One thing I’ve learned about traveling is that 1) it is easier than ever to manage your money when abroad, yet 2) it is still surprisingly difficult. Yes, this is a contradiction of sorts, but it is reflected by the fact that in spite of all the amazing advances the internet and the banking industry have created, there is still the annoying issue of governments keeping people, and their money, separated. For most people, sending money abroad is still surprisingly difficult
. There are taxes and everything else. Of course not as difficult as it once was, but it is a bit difficult when one considers that my cell phone goes to space and back and I have access to all the world’s knowledge on the smart phone in my pocket. Still, there are ways to get around this if you have the right bank account. I tell this to people all of the time: don’t open a bank account based on what it offers you when you’re at home. Every bank takes care of you at home. Get a bank account based on the resources it offers you when you’re abroad, and nowhere near a bank location. I go with LloydsTSB International
, which offers much more than my local bank at home.
Moving money abroad also is made difficult by the pesky and annoying fact that countries still have lots of different currencies, and that the peaceful, one world government, and its unified currency, promised to us by science fiction is still just that, science fiction. And given how well the Euro has turned out, well, maybe we should be glad for that. So in the meantime we have to figure out a way to move money without getting killed by middlemen at every turn. Again, as soon as you move away from your banks services is when you start getting killed on that type of stuff, because people have to make money from the service. Your bank already has your money, so it can offer these types of services for free. If you have the right bank that is. Ask your bank what kind of resources they offer to people traveling abroad. If they don’t know how to answer, you should probably look somewhere else.
