Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores various aspects of life as an expat in Latin America. He begins by introducing the podcast and its focus on expatriate life in the region. The segment then delves into a recent tax information exchange agreement between Argentina and the United States, which aims to combat tax evasion and promote transparency. Johnny expresses skepticism about the agreement, suggesting it may be more about recovering lost tax revenues than genuine cooperation. He also references Doug Casey, an individual who promotes living in Argentina, and questions his current stance on the country's political climate. The segment ends with Johnny briefly touching on ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant used in traditional rituals, and offering advice on identifying authentic shamans.
The podcast segment then discusses the growing popularity of ayahuasca in the United States, with listeners sharing personal experiences and questions about its legality, cultural context, and potential benefits. Johnny Mueller acknowledges the trend, references past discussions, and highlights the complexity of ayahuasca's use, including its traditional roots and modern interpretations. He also touches on the challenges of accessing and trusting ayahuasca experiences, especially in the U.S., where it is illegal but increasingly sought after.
In another segment, Johnny Mueller shares his personal experiences and insights on the popularity of ayahuasca and DMT experiences in Latin America. He mentions that while ayahuasca is not widely popular among locals or gringos, there is a niche demand, and shamans are available for those interested. Johnny also highlights the unique and sometimes unpleasant aspects of the experience, such as the shaman's ritual practices. He acknowledges the potential for creating a business around ayahuasca retreats, especially for those looking for unique weekend experiences. However, he also warns about the risks and challenges that gringos may face when living or traveling in Latin America, emphasizing the importance of being cautious and taking control of one's own life.
The segment then shifts to discussing the 'gringo advantage' that expats in Latin America often experience, especially those who are not on a strict budget. Johnny highlights how expats can live comfortably with significantly less money than they would in the U.S., and how this advantage is often overlooked by those who are not accustomed to the lifestyle. He also touches on the importance of shopping around for services like car insurance and hotel bookings, as prices can vary widely, and some expats may overpay due to a lack of knowledge or language skills. Johnny emphasizes that while some expats struggle to adapt, others, particularly backpackers, can thrive by being frugal and resourceful.
In another segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the intersection of technology, privacy, and financial implications for expats in Latin America. He begins by referencing studies linking poor credit ratings to reckless driving, then expands on how technologies like Google Earth and GPS are enabling companies to track drivers' behavior, which could lead to increased insurance costs. He contrasts this with the lack of credit scores in Latin America, which he sees as a potential advantage. The segment then shifts to discussing common business ideas for expats, such as starting a bed and breakfast or a restaurant, but notes that these are highly competitive. Johnny also critiques the idea of exporting coffee from Latin America to the U.S., pointing out that the market is saturated and that prices are already competitive. Finally, he encourages listeners to consider 'Plan B' for expat life, suggesting they take action now by exploring resources like his expat essentials course.
The episode concludes with Johnny Mueller encouraging listeners to reach out for personalized help with their own Plan B. He invites them to schedule a one-on-one consultation via email and directs them to a website where they can access his three videos on moving forward with Plan B. The segment ends with a friendly sign-off.
