A Spanish professor struggled to save money in the US. Moving abroad helped him reach Lean FI at 47.

Something clicked for Miguel Marquez when a job opportunity brought him to Campina Grande, Brazil.

The professor was earning roughly the same amount he had made while living in Bloomington, Indiana, but the lower cost of living allowed him to save significantly more.

"I managed to save 10 or 12 times the amount that I was saving in the US," Marquez told Business Insider.

After completing a PhD in French linguistics at Indiana University Bloomington, Marquez hoped to remain in the US. Originally from Spain, he had spent nearly 11 years in Indiana studying and teaching, but struggled to secure a job that would sponsor his work visa.

He began applying elsewhere and landed a position teaching Spanish at a university in northeastern Brazil. He lived there from 2016 to 2019, then returned to Spain before accepting a position at a university in Shenzhen, China, in 2020. He taught remotely for his first two years because of COVID-19 restrictions, relocated to China in 2022, and has lived there ever since.

At 47, the professor said he has achieved "Lean FI," a variation of financial independence in which an individual has invested enough to cover essential expenses but little discretionary spending. While he doesn't plan to stop teaching anytime soon, he could theoretically quit and support a lean lifestyle with his investments.

Moving abroad allowed his income to stretch much further

Marquez struggled to build meaningful savings while living in the US. Most of what he managed to set aside went toward his annual trip home to Spain, he said: "Once I took a flight to see my family at Christmas, everything was gone."

In Campina Grande, his salary didn't increase significantly, but nearly all of his major expenses declined. He said he cut his housing costs in half, while a typical lunch would set him back $3 to $4, and dinner might run about $10.

He's experienced a similar dynamic in China, where he pays about $200 a month for a partially subsidized apartment on his university campus and relies on inexpensive public transportation rather than owning a car.

A subway ride costs less than $1, while a 40-minute ride into downtown Shenzhen runs him about $10. Business Insider verified his rent by reviewing a June 2026 payment notice showing a monthly charge of 1,440 yuan.

His job 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.

"Everything adds up," he said. "That's how I've been able to make progress so fast."

Marquez estimates that he takes home about $75,000 a year after taxes and spends between $21,000 and $22,000, putting his savings rate at roughly 70%.

"My money has never gone further," he said. "I've never had so much money in investments, and I've never traveled internationally as much as I do now."

Achieving Lean FI

Marquez began reading personal finance blogs and books around 2013, but said he couldn't fully apply what he was learning until he left the US, increased his savings rate, and had more money to invest.

He broke his financial independence journey into stages. First came "F-you money," which he defines as enough savings to leave a job without immediately needing another one. He then reached Coast FI, the point at which his existing investments could theoretically grow into enough money for a traditional retirement without further contributions.

More recently, he said, he reached Lean FI, meaning his portfolio could cover housing, food, and other essential expenses, along with limited discretionary spending. Traditional FI, meanwhile, would mean accumulating about 25 times his 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, who wrote "Financial Freedom on a Teacher's Salary" in 2025, invests most of his money using a variation of the "permanent portfolio." The strategy divides a portfolio equally among four asset classes: stocks, long-term bonds, gold, and cash. It appealed to him because he wanted more diversification and less volatility than a portfolio consisting primarily of stocks and bonds.

Although Marquez is working toward traditional FI, he doesn't have immediate plans to leave a job he enjoys. Rather than viewing financial independence solely as a means of retiring early, he sees it as the ability to build his life around what he values: education, travel, and time with his family.

"I'm not a millionaire, but I feel like a millionaire," he said.

His advice is not that everyone should move abroad. The strategy worked for him because it aligned with interests he's had since he was a teenager.

"If I met somebody like me who likes to travel, likes foreign languages, and likes living abroad, then I would give them similar advice," he said. "But I understand that some people just want to stay put."

His broader advice is to choose a path that fits the life you actually want.

"Get to know yourself, discover what strategy works best for you, and enjoy the process," he said.