Living off the USD

[ithinksometimes]

Hey everyone,

I'm a web designer from the US looking to move to BA within the year. Ideally, my clients won't even know I'm not in the states anymore. With that, all of the money I make will still be in the USD (and paid online).

I've read on here that cash is pretty necessary to have, but ATM's have a limited withdrawal amount. Since my income is all online, any cash I have will need to be withdrawn.

Can someone give me an idea as to what an ideal setup would be for my financial situation? I've read that the best bank is Schwab, but they have a limited number of free ATM withdrawals.

Thanks for the help!

Note: This is my first post, so let me know if I broke any forum etiquette with this post.

 

[PhilipDT]

citi bank will give me 2500 pesos a day ˜625 us

 

[Nicole_Ramirez]

We do it buy paying with the credit card as much as possible & just paying the credit card with the cash in the US bank account.

 

[Napoleon]

citi bank will give me 2500 pesos a day ˜625 us

We do it buy paying with the credit card as much as possible & just paying the credit card with the cash in the US bank account.

Both of these functions will result in you paying a 3% conversion fee on your withdrawals/purchases. This is not a transaction fee, so you can withdraw money 10 times in one week or once a week and as long as you do it at a Citibank ATM, there's no charge for each transaction. Only for the conversion.

So there's that.

 

[ithinksometimes]

Both of these functions will result in you paying a 3% conversion fee on your withdrawals/purchases. This is not a transaction fee, so you can withdraw money 10 times in one week or once a week and as long as you do it at a Citibank ATM, there's no charge for each transaction. Only for the conversion.

So there's that.

Yes, I did expect some kind of transaction fee I just didn't have a number. Thanks Napoleon.

 

[Napoleon]

Yes, I did expect some kind of transaction fee I just didn't have a number. Thanks Napoleon.

De nada.

However, supposedly some credit unions only charge a 1% transaction fee. I don't know which ones, but I've heard and/or read that... I think.

ALSO, you canNOT deposit money at a Citibank here and have it go into your USA Citibank account. I can't explain why, but (at least as of a couple of years ago) that's not possible. I think that it has something to do with the Argentine banking laws.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Can someone give me an idea as to what an ideal setup would be for my financial situation? I've read that the best bank is Schwab, but they have a limited number of free ATM withdrawals.

Schwab is, without a doubt, the best option for U.S. residents. I've never heard of Schwab limiting the ATM rebates, and their website does not mention such a thing. Furthermore, I've never had it happen to me. They will also raise your daily limit, at your request.

 

[zeegerman]

I second the Schwab Investor Checking account. You just need to open a brokerage account with Schwab but no need to use it for trading. I save about 30 bucks each month on ATM fees. The fees are first charged when you make the withdrawal (i.e. 16 pesos) but at the end of the month they will reimburse you automatically. The advantage of this account is that you can use it pretty much with any ATM worldwide.

 

[Sleuth]

Schwab. There are no limits to ATM reimbursements. (I hit over $200 several months.) They do not charge a foreign transaction fee. I can take out $2500 pesos per day.