestrians. It's inevitable that sometimes you'll need to walk in the street. Malaysia is a very car-centric country, so you will find yourself competing for space with cars. It can be hard to cross the street sometimes. It's common that intersections will have turning lanes without stop lights, so it seems there is an almost constant flow of traffic. You have to be alert and quick to cross. The constant, fast moving traffic can be stressful to navigate on foot. I was happy to learn that in a select few spots there are crosswalks where you can press the button and the traffic stops. It's an amazing sense of power to stop the unstoppable flow of traffic. Like you were stopping the tide from coming in. :) Oddly though, the crosswalks are less common at intersections.

Sometimes during the day the sun wants to kill you and pound you into the ground. But it's only for a short time and not really that bad. Put some sunscreen on, drink some water, and keep walking. Penang is quite urban, so it's not likely that you'll be out of walking distance of food or necessities anywhere on the east or north side of the island. Or at the very least a bus stop that can take you to them.

Biking

I haven't biked in Penang. I think the amount and unpredictability of traffic on the road would make it something you should undertake carefully. If you have a good route then you can find quieter streets. The west side of the island is a calm place which would be great for riding. The center of the island is mountainous/hilly so you would definitely get a work out if you rode around that, but the east and west sides of the island are pretty flat. On Sundays they close off a portion of a couple streets in the downtown area, but it's more gimmicky than an actual place for riding. I'm glad they're trying to raise awareness though.

I don't see many people riding bikes. Occasionally you will see someone ride past on a pre-war era bike. You also less occasionally see a foreign bike tourist roll past laden with gear. Or a local expat who is out riding for sport. And sometimes you may find a group biking together for fun or whatever they are doing. Biking may make a comeback in Penang, but I guess it's a ways off still. If I could find a cheap place on the rural west side of the island I would totally move there and get a bike.

Food In Penang

This was my favorite restaurant in Penang.

Penang is a great place for food. Some say it is the food capital of Malaysia. With Malay, Chinese, Indian, Nyonya, Japanese, and Thai food to name a few common options. And even though the cost of living is higher than other parts of Southeast Asia the food is still very affordable. It is also a good location for vegetarians like me.

Eating Out vs Cooking At Home

I've heard the argument many times from locals and expats in Asia that eating out is cheaper than cooking at home. I've never believed that. If that were really true, then why would so many people keep a food business if they lose money on each sale. They might be able to find some discounts on their ingredients if they buy in bulk, but they still need to factor in other business expenses, equipment cost, and labor costs. And I'm just thinking about street vendors here, where they wouldn't have rents (I think) and multiple employees. No, it doesn't add up.

On the other hand, if you live in Thailand for example, and live in one of the many studios that don't have a kitchen, then the amount you save on the rent may be more than the cost of eating out. Possibly. So the restaurant people may win that one, in some cases. And to be honest, eating out is much more of an experience, especially when you're in another country.

Eating Out

So while I don't believe that eating out is cheaper than cooking at home it is certainly a lot cheaper to eat out in Penang than anywhere back in the States. It's not even that much more than it costed me to cook at home in the States. And you know how cheap that was. But even though it is more expensive, and I do have a kitchen I could use, I usually eat most of my meals out. I eat most of my meals outside in sit-down restaurants. I can go to a Chinese vegetarian restaurant where I can choose what I want cafeteria-style and expect to pay between one and two US dollars (RM3 - RM6). An Indian banana leaf meal will cost somewhere in the upper end of that range. A bowl of noodles like curry mee costs RM3 or less. A roti canai will cost around RM1 per plain roti.

There aren't too many street vendors that sell vegetarian food, though there are some vendors that have something suitable. Although, street vendors are a good place to get a drink like a lime, coconut, soy milk, or sugar cane drink. I wouldn't actually recommend doing that often though, because your drink will probably come in a plastic bag with a straw which is wasteful (but fun if you've never tried!). Some vendors will have glasses that can be reused. You'll also be getting a lot of sugar in these places.

For vegetarians who don't know, www.happycow.net is a great resource for finding vegetarian food options in cities all over the world.

