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For those thinking of living in Latin America (and specifically Colombia) long term, the question always comes up — how are you going to support yourself while living in Colombia?
How are you going to afford it?
Well, in my years living here, I have seen plenty of retired people use their retirement funds to live here
And I have seen plenty others work for some time in their home countries to save up money that is used to spend some months off down here
Others try living by working a local job down here even such as teaching English or trying to start a physical business in Colombia
And with the internet, you now have people, such as myself, earning most or all of their income in some way online
While living down here, my current girlfriend even asked me at one point while we were walking together through a mall…..
“Why don’t you get a local job in Colombia?”
And while asking that, she pointed at an advertisement to be a security guard where I could be paid 300 to 500 bucks a month for a typical 40 hours a week
Which is a side point – that most Colombians don’t understand well how earning money online works since a lot less of their citizens attempt doing that compared to Americans
And so plenty are just not used to it yet – but that’s another topic for another day
Either way, earning 300 to 500 bucks a month just doesn’t seem like much to the average American like me
If lucky, you might find a local job down here paying $900 bucks. But that’s not common
Especially when you consider that I have more costs than she does and what more Colombians have
For example, my standards of living are a little bit higher. 300 to 500 bucks isn’t going to cover that and will make my life more uncomfortable
Also, I want to leave Colombia every 6 months or every year at latest to visit family in the US
If I am only making 300 to 500 bucks a month, there isn’t a lot of room there to save up money in 6 months to a year for the full cost of a round trip to the US
Not to mention that as I get older, I save more money in the long term for emergencies and retirement someday
Hard to do that again on just 300 to 500 bucks a month!
As stated elsewhere on this website, I started out my time living in Colombia by first studying here when I was a college student
Then I came back and earned some money teaching English locally
Again – just didn’t make enough money to justify living here
It was only when I started focusing on my efforts to make money online is when things changed
Now I work about 30 hours a week and I make much more than just 500 bucks
Some weeks I only work 20 hours if I have to dedicate that time to something else
And fortunately there is no boss that tells me that I can’t do that
I don’t have a set schedule for when I have to go to work either
For the most part, I set my own schedule as to when it is best for me to work and that flexibility is quite nice
And given that it pays much better to work online then it is to work a local Colombian job given how badly Colombian jobs pay……
It simply doesn’t make sense to work a local job here than to work online
Now why is that?
Well, mostly because of the exchange rate.
You see, the USD is much stronger than the Colombian peso
As of right now in 2019, one USD is worth 3,359 Colombian pesos
And it seems to be going up still!
Additionally, you have to keep in mind that since most Colombian jobs pay very little, a lot of what you can buy here is going to be cheaper
Labor costs are cheaper and most Colombian consumers can’t afford much anyway so prices are much cheaper as well
You mix all of that in and you have a place where having USD makes life much easier
That is why you see so many people from the US take their retirement money to live their final days down south of the border in Colombia or other Latin American countries
Because their retirement funds on a monthly basis will not give them the quality of life they want in the US…
So they take those US dollars and stretch out their value here in Colombia or elsewhere where the USD is stronger and can afford them a nicer life in a place that is cheaper
So for that reason, I will suggest trying to get a local job as a way to support yourself while living in Colombia
It simply isn’t worth the time when you can make significantly more money online for less work
As said before, working 40 hours a week for just 300 dollars a month is not worth it to the average American
That is literally just a 1.8 USD per hour
Unfortunately, that’s a little bit lower than the current federal minimum of 7.25 USD per hour in the states
And if I’m not making what I could make at a minimum wage job in the US, then I don’t see it worth it to be working down here
There have to be some standards as to what you find your time to be worth and you always have to consider how your time could be better spent
And when it comes to making money online, the sky is the limit from what I have experienced
Now that isn’t to say that you are likely to make 20,000 USD on a monthly basis or some crazy number you see advertised online
But you can make that type of money technically or even something less than that amount that is still good and would give you a nice life here in Colombia working a local job
And in many cases, even nicer than trying to own a physical business down here
Which, by the way, is another alternative that some foreigners like me think of
But I see owning a physical business down here to not be worth it in my opinion most of the time
Why not?
Well, there are a few issues
And most of them will be covered in greater detail in an article by itself at a later point
But just to name a few…
First, things are generally a lot more inefficient in Latin America. The amount of inefficiency depends on the country but things don’t run as smoothly down here.
Second, crime and the lack of the rule of law. Makes investing riskier down here.
