People move out to other countries for various purposes, be it educational or professional. When you move out to another country and start living there, you are then considered an expatriate. Now, when you are going out of your country permanently, or at least for a long time, it certainly comes with quite a few difficulties. One of the sectors the expatriates face difficulties in is the financial sector.
Moving out to other countries can be expensive, as most of the time people focus on moving to a more developed country than them. Also, different countries have different financial policies, which can result in extra costs. Therefore, having a strong and deeply analyzed financial plan is a must.
Let’s try to dig a bit deeper. Several issues come as financial difficulty. You may have your assets scattered into multiple places, which conserves the flexibility of utilizing those financial assets. Adding to that, moving to other countries for educational purposes can be a big financial issue because education in developed countries can be much expensive! Furthermore, there are lots of expatriates who stay in that specific country for quite a long time but don’t know what to do after that. They don’t know whether they will be going for repatriation or not. They are so confused regarding this that they can’t come to any decision easily. And lastly, no one can ignore the unexpected incidents that come without any notice! Yes, emergencies do pop up, and people need emergency money in those situations. If someone is in their home country, it is pretty easy to arrange even larger amounts if you don’t have that much with you. But when you are in a different country, you are there all alone and completely on your own. Indeed, it is a problematic situation!
After all these discussions, it is clear that having strong financial planning is essential. Therefore, let’s focus on the procedure of making a financial plan.
Step 1: You must have a clear idea of your financial condition and solvency. Check your bank balance and net worth of other assets. Check if you are on loan, or have any debts or credits due. Determine your net worth.
Step 2: Once you know your condition, set up some goals. If you have debts or loans, try to pay those as soon as possible. Try to make an emergency fund considering the emergencies.
Step 3: Start planning for the goals targeted at step no. 2. It is an essential step, as you cannot do anything without proper planning.
Step 4: Start doing money management. You may have short-term goals like savings for paying off debts. But in the case of long-term goals like investments and all, you need to consider quite a few things. Risk tolerance, the time frame of the investment, tax implications, etc. are some of the most crucial points to consider.
A notable factor is tax. Taxation policies for the expatriates are usually much different from the natives. There are lots of complications in this sector. Therefore, hiring a taxation advocate or advisor is the smartest move in this regard.
Step 5: Once you are done with all these four steps, review everything you did. Understand that financial plans aren’t static. They do change based on various situations. Therefore, make a document of it and review it every 3 to 4 months.
The most convenient and feasible way is to hire a financial advisor. There are lots of financial agencies or personnel who provide financial advice or plan it on behalf of you. Go for the local ones as they are the most knowledgeable. For example, if you are moving to Singapore, go for an expat financial planner Singapore expatriates go to. They will help you with all their expertise, and will eventually make your foreign life easier than ever!
