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Author: Lief Simon

07 Feb
The Shrinking Middle Class In America

The Shrinking Middle Class In America

The Plight Of The American Middle Class At dinner one night this week with a friend here in Panama City, the subject of the American middle class came up--specifically, the decline of the American middle class. This isn't a new topic, but my friend, Bruno, who is European, born and raised in Italy, but who [...]
31 Jan
Self-Sufficiency In Belize

Self-Sufficiency In Belize

Top Choice For Living The Self-Sufficient Life Self-sufficiency. It's what built the American West. Farmers and ranchers pushing toward the Pacific in search of their fortunes, pioneers building new lives on land where they laid claim and where they knew they could take care of themselves and their families themselves, beholden' to no one. That [...]
24 Jan
2013 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

2013 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

The most important tool in the U.S. expat’s tax toolbox is the foreign-earned income exclusion (referred to in tax-planning circles as the FEIE or ‘the exclusion’). If you qualify, it allows you to exclude up to US$97,600 in 2013 foreign-earned income from U.S. federal income tax.

17 Jan
The Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language

The Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language

Give Your Kids The Gift Of Another "Voice" One benefit of going offshore for my kids that I didn't think about until I watched it happening is to do with language skills. Many Americans still think the entire world should learn English...and much of the world does. In Latin America, families who can afford it [...]
10 Jan
Where To Invest In Property In Croatia

Where To Invest In Property In Croatia

Assuming the seven countries still to vote grant approval, Croatia is finally set for entry into the EU. The admission of a new country to the union must be ok’d unanimously by all member countries, creating lots of opportunity for political dealing. Slovenia, for example, wants Croatia to drop a lawsuit demanding that Slovenia make […]

03 Jan
Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal’s Implications For Americans Abroad

Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal’s Implications For Americans Abroad

What This Week's Fiscal Cliff Deal Means For Americans Overseas As it stands today, the 11th hour fiscal cliff deal approved earlier this week resulted in US$1 of spending cuts for every US$41 in tax increases, making it possibly the most one-sided victory since the Battle of Little Bighorn. By comparison, when President Ronald Regan [...]
31 Dec
How To Live Well On A Budget Overseas

How To Live Well On A Budget Overseas

I’ve been living overseas so long that my wife tells me I don’t know what things cost in the “real world” anymore, especially, she assures me, as my current frame of reference is Panama. Certainly, our first 24 hours or so in New York City last week, I thought she must be right. I must […]