..about transfers and such...

[malJohann]

I've been playing with some ideas about transfers and such based around my needs. Soon after arrival we'll obviously need some money to pay for living expenses, but I'm getting a relocation allowance from my Oz company, the balance of which they'll transfer into my ANZ account upon arrival.

In the mean time I'm also going to get some money transferred into my ABSA account in Za, but have debts to cover in Za while I'm in Oz. Now, the relocation allowance won't be enough for what I need to do in Oz, but I'm thinking of taking out a loan from ANZ. If everything works according to plan I'll be doing monthly transfers into my ABSA account from ANZ starting in a couple of months.

The transfers will be around $2000 p/m and I plan on taking out a personal loan of about $6500 from ANZ upon arrival. So, instead of transferring money from ABSA for the first couple of months, I'll use the loan money at first to cover costs and put the $2000 back into the ANZ loan at first on a monthly basis, then later into my ABSA account when the loan has been repaid.

All this I'm thinking of doing to basically get past all the losses incurred on forex transactions and to avoid the time and stress of such transactions. Would the savings I generate from doing it this way outweigh the costs of a loan over three/four months? What am I missing? When I do start transferring, should I use a 3rd party (like http://www.1stcontactforex.com.au/) that guarantee better rates, or the banks for what reason?

How much AU$ notes are we allowed to take along in our wallets to cover initial expenses, basically until I get my relocation allowance from the company? What do you money fundi's think of these ideas? [EDIT] Oh, and where is the best place exchange rate wise to buy Oz dollar notes in Za? [/EDIT]

[Mara]

Cannot help with the rest...just wondering how easy it will be to get that loan when you have just arrived and have absolutely no credit history... as for the notes, I think you can have whatever you want on you...but...if you have more than AU$10,000 you have to declare it to customs...on your incoming passenger card.

[malJohann]

Springbok? Cindylou?

[Springbok]

just wondering how easy it will be to get that loan when you have just arrived and have absolutely no credit history

exactly, I don't think you'll be able to get a loan for a while, with zero credit history in Australia. No harm in asking ANZ though, but I won't get my hopes up for a loan of $6500.

Note that there is no such thing as "losses on forex transactions" when you move money from ZAR to AUD... you only buy more or less AUD for a given amount of ZAR, depending on the current exchange rate. Currencies are notoriously volatile and it is impossible to get the timing right. The ZAR might be weaker or stronger against the AUD in a couple of months' time - no one knows. It's just good/bad luck when you buy AUD when it is weak/strong vs. the ZAR. A few examples of AUD/ZAR:

Dec. 2007 - 6.0

Jun. 2008 - 7.5

Oct. 2008 - 5.9

Dec. 2008 - 6.6

May 2009 - 6.1

Oct. 2009 - 6.8

As you can see it's quite random and fluctuates all over the place.

[malJohann]

..there is no such thing as "losses on forex transactions" when you move money from ZAR to AUD...

Thanks for the info. So, where is the best place exchange rate wise to buy Oz dollar notes in Za? The banks, some other 3rd party, or do they all give the same rate?

[euroblue]

I didn't use the banks there as they were the most expensive for forex at the time.

It may pay you to shop around until you find the best buy rate for the forex you want.

I used Travelex as they offered the best buy rate at the time.

It's a bit of a mugs game buying your forex and watching the exchange rates, so as to choose the best day to buy.