Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the experiences of expats and gringos in Latin America, focusing on the dynamics between tourists and local populations. He highlights how the presence of beggars and panhandlers often indicates areas frequented by tourists, and how Americans, in particular, are more likely to give money to those in need. Johnny also touches on the cultural differences in tipping and the economic impact of tourism on local communities, such as the preference for English among locals in Costa Rica to work in the tourist industry. He contrasts the behavior of middle-class and wealthy Latin Americans, who are less likely to tip generously, with the habits of expats, who tend to tip more frequently even when service is poor.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the cultural differences in generosity and how people in the U.S. are more likely to give to the poor compared to other countries. He explains that in Latin America, the term 'vagos' is used for beggars and vagabonds, and he highlights the contrast between the U.S. and other nations in terms of charitable giving. He also shares a personal anecdote about his experiences with street performers and beggars in Latin cities, emphasizing how people in the U.S. are often more generous, even if it's not always the most effective form of charity.
Johnny Mueller describes a street performer in a busy intersection who is juggling oranges and machetes while holding a child. The performer, who is missing a hand, is considered highly skilled and even compared to Cirque du Soleil. Johnny and his passenger discuss the performer's talent, the potential for his act to be recognized, and the possibility of his missing hand being a result of his machete juggling. The conversation highlights the performer's resilience and the admiration for his skills.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the opportunities for expats in Latin America, emphasizing the availability of skilled and trainable workers in the region. He addresses the common concerns of expats who are worried about finding work or a business after moving to Latin America, especially those with limited financial resources. Johnny highlights the importance of being prepared for the challenges of living on a budget and the need to adapt to a more modest lifestyle. He also outlines two common jobs that expats can take to tide them over until they find a more stable niche or business opportunity: teaching English at a helicopter school and working in a call center. He explains that these jobs can provide a steady income, though they require a certain level of adaptation and may not offer the same lifestyle as in the first world.
Johnny Mueller discusses the challenges of living a first-world lifestyle in Latin America, emphasizing the need for a budget of around $1,500 a month, which is considered poverty wages in the U.S. He mentions the difficulty of finding work and the limited income, but also highlights the potential for remote work opportunities, though they require investment and no guarantees. Johnny then introduces a story about a man named Mr. B who moved to Panama, struggled, and eventually moved to Guatemala, where he is now trying to find work as a truck driver despite language and navigation challenges.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the challenges of living and working as an expat in Latin America, focusing on Mr. B's experience. He outlines the difficulties of navigating the region's poorly marked roads, lack of maintenance, and the risks of truck hijacking. Johnny also highlights the importance of an expat concierge service in helping expats settle in, as well as the struggle of finding meaningful work in the region. Mr. B, who initially struggled to find a job, eventually found his niche by leveraging his wife's skills as a cosmetologist. Johnny concludes by emphasizing how expats often find their niche through unexpected means, rather than preconceived plans.
Johnny Mueller discusses the story of Mr. B, an expat in Guatemala who found a high-paying, low-tax job working remotely for a U.S.-based company. He highlights the financial benefits of this arrangement, including earning $18 an hour, making $900 a month, and paying no taxes due to the foreign source of income and the tax laws in Guatemala. Johnny emphasizes that Mr. B's job is not only lucrative but also flexible, allowing him to work from home without transportation costs. He also mentions that the job requires only basic English skills and a decent internet connection, making it accessible to many expats.
This segment of the podcast introduces a future seminar titled 'Exped Insider' hosted by Johnny Mueller, where he will discuss the current state of crypto mining with Oscar, including his personal picks and pans. The seminar is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 7th, five weeks from the time of the recording. Johnny encourages listeners to visit the website for more details and to sign up for early bird discounts, which end on June 1st. He also promotes his free Plan B questionnaire and a 9-hour course for those in the United States looking to develop a Plan B. The segment ends with a note about avoiding spam.