Topics
The Expat Files podcast introduction, Tax information exchange agreement between Argentina and the United States, Criticism of the agreement's motives, Doug Casey and his views on Argentina, Ayahuasca and shamanic practices, Ayahuasca's growing popularity in the U.S., Legality and cultural context of ayahuasca, Trust in shamans and potential for bad trips, Personal experiences and questions from listeners, Ayahuasca and DMT experiences in Latin America, Popularity and availability of ayahuasca, Ritual practices and personal experiences with shamans
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:16 Introduction to the Expat Files Podcast 00:00:20 Overview of the Show's Focus 00:00:26 Introduction to the Tax Agreement 00:01:00 Prediction of Global Events 00:01:14 Late-breaking News on the Tax Agreement 00:01:52 Johnny's Skepticism of the Agreement 00:02:29 Details of the Tax Agreement 00:03:38 Additional Agreements with Other Nations 00:06:05 Introduction to Ayahuasca's Popularity in the U.S. 00:06:12 Discussion on Ayahuasca's Cultural and Legal Context 00:06:14 Johnny's Reflection on Ayahuasca's Modern Interpretations 00:06:23 Johnny's Acknowledgment of Past Discussions on Ayahuasca 00:06:26 Johnny's Mention of Ayahuasca's Accessibility and Popularity 00:06:31 Johnny's Note on the Permanence of His Podcast Content 00:06:36 Johnny's Response to Listener Emails About Ayahuasca 00:06:40 Johnny's Mention of Recent Emails About Ayahuasca 00:12:04 Ayahuasca and DMT Experiences in Latin America 00:12:53 Ayahuasca is Not Very Popular in Latin America 00:13:18 Fake Shamans and the Diversity of Ayahuasca Preparations 00:14:18 The Unpleasant Ritual of the Shaman's Spray 00:15:45 Ayahuasca Retreats as a Unique Weekend Experience 00:16:58 Gringos' Advantages and the Importance of Self-Direction 00:17:02 The Gringo Advantage 00:17:15 The Odds of Success 00:17:43 Living on a Budget 00:18:03 The Importance of Financial Stability 00:18:30 Car Insurance Costs 00:19:53 Hotel Booking Tips 00:21:13 Insurance Quotes and Shopping Around 00:22:17 Credit and Driving Behavior 00:22:48 Insurance and Data Monetization 00:23:29 Common Business Ideas for Expats 00:24:45 Coffee Export Challenges 00:26:17 Plan B and Preparing for Uncertainty 00:27:38 Invitation to Schedule a Consultation 00:27:40 Email Contact for Consultation 00:27:45 Directing Listeners to Plan B Resources 00:27:51 Friendly Sign-Off
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 wonder 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 Well, happy new year, everybody. This show goes up on January 1st 2017 I don't know about you, but always takes me at least a month to start writing 2017 on things and nope, it's not Alzheimer's unless that kicks in when you're seven years old because that's so far back
[00:46] I remember writing the wrong year. It's just traditional with me. It takes me a month at least to get it straight Anyway, we made it. We're at 2017 and so many bright even brilliant people I know who've come down and made Latin America part of their plan B Predictor believe this is the year that Titanic like event happens up in the Big Brother first world Resulting in repercussions in the four corners of the earth. Well, we'll see what I mean is we'll see things crumble All right from a nice safe distance here in Latin America, but you knew that already, right? That said here's some late-breaking news Out of Argentina country I don't recommend for expats and their plan B unless you've got a lot of money and don't mind a Latin version of big brother Encouraging on your freedom. Okay, so here's today's article coming out of the South American news services
[01:36] It starts in a late session on Friday, December 23rd In fact the very last session of the year the governments of Argentina and the United States signed a very extensive tax Information exchange agreement that seeks to combat tax evasion and promote transparency From both the states and Argentina. Yeah, right. Have you ever heard such BS? Then it says US Treasury Secretary Jacob L Lou said in a statement this agreement paves the way for reinsertion of Argentina into the world economy and constitutes a major new step forward In the relationship between the US and Argentina All right. It's me Johnny again Can't help myself that statement right there makes me want to stay as far away from Argentina as possible So you're thinking so what's new about this with fat gun get cut and all the mandatory
[02:24] Reporting of your private bank accounts to the IRS and the US Treasury Well get this the article says three months ago large technical teams from the Ministry of Finance in Argentina and a large team of US IRS and Treasury Department officials spent weeks working out a comprehensive Information exchange deal this deal actually goes beyond fat gun get cut then it explains AFIP the Argentine tax authorities will now have a valuable tool in the US To detect within the territory of the United States any and all overt and hidden what they call Undeclared assets that rightfully belong in Argentina then it says from the date this agreement takes effect
