Retire in India and live off interest payments?

I love your honesty Howie!! Don't forget that Brew Pub we are opening in Hyderabad!! A perfect too spend your golden years

Yeah those were the days,,,,,,,,,,,Young Free & Single,
Way to go,

But adult incontinence and food dribbling on your shirt is for real, isn't it?

well, now that could be real...

I didn't think you were that old, DD?

For my fellow UK middle-aged youngsters... you can find out about getting a pension forcast here You can tell them when you enquire things such as having stopped work, planning to live abroad, etc.

Oh yes, I vaguely remember November 2005!

For an investment modality I would suggest a long term orientation (despite the smoking) and therefore a balance of corporate bonds and well diversified global equities (probably a mutual fund)..

Foreign currency rates are typically driven by trade. In the long term, net exporting countries will see their currency strenghthening. Lot of other factors come into play, including govt intervention etc. So look to see which country has long term potential to be a net exporter and then invest in that country.

Unfortunately, the rise in oil prices has thrown of balance between exports and imports for most countries. some economists think thats is what is propping up the US $ (since crude is priced in $). As we all know that US has humoungous trade deficits and the currency has been decpreciating against all major currencies, till the oil prices started going up.

Help!

Thanks for the advice but I don't understand money talk? - can it be simplified? (probably not!)

I have problems with investing purely for monetary gains and need to know my modest amount wouldn't go into anything that exploited the workers! (The actual producers at the bottom of the chain!)

Being a working class lad from the Midlands (Industrial!) and prefering to use products that are 'Fair Trade' stamped! (guaranteeing producers of said items get a decent payment for them!)

Although middle men are required? They leave a bad taste in my mouth that tends to linger!!!

You could invest in an Ethical Mutual fund. These types of funds follow strict guidelines and invest only in companies which are deemed to be good corporate citizens. I am not familiar with UK based Mutual funds so I am unable to offer you any specific names.

Thanks GoanCanuck,

That looks the way to go for me! I will check it out. (never had anything to invest before now!)

Howie

If you are looking for a safe investment that will grow over time I would recommend General Electric (NYSE: GE). GE closed today at US $33.14. Over the past 12 months it has ranged from 32.63 to 37.34. The 2005 calendar low was 32.67. I purchased 400 shares of GE @ 33.32 on 20 Jan 2006 for my sons' college fund. My family now holds a total of 2,500 shares of GE.

The NY Times utilizes 22 analysts for their 12-month forecast. Seven analysts highly recommend GE, 14 moderately recommend, and one says to hold. None of the analysts recommend selling. Their consensus 12 month forecast is for GE to go up to 40.56. The stock has an annual dividend of US $1.00 (quarterly dividends of 0.25) per share. At the current price of 33.14 GE has a yield of 3.02% and a p/e of 19.22. Off GE's past history in 7 years I expect the dividend to double. There is a high correlation to that regarding the price of the stock also doubling in that timeframe.

For an investor just starting a portfolio GE is an excellent blue chip to built a foundation on. It is a safe stock to own. I have disclosed above that I do own it. If you want a safe investment right now, go with GE. I recommend a buy and hold strategy. I am not a day trader! At its current price GE is better than money in the bank!

General Electric makes aircraft engines among other things. Their main competitors in that field are Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney. How did you get to India? Probably on an Airbus or Boeing jet with GE engines.

Oh me too. The only pages, to me, in a newspaper that are more boring than the Sport is teh Financial. The only interesting thing about money is spending it.

It is the people who think that the only boring thing about money is spending it that get ---and stay--- rich.

So I'm still lost in a comlete lack of understanding about which, out of pounds or rupees, might be best for the future. I know the exchange rate is poorish just at the moment.

That would be a wise move. Never buy unless you are absolutely certain that you will live in the same place for a very long time. Another advantage of renting is that you can keep on moving whenever you get bored of a particular place.

For all aspects of retirement planning, a very useful site ishere. It is mostly US centric, but there are members from Thailand and other SE Asian countries. The discussions and content are, in principle, applicable anywhere. The forums are a wealth of information not just on financial aspects, but also on life-style, activities, etc.

A financial calculator there - "Firecalc" - will help you find out how much money you can withdraw from your investments without running out of it for a specified time period. Of course, nobody knows what the future holds, and such estimates are, at some level, pictures painted on water. At least one should look at it that way, so that one is willing to go back to work if things don't quite work out according to the plan.

For those contemplating the "perpetual traveller" (sp?) lifestyle, the experiences of two couples who retired very early in life may be of interest:

Billy & Akaisha Kaderli spend quite a bit of their time in Asia)

The Terhorsts also travel around quite a bit, but mostly in LatAm.