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When living in a foreign country as a new expat, your main focus should be on how to save money and cut back on unnecessary expenses. Have you done that? You should, because that would leave more money for you to put into more wholesome projects.
What if you’ve cut out unnecessary expenses and you still want to keep your expenses low? You should look at how much you are spending even on necessary things. You know, like your accommodation. In this article, we will be looking at few financial tips that can save you money on accommodation and keep your expenses as low as possible.
One of the things to note about accommodations is that you usually have to adjust your preference to fit the size of your belongings. As a new expat, it is more advisable to stick to your basic needs of life, so that you can manage a smaller and cheaper apartment.
You can keep your collection of souvenirs with your family for now. All the memorabilia can wait till when you are more comfortable, and then you can grow from there. There is nothing bad about starting small.
As a new expat, you don’t need a well-furnished apartment. You probably spend a lot of time at work, have few or no friends, and just enough time to relax in the evening before falling on your bed. Sets of sofas and all types of furniture are not necessary.
Stick to the basics – somewhere to sleep, somewhere to sit and eat, among a few other things. When you are more settled in, you can get that king-sized bed you always wanted. You know, the one with the side mirrors and a hundred drawers. For now, sleep, eat, and work. You will cut down so many expenses this way.
Every fancy appliance in the house you are about to rent won’t only drive up the cost of rent, it is also another liability you have to spend money on to maintain. Seriously, do you need that gold rim Jacuzzi right now? We bet you don’t. The same goes for the chandelier and home theatre. Let’s not even talk about the electricity bill.
Go for a room that has appliances you can easily maintain on your own or call in an expert to fix for a little fee. While at it, a little time spent on learning simple home maintenance skills can go a long way to cut the expenses down.
There is love in sharing. But guess what else is in it – you got that right, fewer expenses! Saving money on accommodation can be as simple as sharing your apartment with a friend, family, or even a stranger on a room-share/flat-share agreement.
When you live with a cooperative co-tenant, you can even save on other living expenses, from food to transportation. If you move in with a friend, colleague, or family already in a foreign country where you are an expat, offer to split apartment bills. If they refuse the offer on rent, help with food and other living expenses. This way, you bring something to the table without becoming a parasite.
Hotels are fancy and all. But guess what, fancy doesn’t come cheap. If you have to get a hotel upon your arrival in a foreign country. Make as much effort to relocate to a more affordable apartment faster. Hotel room fees and food expenses are not nice on the pocket, certainly not that of a new expat.
Sometimes, people spend more than they should be spending on accommodation because they don’t have access to important information, and they are not asking questions. As a new expat, you should understand all the options available to you.
Are there accommodation opportunities available as part of being a company staff? Ask HR. What do apartments usually cost around your place of work? Ask the locals. How does the cost of staying close to work VS staying a bit farther away and paying for transport fees compare? Your colleagues may be able to help with this.
When you ask questions, you will learn money-saving information. Here is one more piece of advice that can save you good money. When sending and receiving money online, you don’t have to pay high service charges to enjoy premium, safe and reliable services.
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