Craig Joseph

Confirmed this would work with the credit union, but I'll sheepishly admit that I made two big mistakes. The first mistake was not asking about fees or understanding that I'd incur foreign transaction fees each time I used my debit card abroad. And the second was not having an account that reimbursed ATM fees.

Confirmed this would work with the credit union, but I'll sheepishly admit that I made two big mistakes. The first mistake was not asking about fees or understanding that I'd incur foreign transaction fees each time I used my debit card abroad. And the second was not having an account that reimbursed ATM fees.

Confirmed this would work with the credit union, but I'll sheepishly admit that I made two big mistakes. The first mistake was not asking about fees or understanding that I'd incur foreign transaction fees each time I used my debit card abroad. And the second was not having an account that reimbursed ATM fees.

After a couple of weeks of paying 3% in fees each time I wanted to access my money, I looked into opening a checking account in New Zealand. But even then, I was looking at significant fees for transferring money from the US to that account. So if there's any piece of advice I can give to folks moving out of the country, it's to figure out how to avoid fees when banking abroad.

After a couple of weeks of paying 3% in fees each time I wanted to access my money, I looked into opening a checking account in New Zealand. But even then, I was looking at significant fees for transferring money from the US to that account. So if there's any piece of advice I can give to folks moving out of the country, it's to figure out how to avoid fees when banking abroad.

After a couple of weeks of paying 3% in fees each time I wanted to access my money, I looked into opening a checking account in New Zealand. But even then, I was looking at significant fees for transferring money from the US to that account. So if there's any piece of advice I can give to folks moving out of the country, it's to figure out how to avoid fees when banking abroad.

I do. And this actually gets into that topic of multi-currency accounts that you just mentioned, Sarah. Due to my lack of planning, I did have to transfer money from my account at home to New Zealand. And of course, I wasn't aware of how expensive those transactions could be.

I do. And this actually gets into that topic of multi-currency accounts that you just mentioned, Sarah. Due to my lack of planning, I did have to transfer money from my account at home to New Zealand. And of course, I wasn't aware of how expensive those transactions could be.

I do. And this actually gets into that topic of multi-currency accounts that you just mentioned, Sarah. Due to my lack of planning, I did have to transfer money from my account at home to New Zealand. And of course, I wasn't aware of how expensive those transactions could be.

The roommate that I found in New Zealand introduced me to an app-based service called Wise, which at the time it was called TransferWise. That allowed me to open a multi-currency deposit account so I could get paid in U.S. dollars, convert the U.S.

The roommate that I found in New Zealand introduced me to an app-based service called Wise, which at the time it was called TransferWise. That allowed me to open a multi-currency deposit account so I could get paid in U.S. dollars, convert the U.S.

The roommate that I found in New Zealand introduced me to an app-based service called Wise, which at the time it was called TransferWise. That allowed me to open a multi-currency deposit account so I could get paid in U.S. dollars, convert the U.S.

dollars to New Zealand dollars at a mid-market exchange rate within the same account, and then spend the money with an associated debit card without having to go through the process of having to select your currency when you check out with a purchaser transaction. And that account also let me transfer money in New Zealand dollars to my roommate's deposit account to pay for rent and utilities.

dollars to New Zealand dollars at a mid-market exchange rate within the same account, and then spend the money with an associated debit card without having to go through the process of having to select your currency when you check out with a purchaser transaction. And that account also let me transfer money in New Zealand dollars to my roommate's deposit account to pay for rent and utilities.

dollars to New Zealand dollars at a mid-market exchange rate within the same account, and then spend the money with an associated debit card without having to go through the process of having to select your currency when you check out with a purchaser transaction. And that account also let me transfer money in New Zealand dollars to my roommate's deposit account to pay for rent and utilities.

I think the fees were around three tenths of a percent per transaction. So still not perfect, but far, far less costly than my other options.

I think the fees were around three tenths of a percent per transaction. So still not perfect, but far, far less costly than my other options.

I think the fees were around three tenths of a percent per transaction. So still not perfect, but far, far less costly than my other options.

So if you're abroad for any period of time, to me, it's all about redundancy and getting ahead of problems before they arise. So having multiple cards issued by different banks can be a benefit in case one card becomes temporarily unusable, such as due to a fraud alert, and even better if those different cards operate on independent transaction networks, for example, Visa and MasterCard.

So if you're abroad for any period of time, to me, it's all about redundancy and getting ahead of problems before they arise. So having multiple cards issued by different banks can be a benefit in case one card becomes temporarily unusable, such as due to a fraud alert, and even better if those different cards operate on independent transaction networks, for example, Visa and MasterCard.