Expat Advice: Financial Issues in Singapore, Singapore

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Singapore

Which banks do you use? If you have a local account, which bank do you use? How do you like it? Do you also have an account in your home country? Which bank? Do they charge for ATM withdrawals? Do they charge a lot for international wire transfers? How has it been working with them from abroad? Do you use a special international wire transfer service? Do you use an online bank? If so, tell us about them.

Just went with UOB because it was convenient.

Traveling Mailbox
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Traveling Mailbox

Traveling Mailbox serves thousands of travelers, expats, digital nomads, businesses, individuals and others in over 47 Countries by scanning their postal mail so they can view it online anywhere in the world. They provide customer service 7 days a week so if you need assistance, it is just a phone call away. Traveling Mailbox works with Evernote, Bill.com and Dropbox. And, there are Traveling Mailbox apps available for iOS and Android devices.
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Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

What advice would you offer others about banking as an expat in your country? What do you wish you had known about banking when you first arrived?

We pay a mortgage in Australia as we have a house there - also, maintain US accounts and credit cards - so fees for transfers are an issue.

What sort of challenges or frustrations have you encountered as an investor living overseas? Please describe.

1) 401k - contributions when living in Austraila were taxed at highest bracket amounting to 56% making it prohibitive to contribute. 2) Drop in the AUD forced us to give up the house in the US as we could not maintain the payments in AUD. Has gotten better in Singapore because of tax. 3) having a difficult tiem right now locating a financial planner who can help with Au, Sing and US tax issues and planning.

What advice was particularly helpful to you in managing your finances? What advice would you give? Any other thoughts?

Read and learn as much as you can - be informed about the markets, the tax issues, and manage your budget accordingly.

Do you do your own taxes, use a local firm, an expat-oriented firm or does your employer handle this for you (i.e. via an corporate tax firm)?

Right now, do my own US taxes, but am seeking assistance for this year for singpaore, US and Australia. It';s all too confusing with 3 countries.

What advice could you offer others about doing your taxes as an expat?

Read, read, read - ask questions of the IRS and professionals. There is a lot of info out there but ultimately I think it is good to have a tax planner assisting...