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 ====== Introduction ======
+[[American Expat Retiree Financials | contents]]
+===Who is this book for?===
+American Expat Retiree Financials
 American - USA citizen, with passport and social security number\\
 Expat - living abroad, or planning extended travel abroad\\
-Retired - no longer has active income\\
+Retiree - no longer has active income\\
-Six-Figures - holding less than $1,000,000\\
+Financials - Banking, Investments, Residence, Taxes, Social Security, Estate Planning, Payments, Credit\\
+edition
+For persons holding less than $1 million.
+This book covers only USA-licensed investments, companies and accounts.  No foreign investments or income.
+This book contains mostly general knowledge and also has some special sections specifically for expats.
+===Key Points===
+  * Get on it now, as soon as you stop working.  Don’t wait.
+  * RMD is a scam.  Roth Conversion is the magic cure.
+  * Open three brokerage accounts:
+    * taxable
+    * tax-deferred IRA
+    * tax-free Roth IRA
+  * Consolidate your assets into these three accounts.
+  * Maximize Roth Conversions every year, while minimizing taxes, until all of your tax-deferred IRA assets are in your tax-free Roth IRA account.
+===For Expats===
+  * If you plan to travel with possible extended stays overseas, get your assets in order before you leave the USA.
+  * If you reside outside of the USA, even temporarily, there is only one bank that will support you, and it’s not a bank.  It’s a credit union:
+    * State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU).
+  * If you reside outside of the USA, even temporarily, there is only one independent broker who will support you:
+    * Interactive Brokers (IBKR).
+  * USA-licensed Mutual Funds are not for sale to non-USA residents.  Use ETFs instead.
+  * USA-licensed ETFs are not for sale to residents of most EU countries.  Build your own fund instead, starting with the Magnificent Seven stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla.
+=== Good News ===
+A born-in-the-USA (naturalized) citizen of the US is a citizen for life.  This citizenship cannot be revoked.  You cannot be exiled.  And when you return to the US they cannot deny entry.
+Your social security is gold.  You have earned it.  Even if you renounce your citizenship, the SSA will still send your check every month.
+The IRS considers every US citizen a "US Tax Resident".  That means your income is taxed, no matter where you live or where you work.