#1011 – The Expat Files: Water Safety, DIY Solutions, and Bitcoin for Expats

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 up to play and now that I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 All right. We've got a very interesting email from Carvin. See a rvn. Oh, and by the way, I'm using this new microphone I mentioned a couple of shows ago. I think I've got it adjusted fairly good now. Haven't had any complaints yet

[00:46] Except someone said it's a little bassy. Let me know send me an email the expat files at gmail Dot-com. Anyway, Carvin says Johnny. My plan B is in high gear I hope to be out of Dodge by the time the vaccine is mandatory then I'll be somewhere in Central America Probably Guatemala though. I'm not taking the vaccine unless airlines force me into it And like you said Johnny in an earlier show that probably won't come till mid summer I've read that Qantas Airlines out of Australia has already said they're gonna force vaccines on everyone or you just can't fly So that news got my plan beyond steroids and I'll be out of here well before summer time was hoping to make it down to your January seminar, but I just can't I'll be at your summer one if you have one aside from that

[01:34] I want to tell you about a coincidence. We have a Chicago connection. Here's the coincidental part Johnny I work or worked for 23 years in the Cook County, Illinois Water department in the Midwest all the cities that surround the Great Lakes get their drinking water from one of the Great Lakes Lake Michigan in the case of Chicago. So Johnny working at the very entity that supplies all the drinking water for Chicago I'm totally on board with you being finicky about drinking tap water I don't drink it and none of my colleagues and there are dozens of us in the lab Drink the water straight from the tap. We all purify our own a lot of us have Berkey filters, which are really expensive British alternatives to the filter you talk about using and the one you put together and have a

[02:24] Report you've been given out and you're right glass and stainless steel are the only way to store your water Unless of course you're continuously making it in real time and then you drink it But to store it even in the refrigerator You should be using stainless steel or glass all of us guys in the department and chemists know that plastic is Continuously getting into the water. Don't be fooled just because a bottle or plastic says free of BPA The chemical Bisphenol a that's been shown to accumulate in people's bodies and decrease sperm counts, etc The alternatives are not as safe as you think and if you work intimately with water like I have for the last 22 years There is little something that comes up that the average water drinker even bottled water drinker that never even crosses their minds

[03:11] And I'm sure it's even more of an issue in Latin America than it is here in the States I'm talking about when people wash their dishes Everyone washes them with water out of the tap then they set them out to dry That's where the problem lies because when water evaporates it leaves behind all the solid Particulates and solubles, so there's always a microscopically thin layer of particles and contaminants on your forks and knives, etc And though you may have used chlorinated water and detergents, etc There is a microscopic layer of impurities and you're gonna ingest some of that every time you use your utensils So what's the answer? What's the solution? Well, it's a pretty easy one though It's not the most obvious solution and to some seems like overkill suppose you want a drink of water You grab a cup you put pure water in it

[03:58] Well, if it's a cup around the house you washed and tap water and let dry The microscopic crud that it's accumulated on the surfaces of a cup is Redissolved in the pure water and you end up drinking it So the obvious but impractical solution would be to wash everything with purified water Impractical because of the volumes of pure water that you'll need imagine if you have an automatic dishwasher you have to hook it up then to your purified water system and No home water purification system. I know of has that kind of flow the volume the gallons per minute. So here's what I do Here's the hack I wash my dishes in the sink with tap water and I rinse them with my purified water that comes out of a spigot That's mounted alongside the sink though. That means your water purification system can't come out and dribbles and drops

[04:46] It's gonna have a pretty good flow or else you'd be standing around Rinsing dishes all day. So then what about when you have dinner at other people's houses or restaurants and hotels, etc Well, you're stuck you're on your own, but you know, everything in this world is about concentration and exposure So if you only go to a restaurant once or twice a week and 90% or more of the meals you eat Alright home where you do things properly. Well, it's like being exposed to anything toxic It's all about the concentration and the frequency after all every time you walk out of the house You've got no control of what you're breathing in pollen dust diesel and car fumes But once back in the house you have a lot more control over the situation like having an inexpensive HEPA filter You talked about that in a previous show Johnny There are a lot of good ones out there for around a hundred bucks though now that I've opened that particular can of worms