Cooking At Home

Using typical ERE skills I think someone who wanted to mostly cook at home could get by on a very small budget. In my case, the first thing I needed to do when I started to grocery shop here was to figure out the conversion for dollars per pound to ringgits per kilogram. I don't see any point in spending more on groceries than I did back in the States, so I look to keep things under one dollar per pound or my simple conversion of RM6/kg. But, that's the absolute top I won't go over (theoretically), if there is some super fancy tropical fruit I want to try or something. My more desirable price range is RM3/kg ($.50 per pound), which I wanted to try to see how realistic it is.

The next question is whether to shop in the "wet markets" or go to big chain grocery stores. Wet markets should be the cheapest place to buy produce, but it's not always the case. In Penang you often see wet market vendors place cardboard signs next to their produce listing the price/weight or price/piece they would like to sell their produce. I suppose bargaining is allowed (expected?) in these venues if you are willing and able. The best strategy I have in this situation is to find something with an acceptable price, pick what you want, learn the final price and round down as an offer. I don't like bargaining though. This website is a good resource for finding where the wet markets are in Penang (as well as, almost anything you could possibly want to know about the island).

If you go to discount grocers, then you might be able to find good prices on produce that beat the wet market prices. This is also where you would want to buy things like rice or oatmeal or noodles. I think my favorite grocery store is Mydin in BJ Kompleks. They have great prices and good quality produce. Another discount option would be Tesco which is an international chain, but their produce isn't the best.

The one meal I definitely eat at home is breakfast. I found oatmeal with fruit to be the best option, just like back in the States. At least at this time of year, papaya is the cheapest fruit to buy. You can buy it for RM3/kg or less even at regular grocery stores. You can find oatmeal that costs about one dollar per pound at the discount grocery stores. It's a nice breakfast and I know that at least one of my daily meals can be considered healthy.

Story Time: The Fisherman

This story is a classic. It you haven't read it before, enjoy!

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village.

An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with all your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.

Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant."

"You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American. "And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stock and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"

"After that -- and this is the best part -- you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!"

Nothing But Net

I think the internet needs to be considered a basic survival necessity. Food, water, and internet. I'll give up housing as long as I have a stable internet connection.

For the first several weeks in Penang I managed to connect to the internet through different public wifi spots. I also paid to use a computer at an internet cafe several times. But, these options didn't offer the anytime, anywhere aspect I like about the internet. The wifi connections were spotty at best and I didn't feel like walking a half mile all the time internet cafe. That left me with a lot more offline time than online. I was also concerned about security. I didn't want to visit my financial accounts through either of those methods.

At the internet cafe I used a portable version of Chrome along with Lastpass, so I wouldn't have to enter my email/whatever accounts' passwords. And my browsing information would be stored on my flash drive instead of the public computers. They seemed to have a lot of anti-virus software on their computers so maybe my information was safe, but it didn't solve the convenience issue. And regardless whether it was safe or not I didn't feel it was safe enough to open my financial accounts or file my taxes from there. Having to pay for the internet on a per use basis was also uncomfortable. I prefer to pay a lump sum all at once and not have to worry about paying each time. Even if it means I end up paying more. The internet cafe I used charged RM2 per hour which was not a bad price, but not the cheapest in Penang.

So after a lot of debating and financial calculations and trying to factor in the value of feeling safe, I ended up purchasing a usb mobile internet dongle. I can connect to 2g and 3g mobile internet with the device. In Malaysia they use the term "broadband" to refer specifically to mobile internet like this. One concern I had prior to purchase was whether or not the device would even work with my operating system, Ubuntu. Luckily it works fine. I bought the dongle from Maxis, which was recommended to me. You can buy a pre-paid or post-paid version. I got the pre-paid version. In the package you get the usb dongle and a sim card that will allow you to connect to the internet for 4 days with a 2gb data limit. Once either one of those expire you need to "top up." The pre-paid package costs RM138. It costs different amounts to get more days or data allowance depending on what you prefer.

I might have been able to get by with the internet connections I was managing before, but it didn't let me get on the blog when I wanted, for example. I can only blog or email or whatever when I have the energy to do it. Having constant access is important for that reason.

I also did a test run of my tax return and looked at my financial accounts without worrying. If I go somewhere else I don't have to worry about finding a wifi connection either. I just need a wireless signal. This stable internet connection has also allowed me to start using Google Voice to make calls to people in the US for free. The sound quality isn't great, but it's good enough. So that's a positive improvement.

The thing I don't like about having a full-time internet connection is it gives me something to do besides go out and see Penang.

