Best Money Matters Abroad Web Sites
|
"Among the biggest challenges for expatriates is managing their finances while living overseas. They have to deal with the ever-changing exchange rate, inflation, varying interest rates, and unfamiliar banking rules. 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 manage your funds wisely if you plan on living overseas." — Making Your Dollars Last Abroad, by Volker Poelzl.
|
ATM's Around the World:
American Express ATM Locator, go.mappoint.net, lists ATMs around the world, where American Express cards are accepted.
Visa/Plus Global ATM Locator, visa.via.infonow.net, lists Visa/Plus Automated Teller Machines in most countries worldwide.
Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus Global ATM Locator, www.mastercard.com, provides Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus ATM locations for most countries.
Resources for Money Matters Abroad:
About.com, in its Student Travel section, provides information about How to Hide Your Money While Traveling and other money tips for international travel.
American Express Travel Office Locator, www134.americanexpress.com, provides location of American Express Travel Offices around the world.
AsiaTravelTips.com, www.asiatraveltips.com, has a section on Foreign Currency and Money Exchange, with special focus on Asian countries.
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, or www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml.
Daily Currency Exchange Rates, pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/xr/today.html.
Economist Intelligence Unit, www.eiu.com, 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. Search Google or Yahoo for Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living survey, and enter the current or previous year.
FXConverter - 164 Currency Converter, www.oanda.com/convert/classic, provides updated exchange rates. Very practical are the printable Currency Cheat Sheets.
GoCurrency.com, www.gocurrency.com, offers an online currency converter, as well as Tips for Changing Money.
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.
International Air Transport Association - IATA, travelcentre.iata.org, provides free passport, visa and health information for registered users, as well as information about currency import and export regulations for countries worldwide.
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, www.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, offers Internet money transfers to 56 countries.
Rick Steves' Europe through the Backdoor website offers Money Tips for travel in Europe.
Wells Fargo offers Foreign Exchange Services, where you can buy foreign currencIes (14 different currencies) and travelers checks (5 different currencies) before you go on your trip.
Western Union, www.westernunion.com, has over 225,000 agents worldwide for sending and receiving funds. To find a Western Union agent in the country of your choice, check out the Western Union Agent Locator.
Xe.com, www.xe.com, is an online currency converter, listing exchange rates for currencies worldwide.
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.
|