[05:36] There's something else about water. People never consider the actual cooking of food in water It's a fact that almost everyone uses tap water to cook. Do you know of anyone who uses ultra pure water to cook? I do but it's like one out of a thousand. Well, Johnny That's one to think about for a while because obviously whatever nasty chemicals and pollutants are in your water are gonna get infused into Your food when you cook with and yes, I know you can get carried away with all this stuff You can get carried away with anything but at least we have great water purifier systems and the means and the knowledge to minimize it you like everything else it can't be Avoided completely nor should we want to some exposure to contaminants is necessary to gear up your immune system Especially when you're younger, so maybe it's not such a good thing that kids today

[06:22] Don't get muddy playing sandboxes and eat dirt, but I'm digressing Johnny My point is to say you need a good purifier in your house And you should rinse your dishes right away with pure water And if you think I'm eccentric you think I'm going overboard you think I'm an alarmist well 22 years in a big city water department lab will do that to you signed carbon All right carbon there doesn't seem much I can add to that Except to say if you want the plans for my own under counter three-stage water purification system Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com so again, it's three filters three stages first one being a particulate filter the second a Ceramic cartridge filter that's impregnated with silver. That's the expensive cartridge

[07:08] But it can last a lifetime if you take care of it nicely because it's renewable and finally stage number three a carbon block filter Solid carbon takes out the chlorine most of the fluoride and all the thousands of nasty organic Chemicals that are in today's water supplies. It's the system I have under my sink in the kitchen, and it's somewhat portable too if you're moving to another place It's got its own faucet spigot and the water flow is pretty fast It comes out in a stream about a quarter-inch wide and fast enough to fill a gallon of water in about 30 seconds Of course after about six months or so the stream starts diminishing, but that's your signal to clean or change the filters So anyway if you want my complete plans and diagrams and photos of my own system One that you could surely put together yourself even if you're a mediocre do-it-yourselfer for under a hundred bucks

[07:58] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com Alright, let's take the second part of Frankie's email about the epoxy we talked about that I think two shows ago This will be of interest to you because you're gonna use this stuff all the time I find a million and one uses for this double a barrel epoxy myself He says dear Johnny your November 27th show you talked about two barrel epoxy Which is good for gluing things together, and it's highly durable Unfortunately you didn't mention a particular brand available in Guatemala or Central America I tried a brief search online however some people have negative reviews for the brand Lactite which is sold down here and even the US brand gorilla epoxy has some bad reviews What available brands do you recommend Johnny something that'll bond plastic wood steel and concrete all right Frankie?

[08:47] I guess you could say I'm kind of an expert on epoxy. I use it all the time plus in various construction jobs I've even used the industrial grade stuff where you get to Work cans of this stuff, and that's your two parts you mixing together in and within 10 minutes, man It's rock-solid, but I'll tell you the limitations of this stuff You can't bond concrete forget about it You could try and it won't last if it takes any pressure or stress on it, and this is really important You can't use epoxy anywhere. It's gonna get warm or hot and I've noticed on Amazon You talk about the reviews about Gorilla double epoxy and various other double barrel epoxies Almost all the negative reviews come from people who used it beyond its limits like I said never for a concrete Never when it's subjected to heat talking about something in over 120 degrees

[09:35] Let's say because then it'll get a bit soft and lose its strength So pretty much any double barrel or two-part epoxy is okay even the generic brands in fact There's one in Latin America. I use all the time. It's called Poxypol p-o-x-i-p-o-l. It's a two-part epoxy. It comes in tubes though It's not a combined double barrel unit where you just press the plunger you got to actually mix it together The stuff is clear, and it's very strong cheap as dirt Too comes in various sizes to the smallest being somewhat like a tiny tube of toothpaste And you know for small repairs like a ceramic knick-knack let's say or two pieces of plastic to mend I just squeeze a little bit out of each one on a piece of paper and use toothpick to mix it and use that same toothpick to apply it and then you just cap off the tubes and

[10:25] They're good for a year or two before they start drying and hardening up in the tube But that's to be expected just like a paint can that's been opened by the way the headphones I've been using their Plantronics headphones are about 200 bucks a pair well about six months ago I ended up sitting on them and I broke the plastic support band that goes over the top of your head and connects the two ear Pieces thankfully though the wires inside were not damaged, but now I'd never be able to use them again So went into my junk drawer pulled out my double barreled epoxy Fused the two broken pieces of plastic together waited a couple hours till the joint was good and hard and then laid another Double coating on top of it, and I've been using those things ever since not a problem They're as solid as can be though. I do have my fingers crossed

