what to do with my paycheck...?

[Enoch83]

i am wondering what to do with my money earned from TEFL. do ya'll keep your american or home country bank accounts and send money home or do ya'll open up overseas bank accounts and just use it there. i heard it's not a good idea to wire the money home for somereason. i was thinking i could use paypal and transfer it to my bank account that way.
also do alot of ya'll use american credit cards overseas and if pllaces take american debit cards thru visa. thanks for your time

[chade]

Wiring is expensive, which is why most people don't do it. Banks will charge for an outgoing wire and then you'll be charged AGAIN for an incoming wire on the other end. Furthermore, you'll have to pay international surcharges...it adds up quickly.

If you want to send money home for whatever reason, there are a couple ways to do that, both of which cost money. One is to use a private service such as Lloyd's of London homepage .

Another method is to use some sort of international bank that is in both your home country and working country (e.g., citi). Personally, I save my money for a lump sum and send it through citi to the US and then do a free transfer to my real institution.

I'm sure there are other ways to do it. You could potentially pay into something like a local or international mutual fund (which may subsidize you paying in) and let it sit instead of lumping it into CDs or a savings account. Likewise, you could just keep all your money in cash and get smoked while trying to exchange it for some terrible rate when you move...or simply PHYSICALLY take all the money home with you and use it as premium toilet paper or something. The possibilities are limitless...

If you don't need to pay anything at home, there is no real reason to send the money back. In that case, I recommend to keep the money locally unless you need to move or something, in which case you can use one of the above methods to transfer it or wire it (which is ok for a one-time deal for lumps of cash).

As for the debit cards, if it is marked with an international vendor such as Cirrus (look on the back), it will be taken internationally. Credit cards you might have a harder time with, depending on your country. Mastercard and Visa are your safest bets probably.

If you really can't think of anything to do with your money, you can always send it to me. I'll try to think of something.

[Enoch83]

thanks for your reply. i plan on moving to another country every 1-2 years so that i can travel the world while still making money. so what do you suggest i do if i'm going to keep moving? the international mutual fund way? or keep it locally and then do one big transfer.

i dont plan on coming back to the US for a good while but i would like to have money in the bank somewhere when if/when i come back. what do you do? a local bank? do you have an international credit card from ur home country or do you have a local one?

[gfell]

When you mention international credit card, are you referring to Cirrus and Maestro marks on them so that you can withdraw your funds from ATM machines around the world easily? That would be your best option to have a card with these marks on them.

It's best to setup a local bank account where you live and then make a few large transfers when suitable. If you have all your funds in 1 account overseas, then you have to pay high banking fees everytime you deposit because of the different currencies you are earning. Hence, makes a lot of sense to use a local bank when living in each of your intended countries.

[Enoch83]

is it easy to get a local bank account in general? i'll be living in Taipei so if anyone knows about that city in particular...is it like in america where you must be a citizen? how does that work? thanks for your time.

[kdavid]

Do yourself a favor and get into the habit of putting some money aside for the future. The cost of living out here is so cheap that it's easy to live modestly and put away money into savings every month. You'll thank yourself for it later.

[exported_kiwi]

Yep, I agree. One should always salt some savings away to prepare for tomorrow! I keep a stash of USD on hand and save about 1/3 of what I earn, depending on how much the missus spends in the malls on any given month.

[Enoch83]

ya i def plan on puttin some $$$ away, but is it easy to open local bank accounts overseas?

[englishaffairs]

In Japan and China it is easy for foreigners to open accounts from my experience. I think if ya have a passport and a valid visa should be no probs. Has anyone had difficulties in other countries?

I think that would be the way to go though, deposit locally, and then do a wire back to your bank in the states maybe couple times a year or as you feel comfortable. I honestly have only transferred money in and not out, but should be just the same and it is quite easy and just takes a few days. You will need your bank name and location, swift code, and your account number. Let your bank know your plans and see if they may have some other good advice, and while your there find out the rates your bank will charge so you can know what a decent amount will be to wire according to the charges. It may be a good idea to give a family member access to do some banking for you as well just in case some issues arrive, up to you but I found it helpful (such as for closing my account). But as I was withdrawing and not depositing, eventually there was no use in having that account anymore so now I do all my banking locally. Take that guys advice and save.... I gotta start doing that

[gfell]

In Japan you need a gaijin card (alien registration card) in order to open a bank account. If you have this, then it's easy to open an account.

In Taiwan, a passport wil suffice. In Hong Kong, also a passport is sufficient. If you are legally working in any country, then 99% of the time you shouldn't have a problem with opening a bank account.