[03:12] January 1st agents in the administrative realm of either nation Argentina or the US can now without the need for any judicial interference or action get any and all information from the other nation's tax authority allowing them to monitor their taxpayers and eventually bring about Repayment along with penalties and sanctions of lost tax revenues according to the Ministry of Finance in Argentina Argentine tax officials said that this agreement is in addition to the recently signed agreements with the tax authorities from 45 other nations to make it increasingly difficult for Argentina's to keep any assets abroad in addition Argentine tax sources say now for the first time it's possible that with a simple online search
[03:58] They could locate the foreign assets of any Argentine citizen or legal resident. Let me repeat that It says it includes legal residents, too And that means the article says if any individual in question has bank accounts shares bonds Real estate or any type of asset class in his or her name Located in the US or any of the 45 other countries who signed the agreement those assets can immediately be frozen without a court order The agreements between these countries specifically the United States is all part of an ambitious ongoing program that seeks to recover the 30 to 50 billion dollars held in secret by Argentinos abroad or so say the corrupt underheaded Argentine tax authorities. Okay now that we all know that I wonder what Doug
[04:46] Casey is thinking right now, you know He's the guy with that big expensive real estate development in Argentina You know that really is quite nice and very expensive and exclusive and if you get Doug Casey's newsletters Which I do or like them a lot. They're very good You'll see he promotes it with seminars a couple times a year to try to get you to come down and buy into it I really think he's back on the wrong horse on that one, but he's right about so many other things Hey, nobody bats a thousand and like my dad used to say a thousand hell nobody bats 500 Then again, if you got tons of money, you can live practically anywhere you want in the world, right? By the way I believe lots start around three hundred thousand bucks or more. That's just a lot Now Doug Casey admits the Argentine government's very corrupt, but he says it doesn't matter about the government
[05:34] We live how we live the way we like to they leave us alone. So they leave you alone, huh? Well, you have bought into that Argentine property deal You just keep telling yourself that and now for something completely different a few years back I did a show about ayahuasca, you know that foul tasting potion You take given to you by a shaman or at least a guy who says he's a shaman and he's got the right clothes By the way, never trust a shaman who smells like he's wearing first-world cologne Nope, a real shaman would never wear even brute or old spice He's got to be well kind of rank like he's been out in the bush for a couple of weeks in the dry season You know earthy smelling bordering on the repulsive However, all shamans no matter how traditional have a new accessory the cell phone. Hmm doesn't quite seem right. Does it?
[06:23] Anyway, if you go into the expat file archives and track down that show You can follow along with me on my little journey into the ayahuasca of head trip now You know because my shows are out in the ether forever and are downloadable at any time Often people send me emails and ask questions about shows that I did years ago I'm still getting emails about that ayahuasca show just got one today Got a few emails last week on the subject too Now this particular one is from a longtime listener who prefers to remain anonymous and he says Johnny. Here's an article link I'm gonna give you from drudge today It's all about the hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca and how it's becoming more and more popular up in the states You know Johnny it could be a good business opportunity south of the border. What do you think?
[07:08] Then there's this email from Lenny. He says Johnny I'm reading more and more articles and hearing more and more reports that people are trying that ayahuasca stuff up here in the states In fact, I was at a party other week with some of my old sports buddies and friends from college and the subject came up And it wasn't the first time So here we are all of us in our late 30s Thinking wouldn't it be cool for all of us to take a weekend off and go up in the mountains or to Sedona Wherever they serve that stuff up and have ourselves a little hallucinogenic retreat You know kind of like that old famous movie from the 80s the big chill. Hey Johnny, believe me That's not the first time we talked about getting together and doing that We've done the fishing trips the hunting trips the canoeing the whitewater drafting the tailgate parties at the playoff games
[07:57] You name it. We've done it. Yes, Johnny our little group of 15 to 20 people We've done Hawaii and Vegas and carnival cruises having done all that. What's next ayahuasca? Of course funny enough even our wives reluctantly agreed No, I don't mean they weren't to do in the ayahuasca But they said they'd take a log with us just to watch and laugh as we stumble around and vomit and stuff Then he says the only thing is is I still believe ayahuasca is illegal here in the states But since when does that ever stopped anyone which makes it all the more mysterious and interesting don't you think and of course? I know according to some Mayan and Inca and Aztec whatever Ritualistic religions in that case. It is legal at least I think it is and I know people are always talking about doing it south of the border question