[11:13] Oh, and here's a really neat trick if you've opened a paint can seal it And you want the remnants in that cans to still be good after a few years well Here's what you do before you close up the paint can you take a piece of saran wrap or clear plastic wrap and Seal it over the top you put the lid back on you seal it nice and tight Maybe whack it a few times with a hammer Then you store it your paint can on your shelf or counter whatever upside down Can you picture that now? I've used this method a lot. I'll tell you what I've had old paint in a can last five even ten years like that so keep that in mind as for your own paint jobs Well try that little trick, and you'll be glad you did oh and one last really important trick If you're moving here to Latin America whether you're buying a house or renting you will I guarantee you

[12:02] Want to fill your walls with mirrors paintings shelves etc But it ain't that easy you have to understand It's not like in the states where you have stick wood construction. We're talking cement walls here So you'll have to have some concrete bits and a hammer drill could be a cheap drill with a hammer function But you'll need it and then of course in a cement wall You'll put plastic anchors and then put your screw in right to hold up the picture or whatever well Here's the problem folks if you just whack a plastic anchor in a hole you've drilled in a wall It's pretty much a guarantee especially if the thing's heavy that in a year, so it'll come loose I'm sure you've experienced the same thing up north if you've ever had to drill a hole and hang something in a cement or block Wall, but there is a cheap and dirty solution to that anchor getting loose problem

[12:47] You can with one simple stuff make that anchor last more than your lifetime Just buy a tube of liquid nails or equivalent it comes in various sizes And I never buy the small tubes You know the ones that look like toothpaste tubes because once you use those things once and put them in a drawer They're solid in a month It's almost impossible to use what's left in the rest of the tube for another repair job But if you buy a caulk gun size tube, so you'll need a three dollar caulk gun, too So you buy a caulk size tube of liquid nails or equivalent for three or four bucks Then right after you drill your hole in that cement or block wall you blow out the dust best way to do that With a straw, yep a drinking straw Just stick a straw in that hole blow and you'll get all the dust out of course

[13:33] It'll blow in your face a minor inconvenience That's what you're gonna do then you'll squirt a dab of liquid nails or equivalent in that hole and then pound your anchor in Of course that means you'll have to wait a couple hours or even overnight Before you put the screw in the anchor to hold up whatever you're holding up, but once it does man It's bonded that anchor to your wall permanently, but don't forget to blow the dust out of the hole first That's important. So what I do is I take a plastic straw. Those are illegal now, right? They'll put you in jail in California if you're caught with one. Hey Juanito, what you in for? Oh Manslutter, how about you doing five years man got caught by the plastic straw police. Oh No, chit fato tough break. Don't you just hate putting paper straws in your mouth, man?

[14:22] What's the world coming to gives me the willies? Yeah. Anyway, I just take one of those generic jumbo straws That's got ribs on it. You know the type you can put a band or a kink in I know I know plastic straws are illegal now But you should be able to get them on the black market or from your neighborhood crack dealer Anyway, if you can get a hold of that kind of contraband you can do what I do I blow out the dust every time I drill a hole in a cement block or concrete wall The other problem is that we often over drill those holes so that plastic anchor is sloppy in there, right? I know it's a crappy feeling but don't despair all is not lost The cool thing is that liquid nails will take care of that problem nicely once it hardens man. It's dead rock-solid Oh and another great hack or trick if your anchor is sloppy in the hole

[15:08] Take a toothpick or two. Yeah again with the toothpicks and jam one or two of them in alongside the anchor Oh, and by the way all the decent contractors guys who build houses and apartments and office buildings here in Latin America They're always drilling holes and walls and putting anchors in them for various things and when they have to put in a big anchor It's a metal one and not a plastic one. Sometimes they use those expansion anchors You know, it's a metal job and yeah whack it with a big heavy hammer and it expands into the hole that you just drill Yet even those and that's a great idea Will end up getting loose over time that's why the good contractors down here will have some of that epoxy on hand or a Tube of liquid nails and do exactly as I mentioned before because they know better

[15:55] They don't want callbacks a year or two later When that deck they built in the backyard and attached to a concrete wall starts pulling away and loosening up you get the picture So when I say double barrel epoxy, I just mean two part epoxy It could be two bottles or a syringe with two barrels built into it. You can go on Amazon They've got dozens of two part systems, but they sell it in large quantities, which is overkill for home use They sell it by the quart half gallon and gallons. You won't put a dent in that unless you plan on living 200 years Anyway, I just thought I'd say way too much about the subject because you will run into that problem I guarantee you like I said the walls down here are not wood 2x4 construction They're cement concrete and block you need to know how to deal with it