The Pond: AKA - If You Build It, It Will Fall Down

After leaving work, but before coming to Penang, I had one main project I worked on: The Pond. This is what consumed most of my time while I was in the Rural Northern State. The final work will need to wait for the ground to soften up and the temperature to rise. I think a good amount of progress was made though.

The idea for the project arose from an abundance of excess water. On the property there is water pumped out from the sub pump, but there is also run off water from a geothermal heating unit. Those waters flow off through a hose in the ground to a hill in the back of the property and soak into the ground there. Something like that. All I'm sure of is there is a pipe or two and there was water poring out of them. So the proposition was to do something with that water instead of just letting it flow out to nowhere.

There wasn't any design plan in place when I started so I came up with my own ideas. I wanted it to look natural as much as possible and blend into the landscape. Also, I was intent on not wasting too many resources or for the system to require anything mechanical or unnatural.

When I came into the picture there was a lot of brush and a big swampy mud pit at the bottom of this hill. There was a strip of pond liner that started at the end of the hose that ran down the hill to the swamp at the bottom. There were rocks on the pond liner. It created a sort of waterfall effect. You can almost see the hose here where the hill starts to curve over in that cleared area.

Straight down.

Dagoba at the bottom.

Looking up.

So the first thing I needed to do was clear a lot of the brush away. That would give me room to work and leave a nice view of the pond once it was done. I set to work with hand tools. There may have been some device that would do the work quicker and more noisily, but I had time and needed the workout. The clearing was done using shears and occasionally a saw.

After some clearing of the right side.

And of the left side.

After I had cleared away a lot of the brush it was time to get started with the digging. I was told that I had 10 feet by 50 feet of pond liner to work with. So using those dimensions I created a plan in my head. To get down in there I needed to divert the water though. Otherwise it would have been like trying to dig my way out of the middle of some quicksand. Some people thought it would be fun to dig the hole with one of those big excavators. Instead, I used a shovel.

Hose been messing around down here?

I kept on digging and removing brush as I went through the process. Eventually the form of the pond started to take shape. I removed the rocks from the liner so that I could re-position the waterfall. It looks a little like a heart. Because I love you.

Removing rocks from the liner.

Holy crap.

Then with some help I got the main pond liner in place. Doing so ended up creating a leak in the leaky hose I was using, so I let the pond fill up then. In retrospect, I probably should have worked on it a bit more before letting the water in.

Full filling.

Overflow will connect with the creek.

The overflow will look like a small stream.

There were a lot of rocks used in this project. The huge ones were pulled from the property. The medium sized ones were from a local farmer's field. The smallest ones were purchased from a rock store.

Starting to look more natural.

You can see here a lot more of the last brush has been cleared. It has turned Fall and the leaves are on the ground and in the pond.

Leaf me alone.

This is Mo.

The medium sized rocks were stacked along the inner wall of the pond so that the little stones on top could rest on them and not fall into the pond. By this time it was getting cold outside at nights and my hands would freeze when placing the rocks in the water.

Cold water.

And then the snow came. The project would have to be halted for the season.

Snow break.

I'm pretty proud of this work. I'm not sure what it looks like to you, but thanks to the help of computer projections I have an idea what it will looks like come spring time.

Photo from wlcutler @ flickr

Big Game Hunting: Apartments In Penang

Freedom castle

Aside from being a tourist, if you want know what I've been spending my time and energy on these past few weeks, it's apartment hunting. I was right to be a bit concerned about the ease of finding an apartment. It's not easy. At least not terribly easy. Of course, you would be hard pressed to find a worse possible time to do your search than I did. During Chinese New Year the entire island nearly shuts down for a week or so. At the same time, hotels and hostels fill up and rates increase. On the other hand, it's pretty fun to watch the celebrations...

I need to find a place to stay for around six to eight months in Penang. I'll have at least one trip outside the country (to Thailand I think) for visa purposes during that time period. I need to figure out how long I want to stay in Thailand(?) so I can factor that into my Malaysia plans. Housing should be one of my biggest expenses and it will need to fit within a budget of USD 400 per month. I don't want to double pay for housing if not necessary.