Topics
Expats and gringos in Latin America, Tourist areas and beggars, Cultural differences in tipping, Economic impact of tourism, Behavior of middle-class and wealthy Latin Americans, Cultural differences in generosity, Charitable giving in the U.S. vs. other countries, Street performers and beggars in Latin America, Personal experiences with charity and giving, Street performance, Talent and skill, Resilience and adversity
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:04 The Soft Touches of Americans in Latin America 00:01:34 Determining the Gringo Tourist Trail by Beggars 00:02:43 The Economic Impact of Tourism on Local Communities 00:04:49 The Cultural Context of Generosity and Begging in Latin America 00:05:32 The U.S. as the Most Generous Country and the Global Perception of Its Generosity 00:06:26 A Personal Anecdote on Street Performers and Begging in Latin Cities 00:09:15 Street Performer's Talent and Competition 00:10:22 The Performer's Skills and the Passenger's Cynicism 00:11:12 The Origin of the Missing Hand 00:12:45 A Boots on the Ground Story with a Happy Ending and Relevance for You 00:12:56 Preface to Addressing Common Concerns of Expats 00:13:10 Most People Come to Latin America Without a Financial Safety Net 00:15:50 Budgeting for a First-World Life in Latin America 00:16:52 New Job Niche for Expats in Latin America 00:17:31 Mr. B's Story Begins 00:19:07 Introduction to the Challenges of Living in Latin America 00:19:08 Poor Road Conditions and Navigation Issues 00:19:11 The Importance of GPS and Road Safety 00:19:13 Risks of Driving in Remote Areas 00:19:14 Lack of Maintenance and Road Safety Concerns 00:19:16 Poor Road Conditions and Truck Safety 00:19:18 The Business of Truck Hijacking in Latin America 00:19:20 The Struggle of Finding Work as an Expat 00:22:49 Mr. B's Unexpected Job Change 00:23:09 Mr. B's New Job and Earnings 00:23:50 Tax Advantages for Mr. B 00:24:25 Mr. B's Tax-Free Income 00:24:44 Mr. B's Potential Earnings 00:24:56 Bonus System and Increased Earnings 00:25:22 Requirements for the Job 00:25:57 Internet Requirements for Remote Work 00:27:00 Introduction to the Seminar and Crypto Mining Discussion 00:27:13 Promotion of the Exped Insider Seminar 00:27:23 Call to Action for Seminar Sign-Up 00:27:40 Promotion of Free Plan B Questionnaire 00:27:52 Promotion of 9-Hour Exped Essentials Course
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border, down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play And now as I wander Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live, work, play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good, the bad, the ugly and the great And it's all right here so let's get started You know I still get a lot of questions from newly arrived gringos and expats Who when they run into the ultra-poor, begging on the street Really want to dig in their pockets and fork over a buck or two I mean let's face it, the most givingest people in the world are Americans
[00:46] Look it up Turns out we're soft touches to the point of being sometimes dumbasses The fact is there are all kinds of first world people trekking through Latin America Germans, French, Spanish, Italians, Norwegians you name it But it's also true that the people that dig the deepest in their pockets are the Americans Man are we suckers for a hard luck story huh Which is why on the gringo tourist trail The beggars and panhandlers have figured out that's where the money is Because you know the fact is when you're way off the gringo tourist trail even in a giant city You only really see the occasional beggar or backpacker at a busy intersection Because they know when the light turns red they can come up to your car and well Stick out their hand Or shove a cup in your face And for beggars and panhandlers off the gringo tourist trail the pickings are rather poor
[01:32] Which is why you never see them in great numbers at all In fact that's a very good way to determine whether a place is truly on the gringo tourist trail or not Where there's throngs of them you know you're on the trail Where there's very few or none at all you can bet there are no gringos around either So keep an eye out for that The sly way to figure out if you're in a gringoized area is by the amount of beggars and panhandlers hanging around Especially by the way at airports or outside of airports Because security will never let them inside the terminals But once you've walked out of the airport and are on public street If within a minute or two someone comes up to you hat in hand Well you're most likely well on the gringo tourist trail You know that old saying no good deed goes unpunished I think that originated on the gringo tourist trail And there are so many more examples of it too
