Moving overseas is long and difficult, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you think of everything you need to do.
As you likely know by now, moving overseas requires a lot of planning and figuring out the logistics in a wide range of areas, and one of the most important things to figure out is your finances. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place, as this post will walk you through six things you can do to prepare yourself financially for the move.
Make a List of Expenses
The first thing we’d recommend is to make a list of expenses that relate to the move. The sooner you start this list, the better because as time goes by, you will keep thinking of new things to add to the list.
The truth is that most people only budget for the big things, such as the move and a home in their new country. While these are, of course, very important and will be discussed soon, you also need to keep in mind that there are many smaller expenses that will quickly add up. For example, you may need to book a hotel for a few days once you land, and you will likely need to pay visa application fees. Aside from that, you will also need to consider things like setting up your credit card for travel insurance.
Set up Financial Services
Speaking of credit cards . . . you should try to get all of your financial services like card services, insurance, and bank accounts set up for your new home country well in advance since the last thing you will want is to be stuck in a foreign country and unable to access your money. If you need some help choosing the right bank for you, give this post a read.
Save up for a Deposit
As mentioned, you may need to stay in a hotel or other short-term accommodation for a while after you arrive, just until you’re settled and ready to find a new place to call home.
However, finding a new place to call home means you must have a fair bit of cash to pay for a deposit. Whether you plan on renting or buying, we recommend saving money well in advance. If you’ve left it until the last minute, though, there are some ways that you can save money fast.
Look into the Costs of the Move
Whether you are the type of person who wants to take all your belongings overseas with you or whether you’d rather leave them behind and start new, you will have a lot of stuff to take with you, which means you will need to pay a lot to move them.
Even if you take the bare minimum, such as your clothes and technological devices, you will have several suitcases, so you may need to pay extra to take those on the plane. And if you will be moving big items, you need to budget for the cost of a shipping container.
Plan Your Trip
Of course, to move from a new country, you will need to get there. And unfortunately, international travel generally isn’t cheap, especially if your whole family will be flying over.
Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to get cheaper flights, such as saving up frequent flyer miles, using cheaper airlines, and booking your flights as soon as possible. For more tips on getting cheap flights, click here.
Find an Income Source
Most of the time, people already have a job offer when they move abroad, but this isn’t always the case. This means that you may land in your new home country without any assured income.
So, one of the first things you need to do is figure out how to sustain yourself and your family until you find a job. Often, this means diving into your savings for a few weeks or even months, so we’d recommend saving up as much as possible to keep you afloat until you’re back on your feet.
In Conclusion
We know that moving abroad isn’t easy. As if it’s not hard enough to say goodbye to everything you know, there’s also the added element of uncertainty and the stress of trying to figure out how you will manage your finances.
The best advice we can give you is to start planning and saving as soon as you know you want to move to ensure that things go as smoothly as possible. There will always be some unexpected obstacles when it comes to moving abroad, so the more prepared you are, the better.