As you can probably tell from recent posts, I’m moving away from “Personal Finance 101” topics and on to more complex topics around investing, taxes, and retirement. These topics can be straightforward if you live and work in one country, but they become infinitely more complex when you are trying to deal with two different tax jurisdictions.
I’ve now been on this quest to improve my personal financial situation for over six months, and I think I can safely say that I’ve mastered the basics. I’m living within a budget, I don’t have any credit card debt, I’m on track to pay off my student loans within the next year and a half, and I’ve built up my emergency fund. It’s now time to turn more seriously to the topic of investing my money.
If you’re an expat or avid traveler like me, you’ll be familiar with the hassles of juggling multiple currencies and working out how to get the best exchange rates and minimize transaction fees. You may be using PayPal so people can pay you in multiple currencies, or maybe you’ve found a card with low or no withdrawal fees. Up until now, I’ve been using my US Capital One account when I travel – no foreign transaction fees, and free international ATM withdrawals. Unfortunately, even that has become a hassle for me, because I can’t use the US app on my UK phone to check my balance, nor can I log onto the website, because their two-factor authentication uses either the app (which I can’t access) or a US phone number (which I don’t have).
It’s definitely a slog.
Austerity Kate 