[02:19] Sure were soft touches for handouts Then there's the fact that we tip heavily At least by Latin American standards And that tends to drive a wedge between minimum wage workers For example working at factories versus people who work for tips in the tourist biz Which is why when you go to Costa Rica all the locals want to speak English to you They don't want to speak Spanish They want to improve their English so they can work in the tourist biz And take advantage of those gringo tips Which is why by the way it's a bad idea to go to Costa Rica Thinking you're going to learn your Spanish You won't Oh and another thing as gringos we're willing to pay more for things We're not a bartering culture So Latinos on the tourist trail learned a long time ago We will pay more without a gripe Which tends to drive up the cost of living in all areas
[03:07] Which brings me to an interesting little boots on the ground story Now you know as for me 95% of the time I'm way off the gringo tourist trail And although I'm usually out at my place steep in the coffee fields I'm still only about 15 minutes away from the Pan American highway Which is populated with medium and high-end gated subdivisions And all kinds of medium and high-end shopping centers and malls That means I'm close to the good the bad and the ugly in commercialism too You know Starbucks, Gold's Gym, Chuck E. Cheese Walmart, McDonald's, all that crap However I can walk around in those places for an entire day And never see a single gringo And funny enough never see a single person panhandling Begging or sleeping off a hangover in a ditch And you think that's where you'd find a lot of beggars and grifters
[03:53] I mean face it if you got a Starbucks in a mall That's where the money is right I mean you just look in the parking lot of the Starbucks in Latin America And you got bodyguards and entitled high school and college kids rolling in with their dad's high-end SUVs But the fact is middle class and wealthy Latins are not soft touches When it comes to beggars and grifters And they're very bad tippers too which is why In probably 99% of all the restaurants they'll add 10% to the bill as a tip Because if they didn't there'd be no such thing as a tip And we know that's not at all like gringo travelers For us it's bad form not to tip even if the service or the food wasn't so great Hey we've all been there I know the odd case the rare case Where we didn't tip because the service was crap We walk out of there or sometimes even gallop out of there
[04:41] Looking over your shoulder a bit stressed waiting for a confrontation you know Like we are the ones who've committed some kind of minor crime Hey I've been there Yep Latino service workers on the gringo tourist trail certainly have our number As do bums beggars and vagabonds By the way bums and vagabonds are called vagos down here that's V-A-G-O-S Vagos short for vagabondo which is vagabond So what you got up north by you guys up in Joy Z Milwaukee and Cleveland etc Is a culture of people who are accustomed to giving to the poor the needy any number of causes And even when big charity organizations are found to be corrupt like the Red Cross Or for example those scamming scumbags at United Way Though the scandals hit the papers for their 15 minutes of infamy
[05:29] A year goes by they come around to collect again and we give So the U.S. is by far the most generous country in the world and the biggest dupe too And other countries know that I mean look when there's a hurricane or earthquake or natural disaster Do the Germans or French or English or Japanese send in millions in care packages and aid? They might send a container or two but it's always a token gesture Do Russian, Swedish or Australian church groups scramble to send teams of nurses, doctors and do-gooders? Well maybe a small trickle here and there but nothing you can really count on Bits the gringos right? Hey nothing wrong with that I'm not knocking it All I'm saying is that the poor people of the world know this I mean look if you're a poor vagabond living on the street Wouldn't you rather set up shop in a gringo tourist area?