Third, jealously. If your business does well here, it might cause some local businesspeople to be jealous and take steps against your business.
Fourth, corruption. Police asking for bribes and whatever else.
Fifth, you are still dealing with local Colombian pesos as the currency you earn. USD is always a better currency to earn working than the Colombian peso.
And these are just a few of the issues.
That’s not to say by the way that some foreigners can’t start a good business down here and make good profit.
I have seen it a few times
But most that I have seen trying to start a physical business down here have gotten screwed over
In one really terrible case, I met another American who started a restaurant down here and the business partner of his that was Colombian stole over 20,000 USD of his money.
And the guy, from what I know, never got his money back
But like I said, some foreigners manage to make it successful and earn lots of money with a physical business down here
Many, on the other hand, don’t
So with all that said, I personally prefer doing online work to make an income because of the lower risk and all of the benefits it brings when mixed with life in Latin America.
So how should you earn money to support yourself while living in Colombia?
Well, like anything else, it depends on what you want to do
Some of you may genuinely want to start a physical business down here or teach English
And that’s fine if that is what you truly want
But in the end, I’ll recommend online work for most of you who don’t have retirement funds
And what kind of online work is there?
Well, there’s a lot of different options and it’s going to depend on your skills and amount of investment that you want to put into it.
But to get you started, here are just a few ideas that I think can work out for you:
- Copywriting
- Web design
- Consulting
- Freelancing
- E-Commerce
- Transcription Work
- Selling creative content like photographs online
- Teaching English online
- Affiliate Marketing
- Translator
In less than a minute these were just some of the ideas that came to my head for how to earn money online to support yourself while living in Colombia.
For myself, I make most of my money through copywriting, affiliate marketing and selling photos online.
Finally, if you do go down the route of making money online, there are some basic things to understand…
First: Takes Time
There are so many people who start trying to make money online but they give up in a month or two.
In part because it takes time to build up an online income to support yourself while living in Colombia
In order to see real results, you are likely going to have to put in real effort and time to pull this off. Great results don’t often come easily and the work and patience is necessary.
Second: Understand Your Value
When starting out, you may offer a product or service at a relatively low price. That is fine since you are new and don’t have consistent business with people who trust your work.
However, try not to undervalue yourself too much and always aim to try and earn a better price for what you are offering. Know your worth especially as others start to value your work.
Third: Save the Money
If making money online, you are likely going to have to pay taxes on that eventually. Make sure to keep all records of how much you earn and have it ready when it comes time to pay taxes. You don’t want to be surprised with having to pay a lot more money than you initially expected.
So be prepared!
Fourth: Invest
In order to make money online, you are likely going to have to invest some money into what you are doing to expand and improve your type of work.
For example, if you decide to make a website to generate money someday, investing some money into having a good theme would be worth it since it will help you in what you are doing.
Just don’t go overboard with investing into your work and make sure it is proportional as to what you have earned so far and what you are likely to keep earning in the future.
Fifth: Be Cautious of Scams
Finally, you want to make sure that somebody isn’t trying to trick you into wasting your time and money on an empty promise.
Anytime I see someone saying that you can make “50,000 USD RIGHT NOW” by doing something simple online, I roll my eyes
Most of us will not likely ever make that money doing anything online or in a more traditional line of work
And especially with such minimal time and work that these fake promises claim
So be cautious with anyone promising something that is too good to be true. Trust your instincts.
Also, make sure you do your research and always ask for references. Both of which will provide more information on if a certain path to making money is a scam or not.
Finally, always consider doing something that you actually enjoy doing. It’s always better if what you are going to do online is something that you don’t dislike.
Sixth: Save & Build Up
If you want to support yourself while living in Colombia, you have to understand that your income will be low for a little bit
You should save between 10,000 to 20,000 USD before making the move so you can have some cushion to back you up
And make sure you have already built up your online income before leaving to Colombia to a level that it will cover your estimated expenses
This way you can be sure that you have something to support yourself while living in Colombia
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this article will be of some help if you are thinking of supporting yourself while living in Colombia.
In the end, I stand by my belief that making money online is going to be the more likely better option for supporting yourself while living in Colombia.
And if you want some additional resources for how to make money online, I’d recommend this great book and this other book on how to make money online
Just look into your options as to what is out there and consider some of my brief advice above before you take your trip to Colombia with Avianca Airlines or whatever airline company you prefer
If you have any questions or insight on how to support yourself while living in Colombia, leave them below in the comment section.
Thank you for your time and take care.
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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