Kicking off the week with a new feature on girl, guy, globe! One of my best friends – who also happens to be smart and lovely and someone I miss dearly (hi, Brenda!) – suggested I write posts about the more “mundane” aspects of life. And although banking and medical care and the postal system are indeed generally unexciting, I realized that I, too, would want to know just how all that stuff works when you pack up and head to another continent. It’s the mundane things that are often the most necessary things, and figuring out the system in a different part of the world is key to keeping life running smoothly.
As Puff Daddy said, it’s all about the benjamins (baby), so let’s start with banking. Before we moved to Africa, I was never a cash carrier. I’ve been known to visit an ATM to retrieve the necessary $2 to exit a mall parking garage or have just enough change to squeeze out a few minutes on a parking meter.
Living in Dakar is a complete 180. We’ve switched to basically an all-cash system, since credit card number-stealing is common here – and I’m not even sure many restaurants have a credit card machine available. It’s much easier to just carry CFAs, the Senegalese currency. We don’t keep any plastic on us, ever, for peace of mind. (Security side note: We have a safe. And an alarm system. And building guards. And a big black dog, of whom every Senegalese person seems to be terrified.)
The easiest way for us to get money is to write a check for cash at the embassy bank. They can dispense funds in CFA or U.S. dollars. We only take out what we anticipate needing for the week and it’s actually been a great system, budget-wise. I think we spend less and save more because we’re on a subconscious spending threshold. If we ever do fall short on cash or have an unexpected expense and can’t get to the bank, there’s a trustworthy ATM at one of the nice hotels nearby.
Largely because of the convenience of online banking and direct deposits, we were able to keep the same banking institution we had in the United States. We alerted them we’d be moving to Africa so they wouldn’t place any holds on our account for international transactions, and that was basically that. It’s great being able to stay with the same bank and not worry about switching every couple years when we change posts.
Banking tips if you’re moving abroad:
- Find out how you’ll be paid. If your company can do a direct deposit, consider keeping your home bank. If they give you cash or a paper check, you might have to either mail your check back to home or switch to a bank in your new country.
- Be extremely careful with credit cards. Credit card fraud seems to be becoming increasingly common, even in America, so use them sparingly and wisely. Use cash whenever possible and try to use ATMs recommended by other expats or at large banks, to avoid the risk of your number being swiped.
- Get a safe. You don’t want to tote all your credit cards and cash (plus other important stuff, like your passport) with you wherever you go, so get a secure place to store them. You might not think it’s necessary; you might completely trust whoever you’re living with. But you can get a small safe for about $40, so it’s better safe than sorry (pun intended!)
Are there any aspects of life abroad you’d like to read more about? Post ‘em in the comments!
Rachael Cullins is a twentysomething American girl living in Dakar, Senegal, with her husband and two dogs. She blogs about her adventures in Senegal and travels elsewhere in West Africa. She will reside in Dakar until summer 2013, when she and her family will move to another foreign post as part of her husband’s career with the U.S. government. In addition to West Africa, she has traveled to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Costa Rica and plans to continually add to that list.