[06:15] Why not a nice clean high-end first world-like area populated by high-end wealthy Latinos? Well it's because they almost never dig into their pockets for tips or beggars and street people Which brings me to this related boots on the ground story that just happened the other day It started out something like this I was driving downtown in a big Latin city Pulled up to an intersection where they have a very long red light So naturally that's a choice spot for beggars and street performers and such Though again I have to point out there may be one or two beggars and two or three street performers But never a crowd of them Only what the traffic will bear because you know They're out there working to work in the corner that is And they're not going to be working that area if it didn't pay At least enough to get them through to the next day I guess
[07:02] Now you longtime listeners heard me saying past shows that I almost never give money to someone who just sticks their hand out Especially if they look pretty normal and halfway fit I won't even give them a second look and usually their method is to come up to your window And give it a tap and I'll just kind of roll the car forward a bit And they get the idea real quick that they're not going to get anything out of me However I can't tell you how many times I've had a gringo or expat Sitting shotgun with me and they're digging for change in their pocket Before the guy even taps out the window So I don't fight it who might argue it's their decision And if they want to give some dough to a guy fine And I will too if they're selling something All it's got to be is a stick of gum or a pencil or an eraser A couple of mints, a trojan or a glass eye Well maybe not a trojan or a glass eye
[07:50] Anyway when there's someone halfway fit standing there Sticking his hand in your face, selling nothing Forget about it Oh and let's not forget those guys you see kids Who sneak up and squirt water in your windshield And proceed to squeegee it away Then you're in kind of a dilemma They're actually doing something but you didn't ask them to do it And truthfully you don't have to give them anything Many people don't And you know what they don't push it And when they're done walk over to your window But they'll only stand there a second No tapping or prodding or anything If no dough is forthcoming They'll just move on to the next car No hard feelings So sometimes depending on what the kid looks like How scruffy looking Or if he's a happy nice smiley guy You know doesn't look angry
[08:35] I'll give him something And they're always happy to get whatever you give him Funny though some beggars They just look angry And I'm thinking man whatever kind of work you're in Even if you're a beggar Especially if you're a beggar You gotta put on a happy face At least be nice to people That's what I think Of course I'm not the expert right? So anyway I was at the street corner At this long red light And expect gringo with me riding shotgun A guy who's been down here five or six years now So he knows this gorgeous like I do In other words his eyes are wide open And he doesn't fall for much So anyway we're stuck at this long red light And at least at this intersection Occasionally they have some pretty excellent street performers Some of the stuff they do man They'd never allow that up in the first world And you know even in the street performer business There's lots of competition
[09:21] That is competition for the best intersections Like this one Longest lights Most traffic Man those are the choice spots I know that corner I've been past it many times And hey there was a new guy on the block And man this guy had a gig You couldn't take your eyes off him He's about thirty years old Skinny There he was Standing in the crosswalk Holding a kid Tight to his chest With his left arm I'd say the kid was about a year and a half And with his right hand He was juggling four oranges Think about it Then you listeners Know how to juggle I mean most people If you practice a little bit Can juggle two Or maybe three With two hands of course And he's juggling four With one hand But this guy's not only straight juggling He's doing tricks Bouncing balls off the street
[10:07] Off his head Off of his foot Even off the kid Not missing a beat Then you get this He stows the four oranges And then pulls out two machetes And he starts juggling two machetes With one hand All the while holding the kid With the other arm I said to my buddy Woah check it out If anybody deserves a few nickels There he is I'd say definitely This guy was Cirque du Soleil material You know that's the history of Cirque du Soleil right? Most of them are Or were street performers And they were so good They got scouted Then my passenger said Cirque du Soleil I don't think so Johnny Don't think he'd make the cut He said Have a look at his left arm And sure enough He didn't have a hand It was lopped off below the wrist All he had was a stub
[10:53] And then my oh so cynical gringle passenger He's even more cynical than I am He said The guy's talented alright But how do you know He didn't borrow that kid for a fact You know for the sympathy angle Makes his act all that more appealing right? Who's to say But we did dig deep for that guy And who knows Perhaps That's how he lost his hand In those first few dangerous hours When a person first starts juggling machetes Haven't you ever wondered What the learning curve is on Knife and machete juggling? I mean you know what they say To become an absolute expert at anything It takes around 10,000 hours right? I say forget about the 10,000 hours With machete juggling It's the first 20 minutes That separate the men from the boys Or maybe the hand from the wrist
