Managing Your Expat Money Worries

Managing Your Expat Money Worries


Whether you’re back home or away from home and working on assignment overseas, money worries can be some of the most crippling concerns that any of us face. Money worries can cause relationship issues, sleepless nights and ill health. As an expat you can sometimes feel isolated too – and this can compound the whole problem.

Managing your expat money worries becomes a priority if you want to enjoy your time overseas and get to grips with your financial status. In this article we’ll take you through sorting out any financial problems and worries so that you can enjoy your time abroad fully.

We will touch on why you should be honest about your financial situation with your spouse for example, and how you can get a plan in place to get on top of any money issues that you may have.
Be Honest About Your Financial Situation

If you try to deny the seriousness of any financial issues you have you are fooling not only your partner but yourself. To be able to sort out any fiscal issues you have you need to face the situation you are in. What’s more, if you’re married and/or have any joint credit with your partner such as a mortgage or credit card in both names, you could be adversely affecting not only your financial standing but that of your partner’s if you fail to take decisive action if you’re in financial trouble.

Therefore, it is not only of help to you to face up to money worries, but really it is your ‘duty’ to tell your partner as well – especially if they are in someway implicated as a result of any money issues you have.

Even if you are not ‘obligated’ to tell your partner about any financial concerns you have, by not telling them you retain the burden of worry alone, and you create a stressful situation between you and your partner. They are carrying on oblivious to the worry you have to carry – and that is not fair on them or you. By sharing your worries you never know, you may just halve them.
Getting to Grips with Expat Money Worries

You may not be able to speak to the likes of the Citizens Advice Bureau because you’re living in a place where there is no such organisation – however there are groups out there that you can contact via the internet. So even as an expat living abroad in the most remote place, you are not alone when it comes to getting a financial action plan in place or getting support to face your money woes.

What’s more, if you enlist the help of an expat financial adviser you may find that your financial affairs are not as dire as you first thought and you can get everything sorted out properly.

You need to get an action plan in place to sort out your financial concerns. Firstly you need to look at the level of income you have each month after tax. Then you need to look at the outgoings you incur each month. Which outgoings are essential and cannot be avoided – for example your mortgage payments, credit card minimum payments, utility bills and so forth. Next you need to look at how much you spend on living day-to-day. Can you cut down on the money you spend on travel, shopping or eating out for example. Look at where you can cut back. If you cannot cut back far enough to ease your financial issues you need to think about contacting your creditors and renegotiating any debt.

You should be immediately up front, open and honest about your situation and offer your lenders a solution. You could suggest increasing your credit term, reducing the amount you pay back each month or having a period whereby you pay interest only. You of course need to bear in mind that any of these suggestions will have long term fiscal implications in terms of the amount of interest you perhaps pay and the duration you pay back debt over. By being open, up front and honest with people, you stand the best chance of negotiating a situation that you can live with.

If your money worries are more to do with the fact that you are not saving enough or making the most of the financial plans you have in place, it is definitely time to draw on the services of an independent financial adviser. You need to advise them of your situation, go through a fact find with them, be honest about your current situation and long-term plans and aims, and work with them to find the best path for you to take.

Ultimately it is imperative that you face up to your financial situation if you are to make the most and best of it. Good luck.