From the Field

Dispatches from the Field

Real stories about early retirement, living abroad, and working for yourself.

All Dispatches

What 47 Pesos Gets You in San Miguel de Allende (Spoiler: More Than $47 in Austin)
RETIRE 4 min read

What 47 Pesos Gets You in San Miguel de Allende (Spoiler: More Than $47 in Austin)

I walked into the grocery store with 50 pesos in my pocket — about $2.50 in real money — and came out with enough food for dinner. Not ramen. Not a sad desk salad. An actual meal for three people. This is the kind of math that makes your old life feel like a fever dream. Let me break down exactly what 47 pesos bought me at the local Soriana yesterday: two pounds of chicken thighs (22 pesos), three Roma tomatoes (4 pesos), one white onion (3 pesos), a bunch of cilantro (5 pesos), two limes (2 p
RETIRE
RETIRE 4 min read

Why I Ignored the 4% Rule (And Retired at 43 Anyway)

The 4% rule is gospel in early retirement circles. Pull 4% from your nest egg annually, the orthodoxy goes, and your money will last forever. Or at least thirty years, which is close enough for most spreadsheets. I ignored it completely. Not because I'm reckless with money — quite the opposite. I spent fifteen years as a corporate finance guy, building models that predicted quarterly earnings to the penny. I know how math works. I also know how life works, and life doesn't follow withdrawal ra
I Spent 18 Months Tracking Every Peso in San Miguel: Here's What $1,800 Actually Gets You
RETIRE 4 min read

I Spent 18 Months Tracking Every Peso in San Miguel: Here's What $1,800 Actually Gets You

My spreadsheet has 547 rows. Eighteen months of tracking every peso spent in San Miguel de Allende, from the fifty-peso tip to the woman who waters our plants to the 28,000-peso quarterly property tax bill. Every café cortado, every Uber to the doctor, every bottle of mezcal bought for friends who visit from the States. Why track it all? Because "Mexico is cheap" tells you nothing. Because expat Facebook groups are full of people arguing whether you need $1,200 or $3,000 per month, and nobody

I Spent 18 Months Tracking Every Peso in San Miguel: Here's What $1,800 Actually Gets You
RETIRE 4 min read

I Spent 18 Months Tracking Every Peso in San Miguel: Here's What $1,800 Actually Gets You

My spreadsheet has 547 rows. Eighteen months of tracking every peso spent in San Miguel de Allende, from the fifty-peso tip to the woman who waters our plants to the 28,000-peso quarterly property tax bill. Every café cortado, every Uber to the doctor, every bottle of mezcal bought for friends who visit from the States. Why track it all? Because "Mexico is cheap" tells you nothing. Because expat Facebook groups are full of people arguing whether you need $1,200 or $3,000 per month, and nobody