[08:43] Is how do you hook up a trip like that? Do they have what you might call? ayahuasca charter planes flying out of the big cities and states to Peru Colombia Panama Ecuador wherever I mean, it seems to be the up-and-coming Oh natural mind expanding thing to do people are talking about it at parties and such and when you find someone who's actually done it Shortly, there's a little buzz in the room and everybody's gathered around to hear the stories people seem scared to try it yet They're jealous of people who did talk about crazy weird, huh? My question Johnny Do you have an update or any more info on that? What's the scoop? Keep on keeping on Johnny longtime listener, Donny All right, Donny. We'll get to that. But first there's this email from last week. It starts Johnny
[09:30] I think I've tried every drug in the universe Of course, that was way back when in my college days Then I straightened up hit the business world had myself a nice successful life Now I'm ready to jump off to treadmill and have some fun again Though in moderation not to extremes like the old days. Anyway way back when when I was doing the magic shrooms and all that There was really no such thing as Shamans and ayahuasca not in the States anyway, but you know recently I've been reading a lot about that Started reading all I can and listening to podcasts from the guru of all psychedelic gurus a guy named Terence McKenna If you recall he's a guy that went down to South America and hung out with the shamans for a couple of years Got the secret ayahuasca recipe out of him though They didn't want to give it up so easily to the white man and you can understand that I guess
[10:17] Which brings me to the point of my little missive here I understand there isn't just one Concoction of ayahuasca that there are a number of different natural roots and chemicals They mix up depending which country in which shaman you're dealing with which is why I don't quite trust These people who put on these so-called weekend holiday in ayahuasca retreat deals up in the States By the way, did you know you can go on the internet and actually order this stuff and mix it yourself Apparently the individual ingredients aren't illegal. It's when it's all mixed up into the concoction that it's illegal in the States. Anyway, I don't know I haven't tried. I'm just gathering all the information. I can bottom line. I'm confused about all of it I really like to try ayahuasca not because of the drug and hallucinogenic effects I'm talking about its main purpose to really de-stress you calm you down and give you a different smoother outlook on life
[11:09] One guy I talked to said it best it unwinds the knots and tangles that have accumulated in your brain Sounds good to me and trying it once won't hurt. I think so now that it's kind of an underground rage here in the States What's happening with ayahuasca in Latin America? Is everybody jumping on the bandwagon down there too? And most importantly can the shamans or whoever's administering this stuff and cooking it up be trusted? Are there you know bad trips and stuff like in the old LSD days? I know Johnny a lot of questions and maybe not a lot of answers just thought I'd throw that out at you By the way missed out on your upcoming seminar me and the wife will be at the next one for sure signed Rufus Rufus huh? I thought that's his real name what mother names her kid Rufus
[11:58] Unless she thinks he's gonna grow up and make rap records or more likely grow up to have a prison record, huh? Same difference. Okay, that said talking about ayahuasca DMT and all that Yep, I tried it once with a real rank shaman and a couple of his scruffy assistants And yes, you get sick in one orifice or another but as far as it being ever so popular here in Latin America Well in a word, it's not Actually, that's two words Anyway, I've met tons and tons of locals in gringos and I still haven't met very many at all who've tried it even though it's readily enough available down here, for example if Someone contacted me and wanted to go on a ayahuasca journey I know exactly who to hook them up with and what internet link to give them and they could come down Hook up with one of these guys and go to a nice little weekend retreat and you know dive right into the astral plane
[12:49] So to speak so the answer the question is it very popular down here? I'd have to say no But there is a certain amount of demand or the shamans wouldn't be hanging around advertising it and it's not like you know They're holding up signs or passing out business cards It's a very low-key kind of thing and no one's making a killing out of it And in fact, I don't think anybody's even making a living except a handful of very very dedicated ones It's just something you know, it's been around for thousands of years and it's kind of a tradition with certain native tribes and religious groups However, one thing I do know there are lots of fake shamans up there in the States And what our emailer says is true the various shamans down here in Central and South America They mix up their own brews and they're all just a little bit different So it's not like there's one solid very proportional tried-and-true formula
