How I Spent $140k Last Year and Didn’t Go Broke

4 priceless money management tips I learned while traveling the world to Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, Qatar and the Philippines

The Author and His Wife at the Starbucks Farm in Costa Rica.

It’s crazy to be writing this.

But last year, I spent $140K and didn’t go broke.

I don’t consider myself rich by any means. But I guess in the Philippines—where I moved to be with my wife—I’m a millionaire.

A multi-millionaire in pesos, that is.

And so you don’t have to do the math. A million pesos is equal to $20K USD.

Having a million pesos or more in the Philippines is a big deal. Here you’re considered wealthy. And being a foreigner, anywhere I go in the country, people see me as a walking dollar sign.

Whenever my wife and I go through the drive-thru at the local McDonald’s or Jollibee fast-food restaurants, there are young kids and teenage boys begging for money. My wife calls them “side boys”—because they’re always on the side of cars looking for handouts.

Luckily, spending $140K didn’t break my bank account. Or put me in the awkward position of being a side boy, hustling for my next meal or peso.

Instead, I learned some valuable lessons from spending a lot of money. More money than I ever spent in my entire life.

And before I get to those money lessons, you’re probably wondering:

Hey Alex—Why did you spend $140K?

I’m so glad you asked.

It’s really a long story. So I’ll give you the shortest version possible.

For over a year, my long-distance girlfriend (now my wife) and I faced the challenge of meeting for the first time in-person. We had video chatted every day, celebrated holidays, our monthsary and got to know each other well.

So well, we knew we wanted to get married and spend our lives together, forever.

But there was a major problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic thwarted every effort to unite.