Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Cheapest Countries in the World

Our discussion is typically about the Best Destinations in the world for saving money. Most of the time we're revealing and discussing the Best Countries to Live in and we do that by scouring the new feeds, newsletters, and other resources. The most popular discussions seem to be around the best places to retire but more recently exploring the cheapest places to live or visit has been gaining a lot of interest. It's no wonder really as the last few years have truly brought about a big shift and change in consciousness as it relates to wealth and generally speaking the cost of things. It seems the previous three decades were all about living the high life - 'Greed is Good' became the dominate value and theme of many Americans. But as always the nature, God, Karma, whatever you believe gave us all a reality check. Many people are still resisting and some think the good old days of spend 'til you drop will return but most people are settling into a comfortable reality with the understanding that balance is the key to happiness and success. That balance is all about lifestyle and looking beyond ones borders is now not only possible but truly an option for most free thinking individuals. Yes. We do have a choice. If we want to continue to live in the most expensive place than we may need to put off retirement and work longer. If we choose a simpler life in one of the cheaper countries in the world than retirement can still be a possibility - now. Even if you got whacked by those great guys over on Wall Street!

Last month we dedicated to a review of some of the Leading Countries for Quality of Life as ranked by International Living Magazine. Over the next few months we will continue to lok more in depth at many of these countries - we'll explore the cheapest places to live within each country and, one of my favorites, we'll continue to explore the best places to retire. Today I'd just like to get back to that idea of economy - aka cheap living for just a moment. Let's a have a quick look at some of the -

Cheapest Countries in the World

Now, just like all of other other explorations the idea of looking simply at who is cheapest can be misleading and in all likelihood very little value for thise interested in choosing, shall we say a more frugal existence. For example, a couple of the cheapest countries in the world are, Gambia and Iraq. Gambia is a little known African country where the highlights of your cheaper lifestyle may include catching malaria or meeting roving bandits.  Now Iraq may be the cheapest place to live in the world, it's certainly well known to most people and your dollar or whatever currency you carry will go far there, but it too may not be exactly what you're looking for. Of course I use these examples not to offend or be sarcastic but just to highlight the importance of examining things from different angles - collect data and evaluating lifestyle preferences to establish the best places to live - for you.

When searching for the best places to retire it's more about balancing cost of living with quality of life.
As I examined I.L's Quality of Life Index and looked particularly at the Cost of Living category it's not hard to find some pretty nice places to consider especially if your goal is retirement in a cheaper place. And there are a number of places that offer beauty, safety and culture, where you can live very well for under $1,500 per month.



Learn more about International Living Magazine <= Click here

I know, I know you probably came to this article because you really wanted to know what the Cheapest Countries in the World really are and I'm not going to disappoint - I just hope you look at this list in a new light, considering all of the other things that make for a quality life.

The Top 10 Cheapest Countries in the World

1. Iraq
2. Afghanistan
3. Nauru
4. Turkmenistan
5. Bhutan
6. Tuvalu
7. Bolivia
8. Mayotte
9. Paraguay
10. Kiribati

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