SMART MONEY ADVICE WHEN MOVING ABROAD
Are you considering moving abroad to improve your quality of life? If so, you certainly aren’t alone. Growing numbers are choosing to leave the U.S and Europe in search of better career opportunities, an easier retirement and a more fluid way of life. This could turn out to be a very smart financial move. Depending on where you move to, a much lower cost of living and a rapidly expanding economy means that not only will you save money, but with a few of the right financial moves, you could make money too.
Countries like China, Brazil and India routinely offer financial incentives to westerners. These could be things like home loans with a lower rate of interest, or investment opportunities. All this, combined with tropical locations, can seem irresistible. But before you take the plunge and investigate moving, you’ll need to think through your financial arrangements.
Making a solid plan for your money before you move abroad means that you won’t be stuck without housing you can easily afford or without emergency savings to make it home quickly if you need to.
Do Your Financial Homework
If moving abroad is a serious consideration for you, then you need to start saving immediately. Ideally, you should aim to save up seven months to a year’s worth of living expenses before you step on a flight. First of all, find out what the cost of living is really like locally. Do your research into the cost of things like food and utilities and work with local lettings agents to realistically see what an apartment would cost you, and where you’d need to be located for good transport options.
Get Started Saving
Begin to build your savings by revisiting your monthly budget and identifying where savings can be made. Cancel any unused subscriptions, shop around for the best deals on electric and broadband, shop for discounted food and consider other short term changes you could make, such as cancelling your gym membership and streaming home workouts on YouTube.
If you have the option to move in with friends or family temporarily to reduce your rent, that can make a huge difference to how much and how quickly you can save. You can repay with a few free holidays once you’re settled in your new destination!
Factor in things like your job, family situation, lifestyle and the exchange rate when working out what you’ll need to be comfortable.
If things are moving faster than that, and you have a job offer which means you don’t have that much time before moving, then as a minimum make sure you have enough to cover housing costs and deposits, emergency health care and the cost of a plane ticket home.
Set Up A Bank Account In Your New Country
Depending on where in the world you’re choosing to relocate, the banking system may be far less developed than in your home country, so it’s another thing to research in advance.
Things to look into include the international clearing networks that the bank uses, and whether they issue cards with providers which work internationally, like Visa or MasterCard. If a bank is a part of a large, international network or works in partnership with a bank in your home country, that’s a good sign of their reliability.
It’s also a good idea to find out if bank deposits are backed by a guarantee scheme or not. In some cases, this is tied to the country’s government and then it’s also worth thinking about the country’s stability and political situation.
Sometimes the guarantor can be a private organisation, so if that’s the case, do your homework to make sure they are strong and reliable as well. Once that’s done, move onto looking at features such as transfer fees, interest rates and how good the ATM network is.
If you have reason to think you’ll be purchasing a home or needing a personal loan, check that the bank has the facility to offer borrowing to customers at decent rates. You will also need to check that your bank allows foreign citizens to hold accounts. In some countries, there may be issues with legal compliance which is a requirement of some western governments to do with taxation which means the bank will not allow you to hold an account.
Being aware of taxation before you go is crucial to avoid any problems developing for the future, but with a little forward planning you can sort out your finances and be free to enjoy your move.
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