www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback - I'm going to mostly respond to 3P's post, because I see a lot of parallels to my own situation. In fact, acting conservatively, ten years hence I can see myself in almost exactly the same boat - retiring on a fixed but adequate income, ramping down the mongering considerably, being a lot pickier about whom I spend my time with, etc.

For me the question remains, with the resources available shortly to have the option of enjoying a few fantasy 'blowout' years while I'm still young enough to fully take advantage - is it worth doing that now at the cost of delaying the retirement on the back end, especially being that the whole mongering thing may not feel that great by that age anyways?

After all, I could get hit by that bus tomorrow...

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Check out http://weluvlatinas.com/ for the web's best info on the latin american monger lifestyle...

GR,
From what I have read on this board, you have had quite a few "blowout" years and you are definitely young enough to have some more. But from experience, I and many here can tell you that whatever your monetary goal, time and funds used now are twice as costly later on because of compounding. Believe me, I can remember quite vividly when I was 50. When I sat down at 54, the hard cold realization came to me that while I could still enjoy the things I always have, I better take my head out of my butt and get with the program and start making a real, consistent, and concerted effort for my later years. I only go on vacation twice a year now, not 4 times, I eat steak twice a week, not 4 times, I cook more (well, throw it in the nuke) at home etc. I rent from blockbuster and not go to the movies 3 or 4 times a week at $10 bucks a pop, etc., etc.

What I am saying is that moderation is easy to get used to and still not have to deprive yourself of anything. I really only know that my goal is to not HAVE to work any longer past 62 or so. I, as many, have put in enough 60-80 hour weeks or longer and I'm just flat TIRED of them. I'm not lazy and for the most part can do almost everything did in my younger years, just usually not as fast or as long, but I certainly do savor them much more. The realization that life is, relatively speaking, short and getting shorter. Being single and happy again, I realize even more than before, it is not only knowing what you do like that is important, but even more realizing what you don't like and won't accept that is even more important than ever. It comes down to knowing and accepting yourself and going for your dreams, whatever they are.

3P

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CR LOS or PI Come horny, Leave Happy
Being 'over the hill' is damn sure better than being under it!
I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to find one.

This is the one of the more meaningful threads I have seen in a while at CRT. Thanks GR. It is nice to see these open honest views. I have been grappling at how to finish life with the time remaining. Money sometimes creates as many problems as it solves so money has never been a cure all too me. It gives us more options at an earlier age but you also have to live with the choices you make. It has killed many of my friends by playing with too high powered of toys. I guess they died happy but too me they seemed to leave a lot on the table yet. What really has value with joy that will last & what doesn’t? I can tell you GR that most Gringos I have seen that live in CR are not like VB (go VB ) is my experience. Maybe VB has some bionics we don’t know about? Most men get tired of p4p after about 1 year of Chica saturation it seems to me with one very long guest list. I feel I am more like Green Giant here.

I never was overly excessive compulsive but the Chicas have taken me very close to the edge above all else. I saw where drugs & alcohol led many of my friends “not pretty” like the Chicas are. I guess I have never tired of the hot chicas & probably never will. I see them like a great painting, picture perfect in so many different ways when they are not high mileage models. I think the key to keeping it fun is to not try to make more out of it than is there & limit yourself with your time doing this.

It is a tough call as when to retire. If you like your work it makes this decision much harder. As I get older I see more value to family & true loved ones. From people I have watched growing old the ones that seem the happiest & most fulfilled have a purpose driven life. I have a lot of purpose hunting & gathering Chicas when I travel but is that enough to make me content for long? I need more than p4p for the main course of life regardless of age.

I feel finding the right balance of time verse money is one of the hardest decisions we face. I have had my share of the boat anchor crap in life (new BMW, boats & other assorted so called wonderful shit that breaks down). It never made me happy for long but being an old guy having to penny pinch doesn’t appeal to me either. One thing we all know is $$ makes things go round & no one dies saying “I wish I would have worked more”.

GR I feel what might be of more true value is to have a life lived around simple happy people where ever that takes you. Happiness can be very contagious & priceless. I don’t want to bash the Gringas but this comes with the seeds that have been sowed for many decades in the USA. Our country has the most professionals working at constantly distorting EVERYTHING than any where else but Cuba from my experience. I love the USA but this country has one big problem with creating an unhappy state of mind for control & marketing purposes.

Too many people are weak & get sucked in. I know I have here & there but what helped me was getting out to see the world. When I know I have found somewhere to live that has more “overall” value I am gone. Think if all the world was just like the USA & no other options .