Short Term Housing
Serviced apartments and the like are aimed way up the financial ladder and are not something I could consider. A general starting price would be around USD 1,000 per month and on up from there. So those are right out the window. Hostels could be an option, though they would take up more of the budget than is optimal. Still, I would keep hostels on the table. Hostels could cost up to USD 300 per month for a bed in a dorm. You could find cheaper hostels with a corresponding decline in quality. The cheapest might cost USD 150 per month which is easier on the budget. The best thing about staying in hostels may be that there is no deposit or commitment. If you don't like it you can move on.

Medium Term Housing
Turning to apartments, I found they are not as affordable as I had hoped. The main obstacle is that nearly all apartments in Penang are constructed as three bed, two bath units. That's way more space than I need. So unless a couple of you want to join me here, I'll need to look for some other option. There do seem to be some decent apartments advertised starting in the USD 350 range, which I might be able to make work with some creative accounting, but then I run into other problems.

Problems such as a one year lease. I might come back to Penang at some point in the future for a year or longer, but this year I won't be staying that long. Some owners are okay with short term leases, but I would say they are the exception. So that narrows my options.

Another issue is race based discrimination. A lot of the apartments I see listed specifically state which race they are looking for. For example, "Prefer Chinese only." So I've missed some other options because of that.

If I could get around those obstacles, it would seem possible to rent an apartment and then in turn rent out a room or two. That would give me more control over my environment, but I would be dependent on finding people to stay there to make ends meet.

Economies Of Scale
Instead of renting a whole apartment I could just rent a room. In this case there may be more flexibility with the lease length, but there may still be race based issues. Rooms are classified as "master" or "big," "medium," and "small." The medium and small rooms are sometimes referred to as 2 rooms. So if you see an ad for "2 rooms" it means they have a medium and a small room available separately. The master room should have its own bathroom. The medium and small rooms will share a bathroom.

If you plan to rent a room you should make sure to ask if cooking is allowed. In Malaysia they differentiate between heavy and light cooking. Heavy cooking just seems like cooking to me. Light cooking would be something like instant noodles or rice to go with whatever you bought on the way home. Check if it is fully furnished, partially furnished, or unfurnished. Partially furnished may not mean that anything more than the kitchen cupboards and lights are installed. You might need to add all kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom furniture/appliances. Check if there is a water heater in the bathroom and AC if it matters to you. Since you are hardcore you will definitely not need the AC in Penang (the weather is awesome).

If you use an agent to find an apartment you should expect to pay between a half and one month's rent to them as their commission. Supposedly this fee may be negotiable, but you'll be paying something if you use an agent. Aside from the agent fee, whether you choose an apartment or room you'll probably be asked to pay one month's rent as deposit, one month's rent in advance, and up to half a month's rent as a utilities deposit. These might be negotiable also.

Where To Look
As I was planning my move to Penang I read online that someone said there were "For Rent" signs all around and you could just walk around and call some of the numbers. Well for the most part that's not true in any of the places I went to. Online websites have been the best resource for me by far. It's pretty common that real estate agents will post ads for whole apartments and individuals will post ads for individual rooms. I don't know why more owners don't post their own apartment ads, but that's what I've found.

Agents may be a necessary evil, but look around. Not all will have your best interests in mind.

A good website for looking for whole apartments is fullhouse.com.my. Two good sites to search for whole apartments and individual rooms are ibilik.my/rooms/penang and mudah.my.

View from my temporary room

Everypeople Want My Money: Bankers

It's not only governments that want to take your money. It's also the banks. But you knew that already.

The main thing I look out for is fees. Less fees are more good. And when you are using your money overseas there are all sorts of fees banks like to charge you. So when I was planning my move overseas I paid close attention to these fees. I guess there are two main fees to look out for: international ATM fees, and a fee for exchanging currencies (sometimes both by the bank and Visa/Mastercard/whatever). Currency exchange fees are often charged at a percent of the exchanged amount. That can cut into your margins which is especially painful if you don't have much margin for error. And a three dollar ATM fee could be a couple meals here.

Luckily, there are a some large banks that do not charge these fees, such as Charles Schwab and Capital One. Here is a wiki with more information. Capital One seemed somehow more evil, so I went with Charles Schwab. I opened a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account with them. When you open this type of combined account there are no relevant account fees, minimums, or activity requirements. As for the international fees, they reimburse any ATM fees charged by other banks, including overseas, at the end of each month. They also cover the Visa currency exchange fee charged by Visa. They don't charge any other relevant fees. So basically that means I'm not loosing any money when I use my card overseas (or otherwise).

