January 2005
I left the USA probably for many of the same reasons most do; the erosion of rights, the lawlessness of the courts, the intrusions of privacy, the omnipresence of big brother and the general mental decay of society. What once made America great, is now gone, or at best is quickly disappearing and I’d had enough. It was time to go.
My wife and I packed our things, put our little dog under the seat of the plane and headed south. Not being too sure of where we’d end up, our original idea was Panama. However, we made a stop over along the way in Costa Rica five years ago, and have never gone any further.
We are not wealthy retirees. I’m 46 and she’s, well, she still won’t say, but we had a very limited nestegg and the clock was ticking for us to find something to do to support ourselves. Neither of us spoke any Spanish (still don’t very well) and we’ve been living on tourist visas for 5 years. Not a very stable situation.
I have always been enamored by the idea of living the ‘PT’ lifestyle (Permanent Tourist – Previous Taxpayer – Perpetual Traveler) and now was my chance. It was very clear under this philosophy, that in order to sustain this without a substantial trust fund, that you must have a ‘portable business’ which allows you to operate from anywhere in the world. Tortuguero, Costa Rica .. I threw up a website and started offering financial privacy consulting services helping other ‘escapees’ protect their financial affairs and did pretty fair with that, but never really seemed to get ahead.
Foreign Currency Exchange trading (forex) always fascinated me and I had dabbled in it some with a managed account. My account manager at the time promptly lost my account using poor judgment. I figured I could do ‘at least that well’. My wife and I found ourselves often making better decisions than my account manager, so we set out to learn this business ourselves, and to become more technically proficient. It wasn’t until I took the time to learn the ins and outs that I truly became excited by the real possibilities, undaunted by our initial misfortune.
For example, Forex allows you to use leverage. In other words, I can control one contract of $100,000 in foreign currency for only $500. So if I can get on the right side of a move in the market and this move is only one half of one percent in a day, I can double my money! ($100,000 times .5). Each pip (point) is worth $10 to me. In other words, this move was worth up to $2,400 profit, on a $500 commitment, and was completed in less than a day!
Now we’re talking some real profits !
These moves don’t happen every day. But they do happen several times a month. And lesser moves occur daily which are still quite profitable. Risk is very manageable and is limited only to the amount invested. We like to operate with the philosophy of only committing 10% of our account into the market at any given time to manage the risk. If we get hit with adverse market movements (and we do) our downside is limited and we have plenty of cushion to make it up the next time. We have learned that risk management is more important than profit management.
We were fortunate in finding a company here locally which brought us in under their wing to train us and set us up with them. We practiced heartily on the Free Demo accounts where we could trade fearlessly on ‘play money’ and make all the mistakes we needed to make in order to learn and gain experience. This is how it’s done….demo trading until confidence is built along with experience.
Even with the help of this company which got us started, our training there was quite limited we felt, and we scoured the internet for additional resources and soaked up as much as we could.
At this stage of the game, we have developed the perfect ‘PT’ business. We generate significant profits from our computer using online, internet based trading platforms in the Fx markets. We can also trade stocks, precious metals, indexes and commodities if we like and we do play with that to a limited degree.
I can do this anywhere! The Fx markets trade 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. We recently took a trip to Europe. I could hook up my laptop in the hotel room to a broadband connection which is now readily available in most ‘name’ hotels. No matter the time of day, or wherever I am, I can make money in the market. I was conducting my business in between tours in Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Lucern, Copenhagen and London !
What freedom! Being able to enjoy the best that the world has to offer, and my trading along the way paid for the trip, and then some!! How else can you do that?
In our training and development stages in the Fx markets we sorted through the bad and kept the good and have put all of this together now, into a complete training and support system for the benefit of others. We now wish to share the best of what we have learned and help others take shortcuts that we did not have available other than through our own trial and error. Through all of this experience we have developed a winning system and portfolio of resources that allows us to generate profits from our computer, from anywhere in the world, anytime of the day! I believe now, I am a true ‘PT’ !
We have now put together a private investment club with an internet delivery system which allows access to the training and support materials we feel are needed for success. So, for those who seek the types of results in their lives that we have shared here, we are pleased to help and get you on the right track.
I wish everyone success, prosperity and the blessings of freedom !
To Contact Rex send email to ellen@vrgroup.info

In the first article of this series of Worldwide Travel covering South Africa, we had a vacation getaway to Johannesburg with its reputation of a vibrant, vivid and busy city. Next in line is Pretoria and there could not be a bigger difference between the two cities that are only 56 kilometers apart.
Pretoria is a beautiful city and the administrative and diplomatic capital of South Africa. Compared to Johannesburg’s rainbow colored craziness, Pretoria is the stately lady, very proper and rooted in the “Voortrekker” (pioneers) past. Therefore it is also known as “City of the Voortrekkers”. The pace is much slower in Pretoria and people still take time to smile and talk.
The polulation is just under a million and the climate is subtropical with hot, wet summers and relatively mild, dry winters. The city was founded in November of 1855 and is renowned for its distinct, jacaranda-lined streets. In spring and early summer (October) the blooming jacaranda trees form fragrant lilac “tunnels” along the streets. Interestingly enough, the jacaranda is a Brazilian species but have become somewhat synonymous with Pretoria.
The city is home to many grand public buildings and monuments and is designed around beautiful gardens and parks.. The most notable is the enormous Voortrekker Monument, remembering the Great Trek of the previous century as well as the exquisite sandstone Union Buildings designed by Sir Herbert Baker. This is also where Nelson Mandela was introduced as President in May 1995. A number of foreign embassies can also be found in Pretoria.
The Pretoria Zoo is known worldwide and is the largest zoo in South Africa. It is a splendid home to many extraordinary species and features a freshly renovated aquarium and reptile park. Rides on cable cars provide spectacular views of the zoo and the city. A very peaceful escape amidst the hustle and bustle of city life.
The Loftus Stadium is one of the oldest and largest stadiums in South Africa and was originally built to cater to thousands of rugby fans, but is also used for big soccer matches. A visit to Loftus is interpreted as a highlight to many a South African.
Pretoria is home to many good hotels and excellent restaurants and being the home of one of South Africa’s largest Universities, it is a young and fun place to be and well worth a visit on your next vacation getaway.
Ina Smit has a passion for Worldwide Travel and loves to share her experiences with you as well as giving useful tips for future vacation getaways.