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"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

GR,
Having followed your posts for a couple of years now, I know how important physical fitness is to you. If you keep working out and taking care of your body, there is a damn good chance you can maintain your present capabilities for another quarter of a century, at least. My father is 77 and incredibly active, and I guarantee you he's banging my stepmother at least once a day. I don't really understand why so many people feel they have to retire in their early 60s, unless they really hate their jobs or have tons of money. We are living longer than our parents and grandparents and should expect to work longer.
Maybe I'm suggesting a happy medium. Nothing wrong with some front-loading, but try to put some cash away on a regular basis for a retirement 20 or even 25 years down the road, as opposed to 10 or 15. You won't have to put quite as much away each month and will have a little extra to get a little crazy in foreign locales from time to time. I actually look forward to working into my 70s.
I will say that 18 trips to CR might be a tad over the top, when places like Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Prague, and Thailand beckon. I say this as I'm just about to embark on CR trip #5.

No Zippy...I certainly don't have any special bionics (unless you call the magic blue pill bionics). I am basically a pretty impulsive and compulsive person. My mother always said "everything in moderation" so of course I never listened. As to why I still enjoy mongering as much as I do at age 65,I think that part of it is that I am catching up from 2 marraiges that had very limited sex. I also try very hard to have a lot of fun with the chicas that I take. Beautiful chicas turn me on as much today as they did 20 years ago.It is different when you live here in a couple of aspects. When you visit,it becomes a contest to see how much pu*sy you can have in a limited time. When you have the rest of your life to enjoy,you tend to make better choices for company because God willing...there's always tomorrow. My philosophy on life has become more of a "one day at a time" trying to enjoy each day I have left because they are getting fewer and fewer. I try to eliminate stressfull situations and people. (guys AND chicas)I don't have time for them.

Zippy,

Well said, your observations coincide with my thoughts as to why I wish to relocate.

Thank you GR for such a thought provoking post.

I'll stand by what I wrote earlier...



If you waste your time away working towards being 70 and well off, you'll miss most of life.

I agree, don't blow it all at once, you gotta save up for when you can't earn enough to live, but by all means, have fun NOW, not later.

That I have to work now in order to save up enough for later annoys me to no end, but I understand it.

The fact that I could retire in Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, or any of 100 other beautiful countries today, at 35, and hardly lift another finger, but b/c of my son's mother not wanting to relocate from N. America makes me quite sad.

So, I continue to work, and take trips. Sooner or later, I'll be able to quit, and spend as much time as I like in L.A. and come up to see my K*D whenever I want (or my K*D will be in college, or grown up, and will come down and visit me!)

Actually, not all 18 were mongering trips (5 were novia-exclusive, or almost at least), but I agree, looking back I could kick myself now for not trying out some other locales before. If only CR was a little worse than it is - but I almost always manage to have a great time, and the benefits of knowing the scene, the girls, and the ease of travel from LA make it tough to change.



They always say "Youth is wasted on the young". What about "Retirement is wasted on the old"?

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Check out http://weluvlatinas.com/ for the web's best info on the latin american monger lifestyle...

GR,
Thanks for starting this thought-provoking thread. I definitely agree that it’s one of the best threads on the board lately. I’ve been away from the board for a few days, and I’m just getting caught up.

You and I have talked about this subject in the past, and it’s one of those subjects that is pertinent to many of us on the board. There have been a lot of great replies, which is proof of it’s relevance to many of us.

It seems to me, that this thread is about our “ultimate” future, or our “retirement” years, and what we can (or should) do to prepare ourselves, to enjoy them to the fullest. It’s about trying to find the right balance between having enough money to enjoy yourself, but in the same token, having enough time to enjoy ourselves, before our libido starts playing tricks with us.

IMO, QBF’s response (below) is exactly the way I feel


Life is too short, and noone’s promised tomorrow. Although I’m still a few years behind you (mid-40’s), my long-term “future” plans are something that I’ve been thinking about, and planning, for many years. God-willing, I hope to retire next year.

But, when you think about it….. in reality, what is retirement ??? Is it a certain age where you finally stop working? Is it a certain point in your life, when you’re successful and / or financially “comfortable”? Is it a time when you finally throw your hands in the air and say “I quit” ? Is a point where you’re “physically” or “mentally” not able to work anymore?

For me, “retirement” is a state-of-mind. Granted, you must have all your ducks in a row financially. But the thought of KNOWING that you don’t have to work anymore is the ultimate goal for me. I know that many guys, myself included, can not just STOP working. We’ve got to do something to keep busy. But knowing that you don’t have to work (if you don’t want to) is more important than anything. But to do this, you must prepare (ahead of time) for some type of permanent, long-term income stream. And whenever we talk about anything “long-term”, we must think about our health. Because without our health, everything else goes by the wayside.

