I’m immigrating to Denmark in March, and I’m working on my financial plan. Please excuse me if this is kind of scattered. I really wish I had some friends IRL that I could talk about this with, but I get as far as “I have a TFSA with mostly index funds…” and their eyes glaze over.
Any insights, suggestions, or poking fun are welcome. Please be nice - I can think of lots of reasons why I shouldn't do this, I don't need any more!
Money I’ve got:
About 6000 in liquid cash.
11,000 in TFSA, accessible.
16,000 in TFSA, locked down (backloaded fees for 4 more years).
10,000 in RSP, probably best to leave it where it is for now.
3000 coming from a tax return in March.
2000 coming from sale of motorbike in March.
Between now and March I can save $1000 per month.
Oct-Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb-March. Maybe say 5000 since I might be leaving at the beginning of March, depends when the plane ticket is cheapest.
Actual available money is going to be
6000 - have
3000 - tax return
2000 - bike sale
5000 - income
16,000 to take with me is the goal.
Big stuff I have to buy includes:
Plane tickets ~1000 (possible to get as low as $650)
Visa and fees ~300
Travel insurance ~800
Probably a lot of other stuff. Luckily I’ve got six more months to plan that.
I usually save $1000 a month and I put it straight in the TFSA or the RSP, alternating months. Now that I’m gearing up to travel, I’m trying to figure out the smartest way to save my money from now till March.
Should I just keep that $1000 a month in a savings account so I can access it right away?
Should I put it in the TFSA instead and switch the TFSA from reinvesting dividends to depositing income in a checking account?(The TFSA with 11,000 is in invested in this portfolio:
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CCP-Model-Portfolios-TD-e-Series-2015.pdf. The one with 16,000 is in an ill-advised moderate-aggressive plan from Investors Group.)
Should I hold it in cash, and also keep the TFSA reinvesting dividends, and see how far I can get with the $16,000 I can hopefully save up between now and March?
What are the other questions I ought to be asking/answering and have forgotten about?
I feel like there must be some math I can do to figure out the best choice, but I’m not sure how to do it.
My plan for Denmark is to move in with a friend who has invited me to stay at his house, get a working holiday visa, and try to find an employer who wants to sponsor me. There’s also a university degree I want to take, but it will cost at least $50,000 in tuition and I haven’t figured out how to pay for that. So possibly not. I would very much like to take some kind of short vocational training, if I can find a course that makes sense and will get me working quickly. I’m a software developer right now.
But there’s a very real possibility that I just won’t be able to hack it and have to come home. Too many of my friends have come back from Australia or wherever, dirt broke because they tried to immigrate and failed. Denmark is also famous for being one of the toughest countries for expatriates. So that’s why I’m keeping quite a lot in reserve. I keep telling myself I can do this if I have a solid enough plan, but my plans don’t seem all that solid at all. I just know that I want to at least try being Danish.