Losing Value for Your Money

As an expat, you would be sending money to your home country in some form or another. Because of this is your hard earned money away from home, you would want full value to be received in your home bank account. The following are some ways you can protect your money’s value when undergoing the transfers from one country to another.

• Watch Currency Exchanges. Often, the money you earn in your country of work would be different from your home country’s currency. When sending money, there is an equivalency rate pegged by the market (or oftentimes, the bank) for your home country’s currency for the money you have earned. Do learn about the currency exchange rates to get more value for your money when sent home. From there, you can learn about when the best time is to send money and when not to, depending on the currency valuations to provide the most value for your money when sending from abroad.
• Do Your Research. With the many banking products offered to expats by way of their savings, you need to read up and learn about all of them to make a decision on what to do with the money you earn abroad. You may need to do your research on the bank, the interest rates, the expenses and other financial matters for you to be able to maximize the value for your money while abroad. There may also be some financial product or scheme that can give you value in the long run and instant liquidity offered by some bank. In searching these products, find out and get testimonials from others using it to see what the value you can earn for your money while abroad.
• Saving May Earn More than Sending. This may be a conundrum to many, as people tend to send what they earn right away to their home country. With your knowledge of the exchange rate, you may learn that saving your money in the country of work may earn more than sending the money over to your home country. In earning interest, you would be able to overcome the losses that you suffer when transferring funds, thus earning more value for your money in the long run.
• Overseas Purchases May Not Be a Safe Investment. Many would tend to purchase overseas properties or items of value in the country where they work as investments for their future. This is a risk you need to read and learn about in order to be properly apprised of the obligations you are entering into, as the financial system you are accustomed to may not be the same as the obligation you would assume back home. Thus, it would be best to read up and learn in order to make the right decision about your finances.

As you can see, there are many things you need to consider about the money you earn while abroad. You need to read up and learn about currency exchanges, financial products and investments while you are away for your work. Being prudent is the best way for you to earn value for your money and make the finances you receive bear fruit in the long run.

For a more comprehensive discussion on sending money home, do visit us at Demand for Private Banking Soars in Brazil please visit the author’s site The Gringos Forum.