When it comes to the future, everyone has a different plan. There is no “one-size-fits-all” equation. You need to do what is right for YOU. And all the decisions that you make - yesterday, today and tomorrow - will play a part in your future, and how it plays out for you.

I wish you the best of luck, with whatever you decide. And always remember……. no matter how healthy you are, or how much money you have, it could all be gone tomorrow. We come into this world with nothing, and we go out with nothing. Again, NOBODY IS PROMISED TOMORROW.

Thanks for a great thread.

Respectfully,
MG

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

You can always earn more money. Once time is gone, you don't get it back.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

This is part two of my post on this thread.
On the work vs. retirement side, I worked for major corporations - Emerson, IBM and Westinghouse for 25 years. After that I bought a small business which I have had for 18 years. The first five to ten years I had the business I worked 45 to 55 hours a week but now I have tapered it down to about twenty. Since I do not work a full work week I can do some extras and have the best of both worlds to some extent. I have enough money to retire and intend to shortly. And, by retire I do not mean a career change, I mean no longer work, period. I feel the need to get rid of the mental burden of the business.
I have many things I'd like to do while I am still healthy and I am no longer finding it important to work and more important to do those things that I have always wanted to do and can now afford. Some others have trouble filling their time in retirement, I will not.
I promised myself years ago that if I lost my gringa for any reason, I would go to CR and do a good Spanish immersion class and enjoy the country for some time, then decide if I wanted to move there.
I have no visions of having a reliable novia for any period of time. I just think it is unrealistic at my age. The only ones that attract me are less than half my years and we would just have too different needs.

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Play Safe

I'm still relatively young, so I've got some time before I start thinking about retirement myself, but I've known a few people who have worked like dogs thruought their middle age to try to create a good/easy retirement only drop dead (probably from overworking themselves) just before they were to retire or just after they retire and not be able to enjoy ANY of the fruits of that hard work.

Like many have said, it's good to plan for the future, but don't forget to live for today also.

G.R.,

Have you considered finding a happy medium between delayed gratification and having it all right now?

No, you don't want to delay saving/investing for your later (i.e. non-working) years, and at our age, that's really important.

However, as time is at least as great an enemy as poverty, is there no way you could just moderate? Live on "Hot Latinas #185 for awhile, take fewer trips to C.R., etc. but keep the flame alive by indulging yourself once in awhile?

That's kind of my strategy now; I'm continuing to build my portfolio (such as it is), put cash away, buy a little numismatic gold and silver once in awhile...but save enough for an annual trip lasting a couple weeks. I have cut out public drinking (too expensive), cigarettes ($4.50 a pack in MN) and put off buying new clothes until they are absolutely needed. This way, I can stash a few hundred a month, and by the end of August I will have saved enough for a fairly lavish two weeks.

My strategy might not work for you, but finding some mid-point between dionysian excess and monastic frugality will help you avoid hooker burnout, allow you to save/invest for your future, give you something to look forward to and allow you to live your life without feeling terribly deprived. Just MHO. You'll always feel depraved, but not deprived.

I really think your biggest issue, beyond your "golden years" concerns is that you experience cyclical burnout periods, where you question your involvement in the hobby, what you want from women/relationships, etc. Once you've figured that out, the rest is easier.

Use common sense about the money, but hold on to just enough of the fantasy to give your life some flavor. There has been a lot of honest self-revelation here, and some damn good advice, but your situation will be as unique as you are.

Certainly your self-maintenance regimen will hold you in good stead as you age, and perhaps you'll be boinking with the same jackhammer endurance and winning smile ten years from now that make you a Gulch heart-throb today.
Keep up the nutrition, exercise etc. and that part of things will also be easier.

Just don't forget along the way to have some fun. And please do embrace the possibilities rather than the improbabilities. Yes, you'll be strong and virile at 60, yes you'll have enough money to live comfortability, yes you'll find either Ms. Right or Harem Right, and live happily ever after. Hell, you might even grow a luxuriant head of hair.


Monger on, dude!

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

I am in my thirties and intend to monger well for another thirty years. My older cousin who is in his upper fifties flies down to South Florida every month to monger with 20 something year old South Beach girls. He claims to "nut" three times a day. He told me the secret is to watch your weight and diet. Also, try to avoid certain high blood pressure medicines that will leave you with a limp noodle.

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I will travel the world over to find a better latina! Gringas have flat asses..

My take is a little variation of some of the previous responses. I'm 60 and in good health but very dependant on Vitamin V. I think that the leche will run out before the money.
Therefore, I have no guilt spending 2 weeks of every 8 in CR. As I told GR in April, it is "fiscal irresponsability" but damn the torpedos-full speed ahead!
I also don't want to die regretting that I didn't have more fun.

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Why Chicas Come to CostaRica:

"Predators gather where prey abounds"