[16:43] And you don't want to have to call a carpenter or a stonemason Every time you want to hang a shelf or put up a bathroom cabinet Not that it would cost you an arm and a leg like it would up in the States if you called somebody in It won't it probably cost you 20 bucks problem is this is Latin America And if the carpenter says he'll be here tomorrow morning at 8 all that really means is you'll have to stay home all day Tomorrow and probably the day after too cuz he's not gonna show up at 8 not tomorrow Alright now you remember a couple of shows go I talked about the problems you might have at the airport if you have some medical equipment to bring with you while you're traveling Hey people have all kinds of devices these days, you know sleep apnea machines insulin pumps Stephen Hawking autographed wheelchairs Anyway, our expat insider repeat offender Jen send us a nice list last time that we highlighted

[17:32] However, there are a few additional points worth mentioning if you're gonna bring any medical equipment with you Number one, it must be packed separately from your regular baggage For two reasons to prevent people from taking advantage of the fact that medical equipment is being flown for free Airlines do that, you know But some people try to piggyback on that and if you get caught you'll be paying for an extra bag Which is at least a hundred bucks and as Jen says don't try to be slick and add a t-shirt or an extra pair of socks Or underwear in the case with your medical stuff the moment that happens the airlines have every right to charge you for an extra bag Hey, I know about extra charges for bags and strange stuff I've had to pay a hundred bucks here and there to bring amplifiers and guitars with me on airplanes And of course if it's over the weight limit, I think it's something like 45 pounds now

[18:21] You'll pay an extra charge, which is usually the extra bag fee to have a hundred bucks or so Plus and this has happened to me They send you to another part of the airport To pay for that overweight or extra bag and sometimes there's a line It could take 20 minutes a half hour even an hour to get that extra bag processed And by then your flight may have timed out and then you'd be so well that happened to me once I think it was in Costa Rica. Oh and another thing Jen tells us that sometimes TSA will want to inspect your equipment Sometimes I'll take the whole thing apart and there's nothing you can do about it And they may not be able to get it back together correctly and also and this is important include in your bag of medical equipment a letter from your doctor stating the reason why you need this stuff and a manual for

[19:08] the medical equipment to because sometimes TSA will question you as to why you have this stuff and your easiest answer is just to show them the letter and then You're on your way and the other reason to have the manual is so that TSA if they take it apart We'll have a guide as to how to put it back together And it stands to reason you want to have a hard copy of the manual sure you can pull it up on your cell phone But that's not quite adequate why because the screen is so small it could be a pain to read and not only that you might Not have internet or access to the website where the manuals located when you need it So you have to kind of assume those TSA guys and government slugs have below average IQs Seems to me though. I could be wrong the IQ of most government workers is inversely proportional to their net weight with two notable

[19:56] Exceptions being Bush jr. And Biden have you noticed the massive expansion of the size girth and spread of airport workers in the last Let's say 20 years Most look like heart attacks waiting to happen and you want to trust these guys with your health care system Anyway as more and more people travel with medical equipment. You're gonna need to know that stuff Oh, and by the way, I'm sure most of you out there are taking vitamins and supplements And when you're traveling you want to bring that stuff with you and believe me if you're taking five or ten different things You don't want to bring five or ten different bottles. Do you so here's what I do I lined my bottles up on the counter. I take photos of them real photos. I have them in my phone gallery I don't have to look them up on a website Then I take an empty vitamin bottle and I put a new label on it with tape

[20:42] I scribble the names of all the pills in the capsules on that tape I calculate how many I'll need for the trip I throw them in there and thus I have one bottle with all my vitamins and supplements in it And I bring that with me on the plane in my carry-on luggage And you know some airlines these days charge you for stored luggage So if you can get away with just having a carry-on piece of luggage, you can save 50 or 100 bucks So anyway, you can bring your vitamins and supplements on the plane with you, but of course not massive quantities They'll stop you for sure just enough for your trip. Oh and do avoid bringing powders with you Now I take some powders like vitamin C and magnesium and I also have them in a capsule form Those are the ones I take with me on trips. The powdered stuff is for home

[21:27] Oh, and don't forget TSA and other government slugs really jump on you If you try to bring liquids on board the plane, so skip liquid vitamins or supplements unless you have a prescription So for a trip just bring pills and capsules and label them like I do However, the rules are much more relaxed if you put your vitamins and supplements in your stowed luggage they almost never say a thing even if you've got powders and liquids as long as you have them marked and they're not in Gigantic quantities and so far and I travel a lot No one's messed with me, but I make sure I never bring any powders with me Don't want to push my luck Alright now just a few words to long-time listeners out there who say That you don't think your money's gonna last when you finally get down here to Latin America You'll have a little nest egg, but you think you'll have to work find a job or a niche eventually

