Expat Life

Why More Americans Are Retiring Abroad on Social Security If you are approaching retirement and wondering whether your Social Security check can give you a comfortable life, the answer is yes, but probably not in the United States. The average Social Security retirement benefit in 2026 is around $1,900 per month. In most American cities, […]

What Is FATCA and Why Should Expats Care About It If you are an American living abroad and you have financial accounts outside the United States, FATCA is something you absolutely need to understand. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was signed into law in 2010, and it fundamentally changed how the IRS tracks the

Why Your Laptop Choice Matters More Than You Think When you are running an ecommerce business from a coworking space in Chiang Mai or a cafe in Lisbon, your laptop is not just a tool. It is your entire office, your livelihood, and the single most important piece of equipment you own. If it dies,

Why You Need a Real Checklist Before You Move Abroad Moving abroad is one of the best decisions I ever made. I have been living overseas for over a decade now, running my ecommerce businesses from places like Chiang Mai, Bali, and Lisbon, and the lifestyle is incredible. But here is the thing that nobody

Why Coworking Spaces Are a Game Changer for Digital Nomads If you have ever tried to run an ecommerce business from a coffee shop in Bali or a hotel room in Lisbon, you know the struggle. The wifi cuts out during a supplier call, the chair destroys your back after two hours, and there is

What Every American Expat Needs to Know About Filing US Taxes Here is something that catches a lot of Americans off guard when they move overseas: the United States is one of only two countries in the world that taxes its citizens on worldwide income, no matter where they live. That means if you are

What Is the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion? If you’re an American living and working abroad, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) is one of the most powerful tax benefits available to you. In simple terms, it lets you exclude up to $132,900 of your foreign earned income from US federal income tax for the 2026

Why You Need to Keep Your US Bank Account Open One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they move abroad is closing their US bank accounts. They figure they won’t need them anymore, and then they spend the next year dealing with headache after headache trying to receive payments, file taxes, maintain

Why the Cost of Living Gap Keeps Getting Wider If you’ve been paying attention to your bills lately, you already know that living in the United States is getting more expensive every year. Housing, healthcare, groceries, insurance, gas, childcare, everything just keeps climbing. And if you’re running an online business or working remotely, you’ve probably