5 Personal Finance Tips that Foreigners Living Overseas Should Know
Working overseas is very lucrative. This is because the employer will pay you more money than he would when you work in a local based workstation. As a matter of fact, there are thousands of people that get work permits that allow them to engage in gainful employment in a foreign country. The bad news is that it’s only a handful of them that returns home with something to show for their absence. Most foreigners get carried away by the glamour of working in a foreign country and forget to focus on their financial goals. Overseas contracts don’t last for long. You should therefore put your finances in order to avoid getting into dilemma when you return to your home country after the end of your tenure. Below are tips that can help you in organizing your finances when working overseas.
- Set a Budget
Most people complain that they don’t know where there money goes once they get paid. The problem with most foreigners is that they like spending their money without being guided by a budget. It’s actually difficult to tame your money without a budget especially when you are in a country where the local currency is weaker than the US dollar. If you want to attain financial freedom, you must start budgeting for every single cent before buying anything no matter how little it is. When you set a monthly or a weekly budget, you will be able to tell where your money goes. Budgeting will help you avoid things that are not specified in your expenses.
- List All the Expenses
Although a budget can be used to keep an eye on your money, it only accounts for what is yet to be spent. In fact, it’s not easy to track your money by referring to your budget. This is because you might have changed your mind about some of the items that are in the budget. You should therefore literary write down all the expenses in a book or a word editor in your computer. This will help in ensuring that you don’t lose track of every single buck was spent. Whether you went to the barber shop or bought drinks at the food court, just write it down.
- Take Advantage of Small Loans
The problem of working overseas is that you don’t have a strong support network. Unlike back at home where you can borrow money from friends and relatives, you can’t count on any one when you are in a foreign country because you are still new to most people. But there is hope. There are institutions that specialize in providing soft loans to foreigners that work overseas legally. You should therefore feel free to apply for personal loan for work permit holders in Singapore. The advantage of such loan is that you will not be asked for security. As long as you are on payroll, you are good to go.
- Save More Often
You should make a habit of saving a small fraction of your earnings. Even if it’s just a few bucks, just go ahead and save because it’s the little efforts that will matter in the final end. By the rule of thumb, you should spare not less than 10 percent of your salary for a rainy day. However, you should strive to save more than 10 percent especially if you still have extra money after budgeting. The money that you save should be transferred to the bank account back home. In fact, you should have a separate local bank account for depositing money that you can use during emergencies.
- Update Your Insurance Cover
Before you relocate to a foreign country, you should first inform your insurance company about your intended move. Assuming that your premium will remain valid when you are in another country is the worst mistake you can make. Most insurance companies will refuse to cover you for medical expenses unless you are in your home country. By informing them, they will be able to make the necessary adjustments.