[13:36] They're all kind of like mom-and-pop craft beer experts So to speak only their product has a much more massive kick and they hang over. Well, let's not go there By the way, if there's one thing I really hated about the experience myself besides the fact that like I said You have a couple of loose orifices Hopefully just one is that they put you in a circle while they're doing the ceremony and they get you to take your shirt off The shamans will insist on that even the ladies, you know, they'll strip down to their bras Which is a little bit unusual while the shamans are dancing and the incense is burning and they're you know Creating this mystical type atmosphere by candlelight, of course Then suddenly one of the shamans takes a big mouthful of some stuff gargles with it a bit and next thing You know, he's got a big lung full of air and he blows it out of his mouth in a spray all over you
[14:24] And remember your shirts off and I'll tell you for me. Anyway, that was the most revolting development in the whole process and luckily maybe Unluckily, he did that as a prelude to you drinking that foul high a wasca brew So what he was spraying out of his mouth at he was some kind of alcoholic beverage tequila Mescal some kind of secret shaman recipe diet Mountain Dew who knows smelled like alcohol anyway So get ready for that unique experience Anyway for the guy who emailed me talking about rounding up his board yuppie buddies and their wives and taking them on a happy-go-lucky Weekend to high a wasca retreat I'd say it's imminently possible to put that kind of thing together Just shoot me an email and I'll give you a couple of leads and links and you know The emailer is right
[15:09] They are doing those things kind of on the sly up in the states in Canada even in such mundane places as Holiday-ins and budget tells near Cleveland or was it Indianapolis could have been Cincinnati In fact, I got an email not so long ago from a person who said he saw an ad in a local college newspaper A bona fide shaman was coming through offering a weekend spiritual enlightenment course They didn't actually mention high a wasca in the ad but when he phoned him up they did so yeah I guess it sounds like fun You know shipping 15 or 20 of your closest buddies and their wives to a real one and hundred percent shaman retreat site here in Latin America in fact, I think it's a hundred times cooler than a whitewater rafting trip So I guess that's what I'm missing from not being up in the states those buddy-buddy guys and wives weekend trips, huh?
[15:56] Yeah, I know what you mean the Napa Valley wine crawl the dude ranch the old-timers baseball camp the Bob Barker celebrity cruises Yep, hard-working young adults are always looking for that escape valve when they get that vacation. I know how it is I've got some brothers and sisters who are exactly on that trajectory Working for the weekend and all that but that idea of a chartered jet high wasca weekend, man You know that could be a viable business and to make it happen All you'd have to do is hook up with one of the shamans down here who does it on a regular basis and hook up With a travel agency up north and you could have chartered high wasca getaway weekends. How about that? Hey, you know, there are so many opportunities down here. You just have to get your boots on the ground and check them out However, that's not to say a certain percentage of gringos who do come down trying to make their mark
[16:42] Don't catch the wave or have some bad luck and end up going back Some of the bad luck stories are predictable They got scammed usually on the gringo tourist trail by other gringos or got hooked up with a bad lawyer Or they get hooked up with a psycho conjugal partner talked about that in the last show In fact anything can happen. You're the captain of your own ship and you direct your own life So once you get down here though, you've always got the gringo advantage going for you And you'll see it in action all the time, especially off the tourist trail There are still some people that just can't make it work or maybe they really can but they just ran out of time Patience or money and you know one time someone asked me what are the percentages, you know out of let's say 10 people come down How many can stick it out and make it work and my answer? Well, it all depends on the type of person you are and what your basic needs are, too
[17:31] I mean if you come from backpacker stock and you don't mind roughing it for a while and you're once a few and you can Do without luxury. Well, you can work for a call center. I work as an English teacher down here and be a perpetually happy camper So for example, if you're used to living on thirty or thirty five thousand dollars a year in the States You can easily live exactly like that for ten or fifteen thousand a year here and a lot depends if you're single Married or bringing the kids and grandma and aunt Tootie along too And if you get a family in a nice nest egg that can last you a couple of years at least There's not that heavy pressure to find something to do and make some money right away And I'll tell you the people that almost never go back are people who come down on a basic social security check or a small pension Because they know when they come down here