[11:40] And then my friend said Willpower and cojones, Johnny That's what it takes Willpower and cojones But you know you have to admire that guy even more Because you know Missing a hand like that Well that in itself is enough to garner enough sympathy To collect a lot of dough at a street corner I mean come on Who are you going to give your money to? The guy begging Who's got all his limbs Or the guy begging Who's missing a hand No brainer right? Then Me and my buddy got to talking And we both said If I had a business I'd want to hire that guy And not just for running errands and stuff I mean look Who knows what that guy's capable of And how far he could go He just needs a chance An opportunity Then again maybe he makes a lot more on the street Than he ever could make Working for somebody in a legit job
[12:26] Who knows huh? Anyway the point is There are a lot of smart, skilled, motivated people here in Latin America They may not be educated But they're everywhere And they're eminently trainable So keep that in mind If you come down and are thinking about Opening a business Now speaking of gringos coming down Who need to have a business or need to work Here's a boots on the ground story That not only has a happy ending But just might have a lot of relevance for you If you need to have a job Once you get down here to Latin America So listen up Alright let me preface this by saying I get tons of email from people saying Johnny I don't know what I'm going to do If I get down to Latin America Start my plan B and can't get A job or a business going Because you know the fact is Most people come in here to Latin America
[13:11] Unless they're retired and get a pension Nor Social Security Have a budget and a reserve And it's only going to last so long Some people have enough to last a year Or 6 months or 2 years or 5 years Depending on your lifestyle of course You can estimate that Based on the cost of living here But nevertheless I'd say Half the people that come down say Johnny I've only got enough money to last me X amount of years So I'm going to need to find something Get a job or find a niche whatever Now for those people and you might be one of them I'm sure you're busy working the numbers all the time And of course there's always fear of the unknown There is that anxiety even fear factor When people only have a small next egg And they're thinking As they get down here and the clock's ticking Oh boy Gotta find a way to make money No one wants to go back to the States or Canada
[13:57] With their tail between their legs So the emails come in saying Johnny I have to make the break I have to get that plan B going But I also need to have a job or a niche And depending on the person Sometimes they've got lots of wiggle room there And sometimes not so much Now you long time listeners have heard me say Over and over again There are two dead easy jobs you can get right away To tide you over for as long as you need Until you find that niche Or maybe one of those two jobs is satisfactory It's enough Like for example An English teaching job at a helicopter school Lots of gringos have settled into that career And been there for years However they are full time jobs And you gotta go to work Drive and get into traffic Or even worse Take the chicken bus So the fact is And it's well known That any native English speaker
[14:44] Even with sketchy credentials Can get a job almost in a flash As an English teacher at a helicopter school Or at one of those famous soul depleting call centers And the starting pay Depending which school Which country Which call center Anywhere from about five hundred dollars a month To a thousand bucks a month So if a gringo or expat comes down And has no idea how to make money A call center job Or English teacher job at a helicopter school Could tide you over nicely Or maybe I shouldn't say nicely Cause five hundred to a thousand bucks a month Well you have to live kind of frugally Because as I've said many times before A single person Living on your average social security check Of maybe fourteen or fifteen hundred bucks a month Now that's middle class living down here Middle class first world style And we're talking about an English teacher
[15:31] Or a call center job Making between five hundred and a thousand a month So I'm not saying you can't live decently on that down here But you have to scale down Let's put it this way Chances are you won't be living in a gated, guarded community Or high rise residential tower Not if you're living on less than a thousand bucks a month Sure you could be living in a nice little subdivision But it won't be gated So ideally to live the first world life down here I'd say you have to budget maybe fifteen hundred dollars a month Which is poverty wages up in the states You'll be eating cat food Of course I hear lately there's a lot of good recipes For cat food popping up on the internet But who wants to go there? So again if you absolutely have to get a job right away You've got those two options And as mentioned the dough you make is limited But what if you could have a job Sit in front of your computer at home Making really good money
[16:16] At least really good money for Latin America Well you hear all kinds of stories About people making money on the internet And doing well So how do you get a piece of that? Supposedly you could do that anywhere in the world Including Latin America right? But there's always a chance it won't work It takes an investment generally Some kind of course or training you gotta buy into right? And still there's no guarantees So it's true there are all kinds of niches To make money on the internet But generally you have to be your own boss You gotta do everything Again no guarantees Well you know that's how it's been up to now anyway right? Which is why I just have to tell you this story Because now guess what? Another job niche has opened up here in Latin America Pretty much strictly for gringles and expats And believe me when you hear how this plays out I'm thinking hundreds even thousands of you listeners out there are gonna say
