Fund a Lifestyle of Overseas Travel With 5 Retirement Hacks

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If a lifestyle of overseas travel is your idea of the perfect retirement, there are definitely strategies you can use to get there. Many Americans dream of foreign travel when they retire, but put unnecessary obstacles in their way, thinking it’s an unaffordable, unrealistic lifestyle. But the truth is, there are ways you can frequently travel abroad in retirement without breaking the bank.

Here are some retirement hacks that can open up a whole new world to you.

Rent Out Your Home

By the time Americans reach retirement age, many of them have completely paid off the mortgage on their home. If you fall into this category, you’re sitting on a gold mine, especially when it comes to your retirement lifestyle. If you decide to travel for an extensive period, such as a month or more, you can rent out your home and use the proceeds to travel abroad. Depending on where you live, your rental income could potentially far exceed the amount you spend on an overseas rental. But even if you spend more money overseas than you earn on your rental, you can use that income to reduce the cost of your trip(s) and fund an ongoing retirement lifestyle of traveling abroad.

House Swap

Another option to leverage your home instead of simply renting it out is to do a direct house swap with an overseas couple. You can use several different websites to list your house as available for swapping with someone in another country. Typically, swaps are done on an even basis, meaning you may be able to vacation for free in a luxury overseas home in exchange for giving up your own for the same time. 

Visit Countries With Lower Costs of Living

Although some parts of America are quite affordable, many others have a relatively high cost of living, particularly when compared with some overseas cities. If you live in Biloxi, Mississippi, and want to travel to Singapore, for example, you might find that your trip is hard on your budget. But if you live in Manhattan and want to spend a month in Romania, you might be able to live like a king. 

Whatever city pair you’re considering, use online cost comparison sites to see how different the cost of living might be. If the places on your wishlist are budget-busters, consider similar options that have lower costs of living. In this way, you could turn your plan of overseas travel from a dream to an ongoing reality. 

Downsize Your Home

Still another way to leverage the equity in your home when you retire is to downsize your home. When you’re retired, it’s possible you won’t even need the size of the home you have. Downsizing can turn some of the equity in your home into liquid cash that you can use to fund your overseas lifestyle.

Imagine that you have a fully paid-off, 4-bedroom home worth $500,000. You may be able to move to a 1- or 2-bedroom home for $270,000, for example, and pocket the extra $230,000. That can go a long way to funding your retirement lifestyle, and you’ll still have a home base to boot.

Use Traditional Travel Hacks

Beyond these more retirement-related tips, you can use traditional travel hacks to make a lifetime of travel more affordable. Here are some of the most popular:

• Get a rewards credit card: If you can pay off your credit card every month, using it for your daily spending can rapidly build up enough points and rewards to get you free flights and hotel rooms. You can also take advantage of generous sign-up bonuses. Just remember to handle your card responsibly, or else it’s not worth it.
• Use Airbnb and stay longer-term: Airbnbs can often be cheaper than hotel rooms, and many of them offer significant discounts if you stay longer-term. Renting out a home for a month, for example, may result in savings of 50% or more off daily rates. 
• Plan early: The farther in advance you can plan a trip, the better-positioned you are to take advantage of deals and price drops. Lock in a fair price as early as you can — making sure it’s cancellable — and then continually check to see if prices fall so you can rebook at a lower rate. 
• Be flexible: One of the key benefits of being retired is that you can usually travel whenever you want. While most of the world has to go places on weekends and during holidays, you can go somewhere for a mid-week getaway or travel in shoulder or off-peak seasons, when the savings can be immense.

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