subject: Some Money Facts That Make Your Move From India To Usa Easy [print this page] Going to USA is a dream for manyGoing to USA is a dream for many. Once it comes true it feels like to be on the Cloud 9. Once you land up there you realize that it is not like India. You have to pay for many things that you take for granted in India. So what are the special things about US that can make the move just like a round the home trip.
Moving to another country surely brings up a sudden change in the lifestyle. Gradually you will absorb that into yours. Like the saying, 'when in Rome live like a Roman'.
If you plan to move to U.S., there are a bunch of things that you should know first. Most of them deal with managing the finance. This is a big problem as the currency in your home country and U.S is not the same. Also the banking instruments, nature of spending all are different in United States of America.
Let us now see what those money matters are that will make your move to USA easy.
Understanding the currency
The currency of United States is U.S. Dollar or USD. It is one of the most common currencies in the world. It is represented with '$' sign. E.g. $100 for a hundred dollars.
The exchange rate of dollar to Rupee is $1= Rs.44.82 at the time of writing this article. One dollar is equivalent to 100 cents or four quarters.
In colloquial language it is often used as 'buck', 'bone' or 'greenback'. A $5 is called a 'fiver' or a 'five-spot'. A 'saw-buck' or 'ten-spot' refers to $10. When it comes to $1000 people call it 'a grand'. This slang will be quite useful when you go for shopping in and around USA.
Where would the Dollars for immediate use come from?
How to pay for the cab or the restaurant bills once you land up in US? You can convert some rupees into dollars from India and keep them in your wallet. But sometimes the immediate need can be a few thousand dollars, say to pay for advance rent.
It is always not advisable to carry as much USD as you need in US from India. It is not only cumbersome but also there is a limit to the currency that you can carry out of India. And that may not always suffice your immediate requirements once you reach US.
The best thing that you could do as an alternative is to carry a prepaid debit card. A prepaid debit card is a prepaid VISA/MasterCard card that could be used at any ATM or retail outlets in US. So how to get one in India before you pack your bags?
Many banks provide International Debit Cards that can be used anywhere in the world. Contact your bank they would be happy to provide you such cards.. Usually this can be linked to your bank account in India. This will help you move the Rupee in Indian account to the card almost instantly. And you have the dollars in hand ready to be spent in US. The currency conversion is taken care of automatically.
Remember it may not wise to take your bank's debit card for your expenses in a foreign country. It will be very expensive, of course that could be considered untill you have managed to use other methods.
Choose your Bank
If you come to know about the move very well in advance you can do a research on the banks near your new office. Choosing a bank account that will allow you to transfer money from your current Indian account will be very useful.
The money in Rupees that you send online will get converted to dollars. Some of the popular banks in US are Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo.
But what sort of bank account?
A local bank account is useful for every US resident. You can directly debit your salary to it. Also it will be easy to pay your bills. When choosing the account type first you should think of your requirement.
A basic checking account allows you to pay bills and cash checks. This is enough for a single person or small family recently settled in US. Opening this type of account is free of cost and doesn't ask you to keep a monthly or quarterly balance.
But it usually restricts the number of transactions and checks that you can issue. Also no interest will be paid on the amount lying in the account. But once you realize that this is not enough for your need you can easily upgrade from the basic account to ones with advanced features.
The suggested immediate upgrade is a regular checking account. This one pays interest on the balance amount. Also you are free to make as many transactions as you need. The basic facilities of bill payment and online banking are also there.
But this account will require a monthly maintenance fee. For some banks this fee will be waived off if you keep the balance above the minimum balance prescribed.
If you want more interest for the balance amount you can go for a savings account. You can tie up your checking account to this savings account as an overdraft protection. This means if you ever reach a negative balance in your checking account, the bank will use the money from your savings account. But it doesn't come free of cost.
Most banks charge something like $10 for such transactions. But surely it is far less compared to the $30 overdraft charges without a savings account.
If you can take care of these money matters most of your problems in shifting to US will be solved. You will only feel like a home away from home. Happy shifting!
by: Jyotsna K
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