A Spanish professor struggled to save money in the US. Moving abroad helped him reach Lean FI at 47.
After living in the United States for years, Miguel Marquez moved to Brazil and then China to teach.
The lower cost of living helped him save 70% of his income and achieve “Lean FI.”
He currently plans to continue teaching, traveling, and working toward traditional financial independence.
Something happened for Miguel Marquez when a business opportunity brought him to Campina Grande, Brazil.
The professor earned about the same money as he did when he lived in Bloomington, Indiana, but the low cost of living allowed him to save significantly more.
“I managed to save 10 or 12 times the amount I saved in the US,” Marquez told Business Insider.
After completing his doctorate in French linguistics at Indiana University Bloomington, Marquez hoped to stay in the United States. She was originally from Spain and had spent nearly 11 years studying and teaching in Indiana, but had struggled to find a job that would sponsor a work visa.
He began applying elsewhere and found a position teaching Spanish at a university in northeastern Brazil. He lived there from 2016 to 2019, then returned to Spain in 2020 before accepting a position at a university in Shenzhen, China. For her first two years, she taught remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions, moving to China in 2022 and living there ever since.
At age 47, the professor said, he achieved “Lean FI,” a form of financial independence in which an individual invests enough to cover essential expenses but has little discretionary spending. Although he doesn’t plan to quit teaching anytime soon, he could theoretically quit and support a lean lifestyle with his investments.
Moving abroad allowed his income to increase even more
Marquez struggled to achieve meaningful savings while living in the United States. Most of the money he managed to put aside went towards his annual trip to Spain, and he said: “When I got on the plane to see my family at Christmas, everything was gone.”
At Campina Grande, his salary did not increase significantly, but almost all of his big expenses were reduced. He said he’s cut his housing costs in half, and a typical lunch will set him back $3 to $4, while dinner can be around $10.
Marquez received his undergraduate education in Spain before pursuing his international teaching career.Courtesy of Miguel Marquez
He experienced a similar dynamic in China, where he paid about $200 a month for a partially subsidized apartment on a college campus and relied on cheap public transportation rather than owning a car.
A subway ride costs less than $1, while a 40-minute ride into downtown Shenzhen costs about $10. Business Insider confirmed his rent by reviewing his June 2026 payment notice, which showed a monthly fee of 1,440 yuan.
His remit also includes a pension plan, a housing fund that receives employer contributions and an annual bonus ranging from one to three months of base salary.
“It all adds up,” he said. “That’s how I was able to make such rapid progress.”
Marquez estimates he earns about $75,000 a year before taxes and spends between $21,000 and $22,000, with a savings rate of about 70%.
“My money never went any further,” he said. “I’ve never had this much money to invest and I’ve never traveled as much internationally as I do now.”
Achieving Lean FI
Marquez started reading personal finance blogs and books around 2013, but said he wasn’t able to fully implement what he learned until he left the U.S., increased his savings rate and had more money to invest.
He broke down his journey to financial independence into stages. “He came first”F-your moneyHe defines it as saving enough to quit one job without needing another job immediately. Then he reached Coast FI, the point at which his existing investments could theoretically turn into enough money for a traditional retirement without contributing any more.
Spotted in Bangkok, Marquez prioritizes travel while saving 70% of his income.Courtesy of Miguel Marquez
He said he recently achieved Lean FI, which means his portfolio can cover housing, food and other essential expenses, as well as limited discretionary spending. Traditional FI, meanwhile, would mean saving about 25 times their annual expenses, based on the commonly cited guideline that retirees can withdraw 4% of their portfolio in the first year of retirement and adjust that amount for inflation.
Marquez wrote:Financial Freedom in Teacher SalaryHe’s investing most of his money in 2025 using a variation of a “permanent portfolio.” The strategy splits a portfolio evenly across four asset classes: stocks, long-term bonds, gold and cash. This appealed to him because he wanted more diversification and less volatility than a portfolio composed primarily of stocks and bonds.
Although Marquez is working towards traditional FI, he has no intention of quitting the job he enjoys anytime soon. Rather than viewing financial independence merely as a way to retire early, he sees it as the ability to build his life around the things he values: education, travel, and spending time with his family.
“I’m not a millionaire, but I feel like one,” he said.
His advice isn’t for everyone to move abroad. The strategy worked for him because it aligned with interests he had since he was young.
“If I met someone like me who loves traveling, loves foreign languages, loves living abroad, I would give them similar advice,” he said. “But I understand some people just want to stay there.”
His broader advice is to choose a path that suits the life you actually want.
“Get to know yourself, discover which strategy works best for you, and enjoy the process,” he said.
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