In this episode, Marc is recording the show in the hospital with his wife. He talks about making stuff up, dealing with assumptions — most of which are wrong — and how things do not go as planned. He discusses insurance, planning to retire to another country, checking things out, and being set back by plans gone wrong. Listen in to hear how, regardless of how carefully you plan, you should never assume, or make stuff up.
Key Takeaways:
[1:46] Marc has had numerous times over the last six months where reality has bit him in the butt. Marc and his wife are on the Affordable Care Act, and in October their premium went up 50%.They changed to another plan, for $1,100 a month with a $13,000 deductible. Marc Listens to Money Matters, and an interview gave him an idea.
[3:17] On Money Matters, RetiredBrains.com had analyzed countries for retirement, and they gave some recommendations in an interview. Trying to stay real, Marc considered Ecuador and Mexico, and planned to research and visit each country to evaluate them.
[4:01] Marc tried very hard to stay with what was factual, which is really hard. In March they visited San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico. They found good Internet, good phone service, a good exchange rate, and acceptable transportation, but they had questions.
[5:41] Next, Marc planned to visit Cuenca, Ecuador. Corey Coates of Podfly put them in touch with some people in Cuenca, and they felt prepared. They used frequent flyer miles to fly into Quito, the capital. Morning and evening flights commute to Cuenca
[6:32] Cuenca was beautiful, and inexpensive. Health care was top-flight. Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar. They spent a few days in Quito. Phone wires were everywhere, strung from building to building, and on the edges of buildings. Internet was all copper wire. In Cuenca, the Internet would go out for a couple of hours at a time.
[7:48] Marc uses AT&T, and arranged for a plan in Ecuador, but they only connect at 3G. Walking a block may cause a change in carriers and speed. He was surprised that the ATM would only let him take $40 twice, and $80 once. He thinks it was limited by his credit union.
[9:00] In San Miguel, Mrs. Miller seemed to have had altitude sickness, but recovered at home. In Ecuador, much higher, her sickness was much worse, and they left five days early. With connecting flights, it took three days to get home from Cuenca. With planning, it could be done in two days. Mrs. Miller started to feel better, and then, worse.
[11:01] They went to the ER, and it turns out, she was anemic, which turns out to have been a long-term problem. Now they don’t know whether Ecuador would cause problems or not. Reality slapped them in the face.
[11:45] We do this throughout our careers. We believe we’re doing all the right stuff. The more Marc learned, the more questions he had. Now, there are probably other things he was missing, and he needs to keep on doing his research.
[12:39] As you go through your career decisions, don’t make stuff up.
[12:58] As Marc is recording, his wife is going through tests to determine the cause of the anemia. Now that he knows she has been anemic for a considerable time, it makes sense, some of the experiences she had had. This was a big reality check. Marc thought he had understood what was going on, but he really hadn’t.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc is accepting new clients, so reach out to him. He will supply a link to his calendar to set up a call.
Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey
CareerPivot.com Making Stuff Up Episode
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