[17:03] You gotta be kidding Where do I sign? I want a piece of that And this is late breaking stuff again It came just by hook and crook That's how things happen down here Serendipity they call it right? And it's best told through true life Boots on the ground story Here's how the story goes You know I do a lot of phone consults With people looking to get that plan B going And as mentioned many say they have to eventually get a job Or find a niche to make some money Well a little over a year ago I did a phone consult With a man I'll call Mr. B He won't mind me telling his story Because I'm not telling you his name But you'll find that out and you'll meet him If you come to my expat insider seminar Anyway he said Johnny I just got to get out of the States Me and my family living in a big city In a kind of ghettoized area We just got to get out
[17:49] And you know he and his wife are people Who are into health fitness And they homeschool their kids too So man they're on the right track Anyway he's a very smart guy But not college educated He's around 40 something With his wife in her 30s And he made a living as a long distance truck driver But he had little or no savings But that didn't stop him He said I'm going to get that plan B going And I'm going to make the move anyway I'll find something So before I ever connected with him at all He told me the story of how He left the States a couple years ago With his wife and kids They moved to Panama Thinking that was the latest And greatest place to go with their plan B They sold everything Moved there And found out it was not the place to be After about 4 months or so He couldn't find work or a niche And the rents like he said And the cost of living comparatively high
[18:36] Just like I'd mentioned in past shows So defeated and pretty much broke They moved back to the States But Mr. B is not the kind of guy to give up Back up in the States The wheels were turning And he found my show Did a couple of phone consults with me Decided to give it another try Came down to Guatemala this time Now being an experienced truck driver He was looking for that same kind of gig Down in Guatemala Oh yeah, this is a truck driver's paradise Unfortunately, there's a couple of big problems For one, Mr. B speaks almost zero Spanish Two, as you heard me mention I think it was in last week's show The signs and streets are not well marked at all So you need a really good GPS And maybe that won't even help If you're out in the boonies And three, there's little or no maintenance down here And many of the trucks are not roadworthy Four, the roads are not well lit at night
[19:23] And of course, there are a lot of terribly bad roads Especially out in the boonies Tremendous potholes And then you've got those gigantic tumelos You know, speed bumps Anyway, for a truck driver Used to driving in the first world On decent roads Driving good trucks And people actually obeying traffic laws Well, the thought of making a living As a truck driver down here Could be a scary proposition Not to mention here in Latin America There's a business in truck hijacking, you know Why not? That can happen when the cops are basically useless And sit on their dead asses all day So a year or so ago He and his family came down Hooked up with one of the expat concierge ladies I told you about You know, they can spot out things for you Doctors, lawyers, neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, rentals Get you going on insurance, internet, utilities
[20:10] They can set you up with just about anything you need And take you around That's why it's called the expat concierge service Anyway He got on board with one of the concierge ladies Found a nice, cheap place to live And he and his family have been there for about a year or so Meanwhile, he needs a job And is pretty much open to anything I kept saying, you know, Mr. B, you're gonna find your niche You just have to keep your eyes open Now remember, he's a smart guy But he's not necessarily an entrepreneurial type Though he could be, easily But like most people from the States He's used to working for somebody Nothing wrong with that But you know what they say The real money is when you're the boss And you're not working for the man Because you are the man Or these days, would that be the lady? Or the person? Wait a minute, that doesn't sound right
[20:55] Working for the lady? Oh man, enough with that PC stuff already Yeah, remember that song, Proud Mary? What if the lyrics were PC? I'll try it, here it goes Left a good job down in the city Working for the lady Or how about working for the person every night and day Oh please Imagine if every song had to be PC Hey, that's not such a stretch, you know Man, am I glad I'm living here in Latin America I know, I know, I digress, as usual But you do hear about internet jobs working for the man That take little or no skill that make a ton of money for people Or at least a pretty good living But how do you find those jobs? And how do you qualify? Well, you always have to remember that living up in the States
[21:41] Being offered a job for 10 or 15 bucks an hour Might be an insult to you And at that you'd have a hard time making rent But here in Latin America, 10 or 15 bucks an hour Well, let me continue with the story Now, get this, in the meantime While Mr. B's looking for a job here in Latin America His wife being a certified cosmetologist from up in the States Suddenly, she starts developing a clientele With the ladies in her new Latin neighborhood Then, about a month ago, I got an email from Mr. B saying Johnny, we gotta talk He said, I'm smiling, I'm happy, I found my niche And guess what? If you know of any other expats Sir Gringo's living down here We're looking to make a real nice living Let me know Cause man, this is exactly what I've been looking for And I'm sure, it'll come in real handy for other expats
