Making Progress On My Ultimate Goal

Hey everyone! I’m in Thailand for 3 weeks to visit my dad and check on the progress of the RB40 Villa, my ultimate goal. I wrote a post about it 12 years ago. The ultimate goal is a long-term project you can work on for the rest of your life. I thought I need something to do after taking an early retirement from my engineering career. It turned out life was really busy with a kid. I didn’t make much progress on the RB40 Villa until this year.  

The original vision was to build a rustic family compound on the beach. There would be 10 little huts where I could host friends and families. Also, I rent them out to guests. There would be a big garden, a common dining area, a BBQ area, an outdoor pizza oven, a yoga area, a pool, and other places where guests can hang out and rejuvenate. Sounds cool, right? Unfortunately, I don’t have 10 acres on the beach. That kind of property is hard to come by. I had to scale down my dream drastically.

Bang Saen

Fortunately, my family has a property in Bang Saen Beach because my mom grew up nearby. This is a beach town in Thailand. It is the nearest beach to Bangkok. Many families go there for a day trip or a weekend getaway. The beach isn’t that nice, though. The water is cloudy and sandy most of the year. There is some plastic trash in the water and around the beach area. However, the trash situation has improved tremendously over the last 10 years. There used to be way more trash all over the place. They have a machine to pick up trash now. I’m sure there is a beach cleanup crew as well.

You have to go further south for the breathtaking beaches you see on social media. There are a few foreigners at Bang Saen Beach. It’s mostly Thai people.

Here is a picture of the promenade.

There are food stalls all along the beach promenade. They also set up chairs and umbrellas for rent on the beach. I never liked the beach umbrella arrangement, but I guess you need it because of the hot sun. Thai people tend to avoid the sun as much as they can. I think the palm trees provide good shade already. This beach area is about 1.6 miles long.

On Tuesdays, the government prohibits any business on the beach. The vendors had to remove everything and clear out. This is great. The beach is a lot nicer every Tuesday. Also, I think this beach is a national park now. No smoking or drinking alcohol on the beach.

All in all, Bang Saen is not the best beach town, but it isn’t the worst either. The cost of living is cheaper than in Bangkok and Pattaya. The seafood is cheap and plentiful. It’s a local tourist town.

Delicious seafood

Every meal with my dad feels like an eating competition. He loves to buy too much food. I guess he is overcompensating for a childhood of poverty. There is a small fisherman market near the pier in Bang Saen. The fishermen sell fresh catch in the morning to restaurants and vendors. If you’re lucky, you can purchase some very fresh seafood. Many times, all the seafood was already sold. The businesses reserved a portion of the catch.

 Grilled scallops – We removed the guts and ate the rest of the meat. They were great.

 Grilled squids – I prepped these squids myself! We dip fresh seafood in a spicy chili sauce. They call Nam Jim seafood. Yum.

Mantis shrimps – These were delicious. The meat was succulent and sweet. The shell was difficult to remove, though. My dad got 4 pounds of these mantis shrimps from the pier. They cost about $5 per pound.

Street food – There are many street-side restaurants nearby. My dad ordered pork satay, duck rice, bbq pork rice, and wonton soup.

Ice cream – Fresh coconut ice cream with young coconut meat. An ice cream vendor cycled by our place and we ordered some. It was delicious and super cheap, less than $1.

The beach shack

This property was overgrown with plants and full of garbage from 40 years of neglect. My dad had to clear the lot and build from scratch. He has already spent 6 months on this project. The property looked like an overgrown jungle earlier this year. You can see what it looked like behind the fence.

After clearing the land, my dad applied for a house permit. Then he ordered a wooden house. Traditional Thai wooden house is built like a prefab home. They built the wooden part in 3 sections and trucked them here. Then, they put it together on-site about a month ago. We also had to pour a foundation. The soil is very sandy. A concrete foundation is okay for a wooden house, but you’d need pilings if you build a bigger structure.

Here is the house so far.

Originally, there was supposed to be a bathroom in the wooden section. However, my dad said the wet bathroom would destroy the wood. So he is adding a concrete section in the back. This will be the kitchen and bathroom. Unfortunately, the contractor is taking longer than anticipated. The bathroom is not ready yet. That’s why RB40Jr and I are staying in a hotel for now. My dad has been using the temporary bathroom at a construction site next door.

It’s pretty nice here. There is a breeze most of the day and night. The house is 2 blocks from the beach, about 500 meters. I think it’ll be a nice beach house when it’s done. We could build a few more structures on the property later. The property is pretty small, though. We probably should put in a garden soon. If we don’t plant something, the native plants will take it back. Weeds are already chest-height in some areas.

The budget for this project was $60,000. I sent my dad the money last year. He spent about half of the budget so far.

Alright, that’s it for the latest update on the RB40 Villa. I guess I should rename it the RB40 Beach Shack. This is too small to be a villa. However, I could live very comfortably here when I’m older. The cost of living in Thailand is still very low compare to the United States.  

Do you have an big long-term project?

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Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.

Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!

Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.