[18:18] They could never live that kind of life if they were back up in the States In other words, the cat food they buy down here is actually for the cat In fact, I'm always shocked when people tell me what things really cost these days up in the States For example, the other day I was telling someone that I pay around a hundred and fifty dollars a year for third-party liability insurance on my car And that includes the triple-a type of service that covers everything You run out of gas you get a flat tire your headlights out. You just call them they come over They take care of you and that's part of the policy. Yep I said 150 bucks a year But you have to shop around because you know I run into a lot of expats on the gringle tourist trailer slightly on the trail who pay twice that and Don't realize they can get it for half because they just don't know how to shop around their Spanish sucks
[19:04] And they confide in other gringos who are in the same boat though in the greater scheme of things It's still a great deal at twice the price now, you know over the years I've met a lot of gringos who are pretty tight many of them are backpackers I mean, that's how they started out in the first place didn't have a lot of money They wanted to travel and backpackers are known for squeezing a buck till it bleeds Which is why most restaurants and especially the waiters and waitresses don't like backpackers much But you know, I've run into some people who are obsessed with saving money, too And they get pissed off if they buy something or check into a hotel and find out someone else got it cheaper And that will happen especially in hotels because you know There's a dozen ways to book a place person a person internet friends prepaid discounts coupons even and sometimes prices in the same hotels
[19:50] vary by 50% for example I know of a fantastic group of hotels kind of a chain in Latin America If you just walk in and want a room, it's something like a hundred and ten bucks a night 90 bucks if you book it on the internet But that same chain sells a little booklet of five coupons for 300 bucks Which makes it 60 bucks a night double occupancy breakfast included tax included It's rarely publicized and very few Latins know about it. So how's a wandering clueless gringo supposed to know? So what if you're a walk-in and you paid a hundred ten bucks and the next day you're sitting at the pool Shooting a breeze with someone and you start discussing hotels and rates and he says well I only paid 60 are you gonna get pissed off and go to the management? Is that gonna ruin your vacation? Well, maybe if you're overpaying by 50 bucks a day, you will have a little talk with the manager
[20:38] Who knows so at what point do you get irritated? I know some cheapskate gringos who get pissed off if they discover they paid a few more nickels than they had to Most times guys like that aren't fun to be around, you know, but hey, that's life Like my mother once said Johnny someday. You'll buy ten bags of groceries. You'll get home and find out you only have nine Yep, the bagger screwed up and someone got one of yours. She said don't get mad. Don't get even someday You'll go shopping. You'll buy ten bags. You'll get them home and they'll be 11. Yep in time The law of averages prevails now lately I've been asking freshly arrived gringos what they've been paying for their car insurance up in the states and I get a number around 400 to 500 bucks a year for liability coverage then the triple-a coverage would be extra
[21:26] Now if you want full coverage down here in Latin America, like almost everyone has up in the states At least people who are on payments. They make you do that, right? If you're on payments down here, too They'll add that full coverage insurance premium into your payment in case you crack it up or it gets stolen It only makes sense right now. I just spoke to someone down here who's got a 2014 Toyota RAV, you know a small SUV and he pays around 65 bucks a month for comprehensive insurance around 900 bucks a year. That's the collision the whole works So maybe those are first world prices. Maybe they're not. I don't know. What do you pay? Send me an email All I know is that insurance quotes are all over the place in the states and down here, too So you have to shop around in fact one gringle lady just came down recently and she told me that up in the states now
[22:13] They're checking your credit score when you apply for car insurance Turns out there are some studies that show that people who have bad credit ratings drive badly, too But it gets worse now with Google Earth and all that GPS stuff people have in their cars Google's accumulating the goods on you. Of course the NSA has been doing that all along But they don't know how to monetize it like Google Anyway, those creeps at Google will know when you're speeding run a yellow or red light making a legal turn Park in an unauthorized zone even cross a double-center line And of course insurance companies will love that information They'll buy it from Google and then when you go for insurance, they'll jack your rates up or cut you off completely Man, am I glad I don't live in Chicago anymore or Cleveland? By the way in Latin America. There are no credit scores
