Thread: Savings

Hello, My name is Louise and I am a dual US/UK citizen. I have always lived in the UK but have US citizenship as my father's side is American. I am looking to emigrate to Indiana with my husband and two children. They are all UK citizens. My father is willing to sponsor them into the country and earns enough to do so. We are currently saving for the big move but I am just wondering what would be the "ideal" amount to take with us. I have guesstimated that we should take roughly £30K but not sure if that will not be enough? Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

Moving with children can be very tricky. If your father will help with some expenses then that's great but you still want to save up something extra to be independent. When thinking about moving you want to factor in housing expenses for atleast 6 months (utilities, first/last/security, and rent if renting), transportation expenses (are you renting, leasing, buying, using public transportation), money for food, and entertainment. Don't forget any school fees your children may come across. I think months of expenses should be a good starting point but you should also consider emergency funds. It's pretty difficult to give you an exact amount when everyone's situation is different and everywhere in america has a different cost of living. Talk to your father about how it is to live out there. Good luck!

Hi,
As your father is already in the US, I would get him to advise on areas to live, schools etc. Unless you want to pay for private school, it's really important to get into the catchment area of excellent schools. An excellent school in the US is equivalent of an average to good school in the UK. Make sure you take into account that your husband may not be able to work straight away, it can take up to 90 days to get employment authorisation. Healthcare is a huge factor too. For a family of 4 without employer subsidised health insurance you could be looking at over $1000 just for the basic monthly premium and that's likely to have a HUGE deductible/excess ($12-15K a year). Utilities can cost a lot more here too, so ask your father about what he pays.
HTH's

Another thing is you won't have any credit history so you will have to pay larger deposits on everything from mobile phones to utilities.