If You Had $20k and No Savings...

[Steven Douglas]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Asia is definitely your oyster, and your laughing place. Move to Vietnam to begin with (I'll be there in January, lived in China for five years and love it). Because of your degree, and the fact that you're a native English speaker (I assume) means that you are already qualified for and can easily get a teaching position at a university there, making around $30 an hour—with benefits. Even then, medical and dental are cheap as dirt. Some of the healthiest, best tasting food on Earth, thanks to a perfect mix of Southeast Asian with a hundred years of French influence. Rent for a really nice place there, (if you want to REALLY splurge) is about $300 a month. And I don't care how old you are, or what you look like, your romantic prospects, if interested, are enormous. And what a place to continue your Asian philosophy studies.

...and you'll never come back. And why would you want to?

[Tpoints]

Asia is definitely your oyster, and your laughing place. Move to Vietnam to begin with (I'll be there in January, lived in China for five years and love it). Because of your degree, and the fact that you're a native English speaker (I assume) means that you are already qualified for and can easily get a teaching position at a university there, making around $30 an hour—with benefits. Even then, medical and dental are cheap as dirt. Some of the healthiest, best tasting food on Earth, thanks to a perfect mix of Southeast Asian with a hundred years of French influence. Rent for a really nice place there, (if you want to REALLY splurge) is about $300 a month. And I don't care how old you are, or what you look like, your romantic prospects, if interested, are enormous. And what a place to continue your Asian philosophy studies.

...and you'll never come back. And why would you want to?

what do you do in China?

[Steven Douglas]

what do you do in China?

Other than have the time of my life in a strangely wonderful alternate universe, most of what butters my bread and funds my fun is semiconductor industry related.

[Jordan]

ignore.

[DFF]

Asia is definitely your oyster, and your laughing place. Move to Vietnam to begin with (I'll be there in January, lived in China for five years and love it). Because of your degree, and the fact that you're a native English speaker (I assume) means that you are already qualified for and can easily get a teaching position at a university there, making around $30 an hour—with benefits. Even then, medical and dental are cheap as dirt. Some of the healthiest, best tasting food on Earth, thanks to a perfect mix of Southeast Asian with a hundred years of French influence. Rent for a really nice place there, (if you want to REALLY splurge) is about $300 a month. And I don't care how old you are, or what you look like, your romantic prospects, if interested, are enormous. And what a place to continue your Asian philosophy studies.

...and you'll never come back. And why would you want to?

I've been thinking about going to Penang, Malaysia (Anthony Bourdain sold me) for awhile, and maybe even living there if I like it. But if I do, I'll need to leave occasionally for visa purposes. Vietnam sounded like a good in between country to visit, both culture, and costwise. Which cities do you recommend there for a semi-extended stay? Also, is it possible to bounce indefinitely between, lets say, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam? Or at some point, would immigration in any of the respective countries go "No entry. You no go home to United States since 2012.' Or would they totally not care so long as I haven't overstayed in any of the aforementioned countries?

[Steven Douglas]

I've been thinking about going to Penang, Malaysia (Anthony Bourdain sold me) for awhile, and maybe even living there if I like it. But if I do, I'll need to leave occasionally for visa purposes. Vietnam sounded like a good in between country to visit, both culture, and costwise. Which cities do you recommend there for a semi-extended stay?

I only really know China, and mostly mid to northern. I don't know Vietnam that well, I've only visited myself. Even though I prefer smaller cities, I'll be living in Ho Chi Minh to begin with, and decide where I want to go from there.

Also, is it possible to bounce indefinitely between, lets say, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam? Or at some point, would immigration in any of the respective countries go "No entry. You no go home to United States since 2012.' Or would they totally not care so long as I haven't overstayed in any of the aforementioned countries?

You can bounce around all you want. Each country has its own rules for entry and exit, with different requirements depending on the type of stay each time, but as long as you abide by them, you can pretty much do it indefinitely with just tourist visas. I'll be working there on a work visa, so I'll get a Temporary Residence Card (TRC) to begin with (for stays over one year), and will likely get a leasehold somewhere and apply for a Permanent Residence Card (PRC) at some point, so I can come and go as I please without restrictions or time limits.

[kathy88]

Consumerism is a bitch. It creeps up on you pretty quickly. I learned a lot about it the first time I moved from my house to an apartment...couldn't believe how much crap I've purchased and only use irregularly.

Wow I hear you. I've spent the last week cleaning out closets, garage, attic and basement. They're going to need another Goodwill store for my shit when I'm done.

[newbitech]

I'd find a way to make more than 800 a month with my small biz. That is less than 30 dollars a day. 30 dollars a day into 20k is almost 2 years. So I'd put half of it into probably precious metals, something that will hold value, and the other half would go right into my small biz.

I can put out 500 postcards on a targeted list for $600 bucks. Nice double sided color glossy ink, pre-addressed, and a list I filter. Drum up some more business with low cost advertising. Do this every other month and im sure your sales will increase. If you are able to double that $800 a month in 1 year with 10k, Then in 2 years, you will have 20k in the bank making $1600 a month, by investing half your money and double your current income.