Getting your finances in order before you take an overseas job is something you need to do now rather than after you get there. When you are already overseas the cost of making a call back to your home country can cost a lot of money. Wiring money can be a hassle if you do not already know the time it will take and the process you will have to go through when you cannot go to one of their branch offices. There will be times when you may need to wire money from the country you are in to one of your financial institutions and you will need to know the process you need to go through to do that. You will want to ensure your financial institutions let you manage your accounts online. Having a personal computer is pretty much a must because you do not want to do any online banking from an internet Cafe. Along with a personal computer you will need to not only have a good antivirus program you will need internet security software that can check for fishing sites and scan your emails that you import onto your computer through Microsoft Outlook or a similar kind of Email software.
Knowing how you are going to move your money when you are located overseas is very important. The easiest way to find out what is required is by going into one of your banks branch offices and asking them. Tell them what country you are moving to before you ask your questions because there may be different answers for different locations. Ask them how to wire money from your bank to another institution while you are overseas. Most bank require a form to fill out letting them know where you will be sending money too and a fax and a phone call each time you send money. You will need to find out your banks routing number and if they have one their SWIFT code so you can wire money to your account if you need to while you are overseas. Having a bank that has an online banking option is very important so if your bank does not you need to get a bank that does. You may want to use an "Online Bill Pay" service with your bank. This is so you can pay your bills from your bank online. Find out what contact numbers if any that they have you can call when you are overseas if you have any questions.
You need to find out if your other financial institutions like credit card companies you deal with allow you to manage your accounts on line. Find out if any of your financial institutions block certain IP addresses that are associated with some countries. PayPal blocks use from some countries. Do not only read their terms of service agreement or look at the list of countries they service to find out call them up and get verbal confirmation that you will be able to use your account from the country you are going to be living in. If you need to make any payments to a place that does not allow for overseas transaction on their website you will need to set up payments to them from your bank either automatically or through your online banking "Pay Bills" option. You do not want to be stuck overseas without a way to pay a bill or be able to contact a company you owe money too if a mistake has been made on their part or yours.
Whether it is your bank or a company you have to pay a bill to get any phone numbers they have that you can call while overseas. A lot of credit card companies and banks have phone numbers you can call from overseas locations. You may want to see if getting a VOIP line would be a better idea than having to call their overseas contact number. A VOIP line will let you call them as if you were still in your home town. A couple companies that offer VOIP service are 8x8.com and Vonage.com and all you will have to do is select the plan that is right for you and pay the monthly charge for the phone service. You will need to ensure that you can get internet access where you are going that has a bandwidth that meets the requirements of the service you choose.
A computer is going to be a must when you are moving overseas. You do not want to send personal information or handle any of your finances at work or at an internet cafe. A laptop would be your best bet because you can get it before you leave and it is portable. Since you will be using the internet to handle your finances you will not just want to use an anti virus program. You will need to look for good internet security software to protect your information. You need to have security software that will check any emails you have downloaded onto your computer and check for other things like fishing scams. It is going to cost you about fifty dollars more than what you are probably paying right now for antivirus software but it is something you are going to need. One of the more popular internet security companies to get software from is Kaspersky and it is the one I personally use. I highly suggest not using Norton because they get progressively worse each year. If you do a Google search for top ten virus software you will find Kaspersky on the list pretty high and Norton sinking lower and lower each year.
In many countries there are scams that will get people your credit card information. Most banks and credit card companies these days will block the use of your card when suspicious purchases are made and contact you asking for confirmation by you before the transaction is completed. It is always good to get a service like truecredit.com that allows you to constantly pull your updated credit reports with all three main credit report burrows. It will give you updates on any new accounts opened in your name so you can keep an eye out for anyone trying to use your identity to get credit cards or loans. These services have a monthly charge that can be around twenty five dollars a month but can be well worth it if it protects you from someone stealing your identity.
By doing the above steps before you start your overseas career you will make it a lot easier on yourself if you have to handle a financial emergency while you are already living abroad. The time you spend getting things in order before you make the move can save you a lot of time and money if you wait until something comes up while you are overseas.
Joseph M. Jones has worked in the aerospace and defense industry for about ten years now. He started out as a Microwave Technician in the United States Marines. He then started his overseas career with Raytheon on the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Range as a communications technician and later moved to their Telemetry department. He later transferred to the Eastern Test range where he worked under the 45th Space Wing as a Telemetry Technician with Raytheon. He is currently working for ITT in Asia as a Global Broadcast System technician.
Joseph started the website http://www.expatwatercooler.com were other expats and himself give advice on various topics. You will find a list of overseas jobs and articles on budgeting, planning your career, living & working overseas, travel, and information about clearance jobs.
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