www.TransitionsAbroad.com logo  FacebookTwitterGoogle+  
  Living Abroad Money Matters for Expatriates and Travelers Abroad
Living Abroad

Money Matters for Expatriates and Travelers Abroad

"Among the biggest challenges for travelers and expatriates is managing their finances while traveling or living abroad and maximizing the value of their currency. Travelers have to deal with the ever-changing exchange rate, and different fees and commissions charged by exchange houses and banks. In addition, economists predict that the U.S. dollar will remain low against the world’s major currencies for several years to come, which makes it even more important to wisely manage your funds while traveling. The listed resources provide a variety of financial tools to get the most out of your travel and living budget. We have included resources for sending money abroad, as well as websites that provide updated exchange rates for currencies worldwide. In addition you will find links to ATM locators worldwide for the most popular credit cards."—Living Abroad editor Volker Poelzl author of Making Your Dollars Last Abroad.


 Featured Articles on Money Matters Abroad
Making Your Dollars Last Abroad by Volker Poelzl
Credit Cards, Debit Cards & Cash in Europe by Rick Steves
Managing Your Money Abroad: Currency Conversion Rates by Nora Dunn

 Key Resources for Money Matters Abroad

Currency Conversion

FXConverter — 164 Currency Converter, www.oanda.com/convert/classic, provides updated exchange rates. The printable Currency Cheat Sheets are very practical.

X-rates.com, www.x-rates.com is a useful site that offers a currency calculator. Rate values are gathered from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, representing the 12 noon buying rates and the International Monetary Fund, according to their availability.

Xe.com, www.xe.com, is an online currency converter, listing exchange rates for currencies worldwide.

ATM's Around the World

American Express ATM Locator, amex.via.infonow.net, lists ATMs around the world where American Express cards are accepted.

Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus Global ATM Locator, www.mastercard.com, provides Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus ATM locations for most countries.

Visa/Plus Global ATM Locator, visa.via.infonow.net, lists Visa/Plus Automated Teller Machines in most countries worldwide.

Resources for Money Matters Abroad

American Express Travel Office Locator, www.amextravelresources.com, provides location of American Express Travel Offices around the world.

Big Mac Index: The Economist magazine’s Big Mac Index compares the purchasing power of numerous currencies based on the price of a McDonald’s Big Mac hamburger. A useful comparison of purchasing power for 120 countries worldwide: www.economist.com/markets/bigmac.

Economist Intelligence Unit, part of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist magazine, publishes an annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey, comparing 130 cities in 90 countries. The complete report is available only by annual subscription or pay-per-view, and gathers detailed information on the cost of more than 160 items—from food, toiletries and clothing to domestic help, transport and utility bills--in every city. More than 50,000 individual prices are collected in each survey round and surveys are updated each June and December. A cost-of-living index is calculated from the price data to express the difference in the cost of living between any two cities. Although the full survey is too expensive for individual users, the general ranking of cities is published by a variety of sources on the worldwide web.

index.credit.cards, indexcreditcards.com, provides information about over 1,100 different credit card companies. Especially interesting for international travelers is their survey of International Credit Card Transaction Fees.

IRS: Tax Information for Aliens and U.S. Citizens Living Abroad, www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc850.html. Essential information from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for anyone working abroad.

Moneygram International, www.moneygram.com, provides global money transfer services, with over 84,000 MoneyGram agent locations in more than 170 countries. Use the Moneygram Agent Locator to find an agent in the country of your choice.

Moneysupermarket.com, a British price comparison website, has a Travel Money and Foreign Currency section comparing currency exchange fees and commissions of British banks. The site also offers Travel Money Saving Tips.

Paypal, www.paypal.com, allows you to send Internet money transfers to 190 countries and regions and send, receive, and withdraw in many others.

Rick Steves' Europe through the Backdoor website offers Money Tips for travel in Europe.

Western Union, www.westernunion.com, has over 334,000 agents worldwide for sending and receiving funds.