I was hoping for a bank that made things easy to manage and set up. Compared to the other online bank account I have (which has horrible international fees), I would say Schwab falls quite a bit short in this regard. But once you are set up it doesn't matter too much anymore. I also needed to notify Schwab of my travel plans (by phone) so that they wouldn't block any transactions made overseas. For some reason, when one receptionist at a hotel tried to use my card to add another night, it didn't work. However, I was able to immediately go and use the card online to book the room. Not sure what happened there. So far I haven't noticed any fees being charged. Actually, it's a bit weird because ATM fees are supposed to be reimbursed at the end of the month, but I haven't seen any ATM fees in my transactions or missing from my withdrawal amounts. At this point I'm pretty happy with them in terms of using the card overseas.

You'll notice I haven't linked to Schwab. I don't like promoting companies (including this one) and I have no interest with Schwab. I just thought I'd share what I'm doing in case it helps you.

Out Of Bounds

My flight to Malaysia had three segments. The first was inside the US. The next was to Hong Kong. Then the final portion was to Penang, Malaysia. But first you have to get through security...

It should be quite easy to leave your own country, right? Not necessarily. The first leg of my travel was with American Airlines. I made it through the security check and was walking towards my gate when my name was announced over the PA system and they called me back to the ticketing desk.

When I got back the lady exhasperatedly asked whether I had proof of onward travel from Malaysia and whether I had proof of funds. Well luckily I did get an onward ticket for this very type of situation. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare proof of my funds during the trip. So we ran through various ways I might get this proof of funds. The lady at the desk said she didn't care, but she wanted to make sure the officials in Malaysia wouldn't "send me back to the U.S." We figured out that once I got back inside I could use my laptop to download my most recent statements and put them on my flash drive and mp3 player. Then if they asked in Malaysia or wherever I could just show those.

Apparently, they don't have free wi-fi in airports. FYI, the same Boingo service in U.S. airports doesn't charge the same rate in different airports. So I decided to skip on the internet. I got a balance print out from the ATM instead. Hopefully that will satisfy anyone who wants to see I have money.

On the second leg of my trip, when I switched to Cathay Pacific, the lady at the desk didn't ask anything about proof of onward travel or funds. Prior to my flight, I was a little worried about Cathay Pacific once I realized they have a tiered weight allowance for carry on baggage (which was all I took). I flew Economy Class which had a limit of 15 pounds. A weight limit for a second smaller carry on bag wasn't mentioned. I didn't bring much, but what I had weighed more than 15 pounds. I only brought two carry on's total for my trip. Without planning I just happened upon a solution to the problem. When the lady asked me to place my baggage on the scale, I placed my laptop bag first and without asking for my larger backpack she said "Oh, you're traveling light today." I was! It seems she took my laptop bag as my main carry on baggage. So somehow I did a switcheroo and she didn't ask to weigh my larger bag.

The flight was pretty okay. None of my neighbors were too bothersome. The food was good enough and I was served first.* I finished my meals by the time the regular meals got to my area. I could have asked for unlimited free beer if I choose to, like the guy next to me. There were first run movies and TV shows to watch in the console in the headrest in front of me.

*At booking I requested one of the five or six different vegetarian meal options. Since they had to prepare my meal separately on the plane I got served first each time. On the flight segment to Malaysia I waited a bit since there were a number of people that I guess were requesting the Halal meal.

Once I got to Hong Kong I needed to prepare for a long layover. I was hoping I didn't need to go through Immigration and luckily I didn't. So I ended up visiting Hong Kong without actually going into Hong Kong. I arrived at about 9pm and didn't depart until about 3pm the next day. I didn't feel like going into the city for just a night because I've done that before and didn't feel like it was that special. However, when I tried to pass through into the departure area the lady checking flight information gave me a look like "You're kidding, right?" I just said "I'll wait" and she let me through. The airport was pretty crowded even past midnight and I wondered if lots of people were doing the same thing. It turns out they just had late flights. It got pretty empty in the early hours of the morning. But everything went well enough and the next day I just walked around and used my computer a few times while I waited for my final flight.

The last flight was pretty much the same as the second, but it was shorter and on an older plane. I arrived in Penang and the Immigration official didn't ask to see any proof of onward travel or any proof of funds. All he asked was if I was here for holidays and I said I was. In the arrival zone, my friend was there waiting to pick me up. The weather was finally warm.