[22:28] Who just haven't found their niche yet Then he said to me, cause he's such a nice guy Johnny, I'll hook him up So I had a little meeting with him yesterday And here's what I found out Now, a lot of times, you find your niche by hook and crook Like I said, most people up in the States have a definite idea Before they even come down They've got an idea of what they're gonna do I'll tell ya, 95% of the time it does not work that way You find something completely different And like Mr. B said, he never thought in a million years He'd be doing what he's doing now And it sure beats the hell out of truck driving, he says Crazy or yet, he says the job came to him He did not go looking for it Now, get this After starting his new job Just about a month and a half ago, he says now
[23:14] He's working about 12 hours a week And making around $900 a month In fact, he says he makes $18 and change an hour That's mega dough here in Latin America Remember, minimum wage in most Latin countries is between $10 and $15 a day So he makes your standard high Latin American Daily minimum wage in one hour And sitting at home in front of his computer So he's got no transportation costs And since he's doing this online from his house in Guatemala And gets paid by a company outside of Guatemala That means he pays no taxes Because Guatemala, like most other Latin countries, Does not tax income from a foreign source That is the only tax income you make
[23:59] That comes from a Guatemalan source And remember, if you live outside the U.S. You're a resident in a foreign country As long as your income comes from a non-U.S. source As in Mr. B's case You qualify for that foreign earned income exemption And you pay no U.S. tax either You longtime listeners have heard me mention that before So you can make up to around $105,000 And pay zero U.S. tax on it As long as it's not earned from a U.S. source In short, Mr. B pays no taxes on his $18 an hour job Oh, and Mr. B says the average person working for that company And there are other companies just like it too Work around 25 hours a week, that's the norm And Mr. B projects in the next month or two He'll be up to about 25 hours a week Just like everyone else That's $1,800 a month
[24:46] Just sitting at home But that's not all He says the company, and there's more than one as mentioned Has a bonus system And the bonuses are not trivial He says they're equal to your hourly pay So he says soon his bonuses will kick in And he'll be making not $18 an hour But $36 an hour Again, totally tax free Now if you want the complete scoop from the horse's mouth You'll get it in person if you signed up for my July 2018 Exped insider seminar Because Mr. B is going to be there and tell us exactly how it's done So what's the catch? Well there really is no catch You just have to be able to speak gringo English And have a decent internet connection That's it Now get this You'd think they'd want you to have a college degree But that's not necessary
[25:32] And at first Mr. B thought that would be a deal breaker But that wasn't the case Now because he had no college They sent him a test He took it and passed It's all about being able to speak proper English So it looks to me that this new money-making option Is far better than working at a mind-numbing call center Or teaching English at a helicopter school And for many reasons too Oh and about what you'll need for internet All they require is that you have a 10 megabyte or better connection Which is no problem here in Latin America, not these days All the telephone companies and service providers are offering 30 megs or better So you'll see Mr. B at the seminar He'll explain the whole process and answer your questions And he'll be glad to hook you up By the way, this show is first going out on May 25th
[26:20] If you sign up for my Exped Insider seminar You'll still get in on those early bird discounts Which end on June 1st So we'll have plenty of surprises at the seminar as usual As well as the famous Bitcoin Dan He'll be there to give a presentation For everyone who wants the up-to-the-minute report On what's happened in the crypto world And of course here are all of Dan's opinions and projections As well as his crypto investment picks and pans And of course also back by popular demand We'll have Exped Oscar, the cryptocurrency mining expert Talk about early adopters He was mining cryptocurrency so early in the game That when he started there was only one crypto Bitcoin And that's what he was mining And since then he's branched out into dozens of other coins and mining setups
[27:05] So you'll hear from Oscar, the present state of crypto mining And his personal picks and pans And that's just a small part of the fire hose You'll be drinking from at my week-long Exped Insider seminar Starting on Saturday, July 7th, around five weeks from now So for all the details and sign-up info Just go to www.thenewexped.com and click on Johnny's seminar link You still got time to get in on the early bird discounts They end on June 1st, you know You've been listening to The Exped Files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own Plan B You can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me But first, download my free Plan B questionnaire at www.thenewexped.com Better yet, if you want to get your Plan B going from right up there in the States Just sign-up for my 9-hour Exped Essentials course
[27:52] Get the perfect Plan B blueprint by going to www.theexpedfinals.com slash academy No spamos