For anybody, the opportunity to go live in another country can give way to amazing experiences. It can bring satisfaction to your life in so many ways but, of course, there can be huge obstacles and challenges. The pandemic has intensified a lot of these, especially in terms of travel, but as far as finances are concerned, there are a few things that we’ve all got to consider. Let’s have a look at what could cause issues when it comes to your financial planning.
The Unexpected
The first thing to remember is that life can happen. When it comes to moving to another country, there’s a lot of faith you’ve got to put into the process, especially when moving abroad for love. But of course, these are parts of life that we don’t necessarily want to think about.
Separation and divorce are incredibly common amongst people who move to other countries, and when it comes to moving to a place like the United States, there is the whole green card marriage setup to navigate. If you don’t fulfill certain criteria for your green card, if you end up getting divorced, you may have to move back to the country you came from.
This is why, in terms of our finances but also in terms of our self-preservation, we’ve got to be ready for the Unexpected. This is why it’s always a good idea to have a solid relationship with a financial planner and have integrated support to deal with the unexpected aspects of life.
What To Consider Next
So many of us don’t necessarily know how long we are going to stay in our country of choice. And therefore, you’ve got to plan for a number of different possibilities. For example, you may be offered a job in a different country or your immigration status may change. Whatever happens, you have got to think about what type of life you would like to live in your chosen country, as well as the cost of living.
When we hope to retire, we’ve got to consider where we can live comfortably so we can stop working without financial concerns. Sometimes, going back to where we came from is not in the equation, so we’ve got to start thinking, at the very least, 15 years ahead.
The Cost of Caring for Loved Ones
When we work in another country, we may be able to give our loved ones the care they deserve in a financial sense. And this means that we’ve got to start researching and preparing so we can help our loved ones get the care they need, or at the very least, help them with their finances.
It’s not an easy thing, especially if you move to another country in middle age. Your parents are that much older and will require some level of care and support, even if you cannot be there physically. Therefore, you may want to consider alternative ways of being able to raise funds. This could mean setting up a very simple direct payment to go into your loved ones’ account every month but also start considering diversifying your financial portfolio through other methods such as investing. Investing is one of those things that doesn’t provide massive returns all the time, so the earlier we start, the better.
The Assets We Have
If we have worked in different places we’ve got assets spread all over. For example, pensions could prove problematic if we have worked in a number of different countries. In some countries, there are services that can help you track all your pensions and put them into one pot, which could be a very useful tool to have. But it’s also a good idea to have a financial planner that has expertise in international regulations to help you along here.
Your Children or Dependents
There can be additional financial pressures if you have children as an ex-pat. International schools could be very expensive, and public schools might not be the best port of call based on you and your child’s language skills. On top of that, there are college fees and living expenses for you and your child.
There is a lot to consider. When moving to another country, a lot of people use it as the opportunity to start again. For so many people right now, the cost of living in certain countries is a lot better than where they are. So if you are looking to improve your finances, you can certainly benefit and have a better life as a result. However, as you can see, there is a number of obstacles that you have to consider.