[22:16] Well, I don't want to say I told you so I don't want to sound like a pompous ass But I know lots and lots of you listeners have been with me from the very start of this program a little over 10 years Now and I'm sure you remember way back in late 2013 about seven years ago now. I mentioned this stuff on the air on the show called Bitcoin I mentioned it because I'm continuously getting emails from people saying Johnny What are expats and gringos doing to secure their future? Since we all know the US and the worldwide fiat system is technically bankrupt and can't last so in 2013 I first mentioned Bitcoin as something very smart and astute gringos and expats were starting to get involved in So how did I hear about it? Well from some very brilliant techies that came down to my early seminars

[23:04] So it was 300 bucks a coin in 2013 when I first mentioned it Meanwhile, I'd continuously get emails from people asking what are gringos and expats investing in so then I mentioned it again in 2014 when it was around 600 bucks Then in 2015 it dropped down to around 200 something and people sent me emails saying Johnny. Haha. It's a scam It's a Ponzi scheme then came 2017 and I mentioned it again when it was around 1200 bucks and people still hit me up with emails saying Johnny. It's fantasy. It's air. It's backed by nothing Yeah, right like the US dollar ain't and then suddenly it shot to the moon hit almost 20,000 bucks and just as quickly took a dump all the way down to a little over

[23:50] 23,000 bucks for a while and people said Johnny. It's too volatile. I'll never get into that stuff It's dead, but I didn't back off. I said be patient. That's what all my brainy tech friends were saying People a lot smarter than me people I know personally were saying be patient hang in there Wait all the world of non techies catches on to this and they will in fact I remember during some of my seminars back then after meeting and hearing Bitcoin Dan and Oscar Miner give their Presentations on crypto quite a few people during seminar breaks bought some Bitcoin between 1200 and around 2,000 bucks now I don't know if they were patient and held on to it But if they did they caught a tiger by the tail and now that it's back up to all-time highs around 18 in 20,000 bucks. Well, I've been getting a steady trickle of emails from those same people

[24:40] Telling me that never ever in their lives Did they have an investment that earned them ten to twenty times their initial investment? Now, you know the rule of sevens, of course, right? That means if you will have a hundred bucks, let's say in an interest-bearing account of seven percent It takes roughly seven years to double your money. That's the rule of sevens So let me ask you this. Where can you find an investment that pays seven percent a year? Well, you won't get it with the traditional stuff bank CDs or treasuries. They're all around one percent Oh and have you heard the rule of 72? That's also a good little trick to know How that works is you take the interest you're making per year on a CD or bank account Whatever and you divide it into 72 and that tells you how many years it will take for you to roughly double your money

[25:29] For example, if you've got a hundred bucks in an account at 3% you divide 72 by 3 and you get 24 years to double your money. So if you've got a CD at 1% You divide 72 by 1 it takes 72 years to double your money at 1% interest, of course in the first year or two inflation will eat you right up So even if your money doubles in 72 years, it won't be worth dick But you knew that already right so you might ask now that bitcoins that it's all-time high again Will it dump again or go to the moon? Well, the word from all those techy guys smarter than I am is be patient and you will be well rewarded Even at today's prices they are talking about within the next year or two another Gigantic leap into the stratosphere because the big investment houses are seeing the dollar crash

[26:19] And they've got to make a certain return on their money or their clients will be really pissed and leave them And the thing is for the last 10 years Bitcoin has outperformed every single asset class Spectacularly, in fact, it's very minute as I record this show 97% of all the people who ever bought Bitcoin in its 11 years of existence are in the black now They're in the money even the people who bought at the extreme top in 2017. Now, of course, this is not investment advice I'm just telling you what some of the smartest people I know are saying in doing so you can either put your faith in them Or put your faith in the idiot politicians government Economists and the Fed who got us in to this huge financial Ponzi scheme Fiat funny money mess Wait a minute. I forgot it. Totally slipped my mind

[27:06] Biden will fix everything right and you know why I know that's true Just look at how many fantastic and amazing things he accomplished in his 47 years as a senatorial and vice presidential swamp creature I hope everyone's happy now cuz you know, you get the government you deserve man. Am I glad I got the hell out of dodge By the way, how's your plan be coming? Just saying You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan be we can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week long expat Insider seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B

[27:54] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com. No spamos