Give Me Back My Money

To be quite honest with you, I prefer to avoid taxes when legally possible. It also happens that I am interested in financial independence and simple living. If that weren't enough, all these things support each other in the process. So after reading some relevant sections of the tax code I was happy to discover it is possible to live a comfortable life without paying any or much federal income tax.

As it turns out, there's a pretty neat loophole for low income people like myself. I didn't know all of this when I started working, but with The Epiphany all the pieces finally came together. The following is based on 2011 law and is applicable to people who are single and will spend less than $9,350 after working years. If that doesn't apply to you then you'll need to do some more research. Before you go and do something crazy like me, let me say that this is not tax, financial, or legal advice. This is what I learned (which may be incorrect) based on 2011 tax law (which may change). If you do this you will certainly lose all your money, get fined, and end up in jail. This is complicated and very individual!

Step one, is to save as much as possible during working years. Really, you can't get anywhere without saving more than you spend. I now understand I should have maxed out my 401(k) account and after that my traditional IRA with these savings. This is important because earned income that is contributed to a 401(k) or traditional IRA is not taxed on contribution, but on withdrawal. Any extra could have been placed in a taxed account. Alternatively, you could max out the 401(k) account and then fund a Roth IRA and any extra savings could again go in a taxed account.

In either case, you'll need some money you can tap for the five years you need to wait for the process to fully work. That money would either need to be in the taxed account or the Roth IRA. If the money is in the Roth IRA you can only withdraw the amount you contributed, which may not be much since there are annual contribution limits. Contributions to a Roth IRA are not taxed when withdrawn regardless of when they are withdrawn. Contributions that are subsequently withdrawn are not taxed, because you already paid tax on them prior to contribution.

Keep saving until you have 300 to 400 times your planned monthly expenses. Then you will be financially independent if your money is invested and bringing in more money. I say "planned" expenses, because if your expenses during working years are more than they need to be, then you can reduce expenses instead of increasing savings. At this point you should have a large percentage of your money in tax deferred accounts. In your taxed accounts (or Roth IRA contributions if you chose that route) you should have at least five years of living expenses. Otherwise, you could work part-time to cover minimal living expenses, but that would affect how the process would work without being taxed. Now comes the fun part...

Step two, after quitting work you will need to rollover your 401(k)-type account into your traditional IRA. If your 401(k) has good investment options, low fees, and is easy to work with then you might just skip this step since the 401(k) and traditional IRA will be treated (somewhat) similarly after quitting. Not all plan administrators will allow a conversion from a 401(k) to a Roth IRA, so rolling over to a traditional IRA may be easier. The rollover will not be taxed if you don't do anything weird because 401(k)'s and traditional IRAs are both tax deferred retirement vehicles.

Step three, after quitting work, once a new calendar year has begun* you will want to start converting your traditional IRA (possibly 401(k) if you chose that option) into a Roth IRA once per year. You can only do this once per year. The conversions will be taxed as regular income. You can convert up to $9,350 per year if you want to avoid federal income tax. Amounts up to $9,350 will not be taxed at the federal level because of the personal exemption and standard deduction for a single person. Keep converting money from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA annually until the year you turn age 59.5.

*You may want to wait until a new year so that you don't bump that IRA money into a higher tax bracket when you factor in your previous salary. If you only made a little bit for the year, then you could do the conversion in that same year without much consequence (or just convert less).

Be careful not to convert your traditional IRA money too fast. This is the basis for your income from year six after quitting until you turn 59.5. In the best case scenario you would want your last dollar converted from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA on the year you turn 59.5, when you can start withdrawing from the Roth IRA penalty free.

During this step, you also start withdrawing your current living expenses from the taxed account (or withdrawing Roth IRA contributions if you went that route).

Step four, in the sixth year after quitting work you can start withdrawing the converted money from the Roth IRA. Only withdraw as much as you need for the year and not more than you converted five years ago. This money will not be taxed on withdrawal, since it was already "taxed" on conversion (actually, it was below the level that would be taxed at the federal level, but it still counts). In this regard a Roth IRA conversion is treated as a Roth IRA contribution (no penalty for withdrawal). The difference is that you need to wait those five years to access the money without penalty. Withdrawal of earnings on contributions are taxed and penalized.

