Webby
Wed 17 Oct 2007
Managing money on the road - it’s often a matter of timing
Posted by Webby under Earnings and BudgetAs a Working Nomad I am more often than not in a situation where I am earning money in a currency that is not the local one. I would therefore withdraw money from my UK bank account and not think too much about exchange rates etc.
However now that I am in one country for the forseeable future I have been thinking more and more about international money management.
When I arrived in NZ one month ago the UK pound was much stronger than now against the Kiwi dollar. It was something like 33p = NZ$1. Now the rate is something like 38p=NZ$1 which makes a considerable difference when you are living from a foreign currency!
I have a bank account here in NZ and what I should have done was to exchange a large sum of money one month ago and in effect play the currency market.
The fact is I did n’t and now it is costing me! I knew at the time that historically 33p represented a good rate of exchange.
So while this advice might seem a little obvious it is well worth playing the currency market and shifting money around accordingly.
One further tip is aimed at people from the UK. The Nationwide Building Society offers free international withdrawals with their Flex account. This must have saved me heaps over the last few years.
If anyone knows of any other banks for other countries that have low fees they might want to mention them here…
October 17th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I know what you mean. I’ve currenly got my Google cheques heading home to Canada to cash into a US account. So I’ve got a bit of US money but don’t want to touch it because the exchange rate is crap at the moment. I think it will be staying in US funds for the foreseeable future. I guess one advantage for me is that I’m going home for a few weeks soon and live about 15 minutes from the Yank border so I’ll be able to hop over the river to do some shopping if there are things I still need.
Thanks for the tip on Nationwide too. I was wondering if it would be worth the hassle to swap banks but I think since I’ll be abroad for the foreseeable future it makes sense. There are few things more annoying than opening a bank account in the UK though.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:22 am
The drop in the US dollar is effecting most internet marketers who don’t live in the US. It is basically a pay cut. Even the Chinese RMB is much stronger now than it used to be. I think more people will be looking for non-US affiliate programs.
October 17th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Yea Nationwide rocks and you can even open up more than one account so you have a back up ATM card if you lose your first one!
October 19th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I think one of the ways to minimize forex risk when you are earning multiple currencies is to make sure you try to earn and spend in the same country for example if I ever earn enough to be paid out in US$ I will probably keep the payout in US$ if I was planning a trip to the country. When I swap between Australia and NZ a lot I keep accounts/credit cards on both sides of the Tasman so I can spent it where its earnt
October 19th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Yup! I know all-to-well that this currency market sucks. I’m at the point now, where if I cash in or transfer any of the funds I have in my US dollar account to my Canadian checking account to pay bills etc… I’ll loose money big-time!
Gone are the days when I could cash a US $ and get $1.58 Cdn from it.
We’re still waiting for books, magazine, greeting cards etc to reflect the strength of the Canadian dollar. Since we’re still having to pay a much higher price for such items that Americans.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:32 pm
http://clarkhoward.com/
My wife and I listen to Clark Howard on our commute home. He offers tons of financial advice on how to make the most of your money and has covered the topic of money exchanging on multiple occasions (such as were to exchange money to get the best rate)
Gustafson
http://www.TheViewFromHome.com
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:32 pm
I’ve been moaning about this for a while. While I was in Thailand, the dollar went from 37 baht to a low of 29. However, people with lots of cash or travelers checks got higher rates. I’m not sure if the travelers check exchange fees made the exchange better or not. But drawing from my checking account definitely gave me the lower rate.
‘Nipping’ across the border to the US can be time-consuming, I understand, since we have cracked down on borde security just at the time when record numbers of Canadians are trying to do all their shopping in the US.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Still when I was younger we used to go ‘over the river’ all the time, fill up the car with petrol and buy stuff. I remember my parents making us kids wear a zillion layers of clothing and the secret compartment we had in the boot of our car because they didn’t want to delare any of it. Ah what great parents I had!
It looks like it’s back now in a big way. One of my friends goes to school in the States and has to queue up with all those shoppers and isn’t too impressed.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I’m considering Citibank IPB offshore in Singapore when we hit the road - does anyone have any experience with them, or using offshore banks in general? My only concern is the potential cost of transactions although they do let you hold your money in about a dozen currencies.