Retire in Southeast Asia. Counted to the dollar.
I am The Slow Dollar. I moved at 61, and I wrote down every dollar I spent in a Singapore HDB block and in the Philippines — so you can decide with numbers instead of hope.
- The true monthly number for two people — most retirees only find out after they have already shipped their furniture
- The healthcare and visa costs that quietly sink budgets, before they surprise you at 66
- The neighbourhood-level rent figures I paid myself — knowledge you cannot get from a listing site
$22.99 $45.99 one-time payment · instant access on any device
What is inside your Slow Dollar guide
The Honest Monthly Number
- My full month in Singapore, to the dollar
- The four line items that ruin most budgets
- Solo versus couple: the split nobody explains
- A one-page budget sheet you can fill in tonight
- What I would need if I had to start over today
Living in an HDB Block
- Room, whole flat or condo: real rents I paid
- How to read a neighbourhood before you sign
- The unwritten rules of a Singapore corridor
Eating, Moving, Living Daily
- My hawker week, every stall and every price
- MRT, buses and what a taxi habit costs a year
- The small luxuries I kept and the ones I dropped
The Philippine Chapters
- Two islands, two budgets, one honest comparison
- Rent, power and water on a monthly basis
- When cheap becomes expensive: my worst month
Health, Age and Paperwork
- Clinic and hospital costs I actually paid
- Insurance at 60+: what I could and could not get
- Visas, extensions and the annual paperwork rhythm
The Part No One Talks About
- Loneliness, and how I built a circle at 61
- Family, flights home and staying connected
- My exit plan, in case I ever need it
BONUS: included with your copy
Value: $75The 12-Month Landing Plan
Know exactly what to do in each month before and after you move.
Value: $75The Real-Cost Budget Sheet
Fill in your own numbers and see your true monthly figure in minutes.
Total value: over $150 — Today only $22.99
Real readers
„I have read a dozen retire abroad books. This is the first one that showed me an actual bank ledger instead of a range. I rebuilt my whole plan around chapter one."
„The healthcare chapter alone saved me from a very expensive assumption about my insurance. I read it twice before I told my wife we were going."
„Honest about the lonely evenings too, which is why I trusted the numbers. That balance is rare."
Does this sound familiar?
Every blog gives you a range, never a receipt
Live on 1,200 a month, they say. On what? Which district, which visa, which insurance? The details that decide everything are always missing.
The math looks fine until the first real bill
Rent deposits, agent fees, a clinic visit, the flight home for a family emergency — the costs nobody budgets for are the ones that end the adventure early.
You are 60-something and cannot afford a costly experiment
A move that goes wrong does not just cost money. It costs a year, a lease, and some of your confidence.
„The difference between an expat who stays and one who flies home broke is not courage. It is knowing the real number before you go."
Everything inside your Slow Dollar guide
Singapore HDB life
What a room, a flat and a neighbour really cost.
Hawker & groceries
My daily food spend, line by line.
Getting around
MRT, ferries and the car you do not need.
The Philippines months
Island living at a fraction of the cost.
Healthcare & insurance
Clinics, cover and the bills at 60+.
Visas & paperwork
The routes retirees actually qualify for.
This guide is for you if …
The Planner
You are three to five years out and want a real budget, not a forum guess.
The Decider
You are close to going and need the numbers that make the final call clear.
The Doubter
You have wondered about Asia for years but never trusted the figures you found.
Get my full cost record today
- My complete Singapore and Philippines cost record,100 pages of dated real spending
- Bonus 1: The 12-Month Landing Plan (value $75)
- Bonus 2: The Real-Cost Budget Sheet (value $75)
- Instant access on any device, phone, tablet or laptop
- Free updates whenever I refresh my numbers
PDF ebook · instant download link by email · one-time payment, taxes included
What you will discover
- The one monthly cost almost every newcomer forgets
- Why my cheapest month was also my worst
- The rent figure I never expected in Singapore
- What changed the day I turned 65 abroad
- The hawker habit that quietly doubled my food bill
- Why the island everyone recommends did not work
- The paperwork detail that costs people a flight
- What I would do differently in year one
- The question to ask before you sign any lease
- The number I now use to decide everything
Common questions
Is this useful if I have never been to Asia?
Yes. I start from the very first budget question and assume no prior experience. Readers who have already visited tend to use it to sharpen numbers they half knew.
What format do I receive?
A clean PDF you can read on a phone, tablet, computer or e-reader, with tables that stay readable on a small screen.
How do I get my copy after buying?
Immediately by email, with a secure download link. Most readers are reading within two minutes.
Are the numbers current?
They are dated month by month so you always see when a figure was recorded, and I send free updates to every reader when I refresh them.
Does this work for a couple, not just a single person?
Yes. Every major budget is shown both solo and for two people, because the split is not what most people expect.
Is this only about Singapore and the Philippines?
Those are the two places I have lived and can account for honestly. The method for pricing any city works anywhere in the region.