Step five, in the year you turn 59.5, almost all your money should be in the Roth IRA. At that point you can withdraw everything without limit, penalty, or taxes. You probably wouldn't want to withdraw more than 4% of your savings though, in order to preserve capital.

If you have been following along you may have noticed something interesting about the above scenario. Excluding possible state taxes, you wouldn't have needed to pay any tax on the money you earned originally or while it was invested in the traditional IRA. There was:

No tax on your salary that is contributed to tax-deferred retirement accounts (401(k) and traditional IRA).
No tax on the 401(k) rollover to traditional IRA.
No federal tax on the conversion from a traditional IRA to Roth IRA.
No tax on gains or dividends in any retirement accounts.
No tax on withdrawal from Roth IRA.

What I like about this plan:

It is not irrevocable. If your situation changes you can change your plan. Other options such as 72(t) withdrawals seem more complicated and you can't stop them once you start.

If you screw it up, then you pay income tax plus a 10% penalty. If you are below the federally taxable income level, then you just pay the 10% penalty. 10% is still way lower than any other normal tax rate.

You can convert more or less than $9,350 if you want to. You will just need to pay the corresponding income tax at the regular rate on conversion for the amount you withdraw.

What I don't like about this plan:

You have to file extra tax forms each year to help the government keep track of your conversions and withdrawals. They want to make sure you don't take out more than the converted amount.

It's not possible to begin the conversions if you are still working for the same employer. If you were going to quit anyways, you're good.

Here is the plan mapped out:

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KEY TERMS

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RESOURCES
IRS Publication 590 (pdf)
Book
Fairmark Forum
Common IRA Rollover Mistakes
Roth IRA Distributions
Roth IRA Early Withdrawals
Tax Treatment of Roth IRA Distributions

Glittering Speck Of Emotion

I knew someone who described airplanes something like that. She told me about it as we were hiking around a desert mountain in the southwest US picking sage. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies. Not a cloud or sign of civilization around. Then she said that phrase: "glittering speck of emotion." I didn't know what she was talking about and she pointed up to the sky where there was a plane flying high above. There's so much energy and emotion in planes, she explained. Everyone on board is feeling something. Someone is going home after a long time away; someone is leaving someone they loved; someone is going to a funeral; someone is flying for the first time; someone else is going on a great journey to a place they always wanted to see. All of those emotions are crammed into that tiny silver speck of glittering light in the sky.

This was so long ago that I can't even remember who my friend was or where exactly we were. But I remember the scene and the sentiment. That was a wonderful day.

So anyways, speaking of airplanes, I bought my plane ticket to Malaysia a while ago. As with any purchase, I did a lot of research. I started by searching some nifty sites like Hipmonk, Matrix Airfare Search, and Momondo. These were the best sites I found to start my search from. These sites are cool because they are aggregators which pull results from all over, but they also search a wide range of dates. They can tell you which airline and date has the cheapest ticket. When you're not on a fixed schedule, this is the way to go. So I started searching for flights from the nearest international airport to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. I figured that would be the cheapest. These sites also let you simultaneously search nearby airports too, so I included the nearest large airports. Only after a long time of checking and re-checking prices did I decide to check for flights from here to my actual destination, Penang. Lesson learned. I should have searched my direct route from the beginning, because the price to fly to Penang was exactly the same as to Kuala Lumpur. Once I figured out the cheapest destination and date and airline, I went directly to the airline's website to check the fare there. The price was better and the policies were more lenient and the fees for amending the ticket were lower. I ended up getting a one way ticket from the Big Decayed City to Penang on Cathay Pacific. This is one of the better airlines out there, but also had the lowest price. Funny world.

On the downside, the whole journey will take about two days of travel time. I'll have an extended layover in Hong Kong, during which I expect I will become very familiar with their airport.

One thing to note about booking with Cathay Pacific (and maybe all the others) is their fare prices give a warning that there are only a few seats left at that price. Maybe that's true sometimes, but this time they seemed to be fibbing. I went back and checked the price a number of days as I debated and it stayed the same. I just went back and checked as of this writing and the price rose a bit, but is still reasonable. The price rose about 3.5% three weeks before the departure date, and about 5.5% now one and a half weeks out.

In a week and a half a whole bunch of emotions will be on my plane to Penang, and a lot of them will be from me.