[23:01] I know I'm skipping around a lot today, but what else is new catching up on some odds and ends here Speaking of money-making ideas for gringos once they get down here in boots on the ground What do you think are the most popular? Business ideas gringos up in the states have when they think about making money here in Latin America No, I'm not talking about teaching English or working at a call center. Those aren't business ideas. Those are regular jobs Well, you long-term listeners probably know the top two on the list That would be starting your own bed and breakfast or hotel that neck-and-neck with opening your own restaurant And both I have to tell you are not very sound ideas because everyone's thought of it and the competition is fierce However, these days if you have an apartment or a house, you can make use of the Airbnb concept
[23:48] A lot of gringos are doing that and it's working But then again, who knows how long that's gonna last when the next shoe falls up in the first world and people just don't Have enough money to travel anymore And you know what one very brilliant gringo told me recently there'll be a huge Resurgence of backpackers just like in the 60s. Everybody will still go on vacation They need to get that out of their system, but they'll go very low budget sounds reasonable, right? But back to the third most common business idea people send me questions about in emails. What do you think it is? It's the subject of how to make money with coffee. Here's what many of them are thinking I know what I'll do. I'll come down locate some very good very cheap coffee and there's a lot of that down here This is the land of coffee. Then they say they'll package it up and sell it to all those coffee lovers up in the first world
[24:39] Everybody knows about Starbucks and that boutique coffee can go for 15 20 even 30 bucks a pound Well, let me tell you the gringos that came down earlier rung that idea out a long time ago Sure, there are some making some money doing the boutique thing But these days coffee production is outpacing the growth in consumption. For example in China They're on a huge growth curve for drinking coffee But still with coffee prices being so high in the last few years There are many more thousands even tens of thousands of acres of great volcanic farmland being converted to coffee Plantations as we speak so where you once had corn cows and chickens now you have coffee So if you think you're gonna come down here and buy fantastic coffee for three or four even five bucks a pound Well, you can do that all day long You'll also find gourmet high quality coffee for around seven and eight bucks a pound if you go on the internet or even
[25:31] Checking some of the big food and gourmet food outlets up in the States For example longtime listener Dave sent me a couple of photos of Guatemalan coffee He found in his own backyard up in the States for something like seven or eight bucks for twelve ounces at Trader Joe's I mean, come on How are you gonna compete with that? Even if you could get it down here for two or three bucks a pound then you got to pay the shipping Import tax the storage you got to market it have a staff sales people Of course, everyone could see it would work out if you could sell it for fifteen bucks a pound or more But when you're competing with people who are already selling it for eight or nine bucks a pound You'll need a gimmick or forget it All right We're getting towards the end of the show now I'd like to remind you once again that if you want to get that plan B started and you really have to get on
[26:17] The clock's ticking and time's a-wasting. In fact the way many bright people are seeing it You've got about three choices to make right now sit on that sofa channel surfing munching those Doritos In other words go down with the ship or number two buy some water jugs a couple pellets of ammo and ready to eat meals sit in your basement and flick on that diesel generator when the lights go out or You can get that plan B going and vote with your feet Which comes highly recommended by people with very big brains by the way. Nope. I'm not including myself in that course I just happen to get very lucky a long time ago kind of stumbled into Latin America by accident Anyway, if you're contemplating that plan B and you really should you haven't got any boots on the ground off the gringo tourist trail yet One of the very best ideas for getting that plan underway
[27:05] From the comfort of your own home up there is to check out my expat essentials course Just go to www.expatplanb.com Check out the first couple of free videos and you'll see exactly what I mean. That's www.expatplanb.com. So what's so special about it? Well for one thing in doing so you'll get the answers to the right questions Which in turn will give you that little extra boost of confidence to really get you rolling with it south of the border This is the expat files living in Latin America If you want me to help you out with your own plan B Just schedule a one-on-one consult send me an email at the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan B from right up there in the states go to
[27:51] www.expatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos