While the past few years have been economically challenging, it has reaffirmed the importance of keeping a close eye on budgets. As an expat, you’ll want to maximise the smaller amounts so you can get the best experience possible, and leave room for variety.
To help with these, we’ve compiled a few tips for saving money as an expat. The process is very similar to saving money while on home soil, so we’ll be going over budgeting, second hand shopping, and how Currencies Direct can help.
Budgeting
Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways. Budgeting, for instance, is probably the number one tip for saving money – expat or not.
The best way to go about this is to make a note of every expense you have, and make sure they’ve been paid. If you do this before you spend anything else, you can see your outgoings and work from there.
Having that knowledge then allows you to set a goal – be it have savings as a safety net, or a ‘rainy day’ fund. From here, it would also be prudent to keep track of ay other outgoings. That’ll allow you to find patterns and create accurate budgets for exceptions like birthdays or Christmas.
This better handle on your own expenditure can help you weather any financial challenges which may come your way. The preparedness can add just that bit of extra cushioning to your new life elsewhere, giving you the means to take that extra day trip out.
Second hand shopping
If you’re in need of furniture, clothing, even non-essentials like tech, second-hand is a good way to save money. While you do need to be mindful of the quality, oftentimes the savings are worth a few scuffs.
As an expat, it can be quite difficult to find out where the best places are to go, but there are scores of guides across the internet and social media. You can also find people aiming to sell their own things locally, which could help you pick up bargains.
Similarly, if you take the route of second-hand shopping, it can help you get better acquainted with the tastes and local preferences. It’s an easy way to save some cash and become more integrated with the culture of your new home.
Embrace the expat and local communities
If you aren’t already, a good way to save money is to chat to your fellow expats. If they’ve been there longer than you, they’ll likely know the best spots to buy groceries, the bars with the cheapest drinks and so on.
Similarly, they may be closer with the local community than you. As such, they could give you general day-to-day tips on how to keep your costs down, relative to where you’re living. For instance, many places have an expat focused supermarket chain, which is often more expensive than where the locals shop.
Getting better acquainted with the locals may also allow you to dodge the so-called ‘expat tax’, so integrating with the community can literally pay off.
How we could help
Here at Currencies Direct, we can help you save money as an expat through our award winning, service.
Unlike most high-street banks, there are no transfer fees when moving your money abroad and our highly competitive exchange rates can also help your money go further.
In addition, we also offer a range of tools which can help you to protect your money and maximise the returns on your transfers.
For instance, with a Forward Contract, a small deposit allows you can fix the current rate for up to a year. While you might miss out if the exchange rate improves you will be shielded from any market volatility.
We also offer the ability to set a limit order, wherein you can tell us a target exchange rate. Then, the transaction will only go through when the rate is hit, further taking the anxiety away from times of economic turbulence.
You can make a transfer 24/7 online or via our app, or speak to your dedicated account manager who will be able to talk you through your transfer options.
Get in touch with our team via email at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7847 9400 to see how much time and money you could save on your transfers.
