There has been some media speculation about the fact that now Britons are suffering financially speaking because of higher taxes, lower house prices, a weak pound and more difficult access to credit, the numbers of people moving abroad will perhaps begin to fall back.
However, we just need to point out that from our own findings, figures and research, people’s appetite for escape has not diminished – therefore as long as people can find a way, their will is intact and they will reach for new horizons and new opportunities abroad.
And speaking of finding a way – we’re here today to show you 6 ways you can actually save money by living abroad, so that if you are on a tight budget now, you can perhaps make your money go far further if you embrace your dreams of relocation and go and make a new life overseas.
1) You Save on Fuel and Heating Costs!
The dream that most Britons share is living abroad in the sun – after all, we are hardly blessed with the ideal climate in the UK are we? And so if you set out to realise that dream, and you move to a location where for at least a large part of the year it is warm and sunny, you will see your fuel bills massively reduced.
Take Cyprus as an excellent example – it is warm from March, hot from May and it remains a lovely temperature until the end of October. So you only need heating for up to 4 months of the year as opposed to 10 in the UK! What’s more, you can use solar energy to heat your water which also reduces your electricity bill.
All in all, you can save significantly on fuel costs by living abroad in a country that has a better climate than the UK has.
2) You’re Already Living in the Land of Your Dreams so Who Needs a Holiday!
To get away from the UK one either has to fly out, take a ferry or board an expensive cross channel train and ultimately incur a large ‘leaving levy’ to get off the island. However, if you’re already abroad in a beautiful climate and surrounded by sun, sea and sand, why would you want to go anywhere else?
Of course, if you do decide to travel, you can do so within your new nation to get to know it better. This won’t cost you as much as if you had to get on a plane and fly out to a new country – so, by living in the land of your dreams already, you will save yourself money because you won’t need or want to travel anywhere else!
3) But You Can Holiday ‘Back Home’ With Friends and Relatives and Save on Accommodation if You Want to…
If you do want a ‘holiday’ back home, you can stay with friends and family and hop around the country getting lifts from willing friends and save on travel and accommodation costs.
You can then of course reciprocate the hospitality when your friends and family come and stay with you in your lovely new home in the sun!
4) Most Currencies are Stronger Than the Pound so if You Earn in Your New Nation’s Currency You Can Have Greater Buying Power Perhaps
There has been much made of our weak pound’s reduced buying power abroad in countries that use the euro or the dollar for example. However, if you move to live and work in a country where the pound is no longer the local currency, you will potentially be earning in a stronger currency and this will buy you increased purchasing power back home in the UK if you want to buy or maintain a property in Britain for example.
5) You Can Access the Offshore Financial World and Potentially Defer or Legitimately Avoid Taxation on Your Savings and Investments
All expatriates have the right to explore what the offshore world has to offer them. And even those who are fully taxed on their worldwide income and gains in the country they are now living in may find that they can access certain saving and investment policies offshore in secure jurisdictions that allow for the deferred payment of taxation on gains made.
If you can defer the tax until you are a lower rate tax payer perhaps, or until you relocate to another country where your gains are not locally taxed, or you can just defer it so that there is more in your savings pot leveraged up and giving you potentially higher returns on your money, so much the better!
Depending on your tax status in the country you’re in, you may legitimately be able to save tax by keeping some of your foreign sourced income offshore too. Offshore financial options are always well worth exploring and considering if you’re an expat – but take qualified advice.
6) You Can Choose a Lower Cost Country
The UK has a high cost of even basic living – what with fuel costs for our cars and our homes, higher rates of personal tax and VAT levied, food costs and the price of entertainment – but many other nations offer their citizens a much more accessible cost of living in terms of affordability.
If you live in a nation where the weather is better and more produce is locally grown, and you shop at markets and eat what’s in season you will see your food bills reduced. What’s more, many countries have lower rates of tax than the UK does – and paying less tax means you have more in your pocket at the end of the month! Property costs can be cheaper abroad, and if you look around you will likely find a suitable country for you where the cost of living is less.
