Save money as you sail around the world

The promise of a life on the seas may make it difficult to imagine returning to land and the demands of regular life, but you need to ensure that are prepared for this eventuality.

Establish your long and short-term investment goals

To identify your investment goals, both short-term and into the future, start by figuring out what you want to achieve most in your life, prioritise these goals and objectives, and establish a time horizon for each one.

Long-term goals may take several years to achieve, and include big-picture items like buying a house, buying stocks or shares, starting a business, or studying abroad. Once you are you clear about your immediate expenses and your financial plan for the future, you can begin to think about how much you need to save and how best to make your money work harder.

Here are some key tips on saving while you sail:

Have emergency cash

It’s important to have an emergency cash fund as a safety-net for unexpected events. This should cover anything from three to six months of living expenses. Not only will this act as a shock-absorber if something goes wrong – like a medical emergency, or suddenly being out of a job – but it may also protect your other long-term investments and keep you out of debt on a rainy day. The other benefit of an emergency fund is that if you don’t need to use it, it will provide a nice nest egg once you return to dry land.

Consider investing in property

As a crewmember, buying property may be the furthest thing from your mind, but you will need to live ashore again someday. In the meantime, and if you are not planning to live in the property, do the research so that you can buy somewhere with investment potential. By taking the emotion out of this decision, you’ll be able to benefit from rental income with the potential for resale once you leave yachting, and take the next step towards your dream home.

Give yourself the freedom to decide

It’s vitally important to understand that your yachting life will come to an end one day. That’s why you need to give yourself some options for the future. The best way to do that is to invest wisely.

Types of solutions to consider:

SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 

• Offshore Moneymarket Call Account

This is an instant access account with interest, providing access to your money when you need it.

•  Offshore Reserve Account

This account is the perfect starting point for an international deposit, offering attractive interest and easy access to your money four times a year wherever you are in the world.

• Fixed Term Deposit Account \Suited to those living or working abroad, or those who travel widely and who have international interests, this account offers a guaranteed fixed rate of interest for agreed periods up to one year.

Multi-currency bank account solution

• Seafarer Account – Isle of Man

A bespoke current account designed specifically for yacht crew, this product allows you to effortlessly consolidate, manage and access your finances wherever you are in the world. Your money is available in pounds, euros, US dollars and Australian dollars. You’ll also have 24/7 access to Internet and mobile banking facilities.

• Investing in financial instruments

Foreign exchange is the most actively traded and liquid financial market in the world. It offers everyday traders the opportunity to transact in multiple currencies. The market, which is estimated to trade around USD 4 trillion on a daily basis, trades around the clock and can be accessed at any time, day or night. We offer competitive pricing, good liquidity and a range of more than 160 different forex currencies.

• Investing in property abroad

Investing in property overseas is one of the ways you can diversify your portfolio, enabling you to earn a foreign currency income.