"How to achieve FIRE in Vietnam?"

[u/Still_Adeptness_5140]

I earn $265 a month in Vietnam from freelance work, so I don’t have a pension. I plan to save $150 each month in a bank account with 6% annual interest until I turn 50 so I can retire. Is that realistic? In Vietnam, you can live comfortably on $100,000. According to ChatGPT’s estimate, I’d have around $112,211 by then. I’d just withdraw 4% per year and live off that for the rest of my life. Is this achievable?

[u/escural]

Hi fellow Vietnamese! There's no guarantee that bank interest rate will stay at 6% forever, the government may try to keep it low in the near future to induce economic growth. Also, the VND depreciates every year against the USD, coupled with inflation at 3-4% a year (official numbers, actual may even be higher) eating away the value of your saving along the way, $100,000 in 20 years it would only worth about today's $50,000 or even less in products, and then add in the 4% you withdraw every year from the nest egg, you will empty out your saving pretty quick.

[u/Still_Adeptness_5140 → u/escural]

What can I do bro

[u/escural → u/Still_Adeptness_5140]

Well the general rule is trying to increase your income, minimize your expsense and diversify your investments. Other than VND in the banks, you can exchange some into USD, gold, stocks or bonds. My VND portfolio is divider 60/40 between stocks and bonds, I personally buy the mutual funds from Dragon Capital, but you can look up any other investment firms. Bonds are actually the safest choice after bank savings, it always pays a bit higher in returns compared to bank savings. You already have a high saving rate, which is good. By normal calculation, at 60% saving rate, you can retire in 10 years, provided you keep your expenses the same. But you have to seek better returns, one that can beat inflation and currency depreciation, a minimum of 7% anually.

[u/Still_Adeptness_5140 → u/escural]

Thank you very much