Take financial losses from others and not yourself
Before I moved abroad the first time, I spent weeks researching neighborhoods, learning phrases in a new language, and reading every expat forum I could find. A lot of the information was general and didn’t help much.
So I did what I always had to do: go get the data for myself. Sometimes this requires taking losses. I am writing this so you don’t have to.
What I didn’t do and what almost nobody does is figure out the financial infrastructure before I needed it.
So I learned it the hard way. ATM fees I didn’t know existed. Exchange rates that quietly took 4% of every transaction. A debit card was frozen because my American bank flagged it when I tried to pay for a hotel stay, and they flagged it as fraud the same week. A wire transfer that took nine days.
I’ve been doing this long enough now that I have a system. It’s not complicated. But it took years of expensive mistakes to build it. Creating systems across every part of your life will make it easier, especially financially.
First, why is this different if you’re American — and specifically if you’re a Black American abroad
Most financial advice for expats is written with a certain person in mind. That person has a high-earning remote job, a tidy tax situation, and a clean relationship with American banking.
Anyone who fits the “corporate” stereotype usually receives the information.
But what about the non-corporate person who still dreams of traveling and maybe living overseas?
My situation is more for those like me; there is nothing corporate about me, nor did I have an ideal situation.
As a man living part-time in Brazil, I’m navigating a few things simultaneously: the complexity of the US tax system for citizens living abroad, the particular way Brazilian banking works (which is unlike almost anywhere else), the informal economy that still dominates certain parts of daily life in Brazil, and the reality that some financial institutions covertly make this harder for people who look like me. As a result, I unfortunately have to make it clear to banks that I am American, not Brazilian. This is a story for another day.
I’m not going to dwell on that last point, but I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t exist either. It shows up in who gets flagged for fraud review, which accounts get restricted when you’re spending in unfamiliar geographies, and which customer service reps treat your question like a problem worth solving. Knowing this going in is part of managing money well abroad.
The core principle: never depend on one system
The single most important lesson from years of multi-country living is this: options are everything
If you have one bank account, one card, and one way to access money, you are one frozen account away from a genuinely bad situation in a foreign country. I’ve watched this happen to other travelers. I’ve had small versions of it happen to me.
I once had to pay off the remaining balance on a credit card in Brazil just to use it as a cash reserve because my worthless bank canceled my only debit card.
Lesson learned
The goal isn’t to have the perfect account. The goal is to have enough accounts, cards, and options that no single failure can strand you.
Here’s exactly how I do it.
Layer 1 – My everyday spending account: Wise
Wise is the foundation of how I move money internationally, and it’s been the only consistent thing in my financial life abroad.
Here’s what it does that regular banks don’t: Wise holds balances in multiple currencies at once. I keep USD and BRL (Brazilian Real) in my Wise account at all times. When I spend in Brazil, the transaction is charged in Brazilian Real. No conversion at the point of sale, no hidden exchange-rate markup, no surprise fees.
But most importantly, no annoying automatic card freezes or messages saying, “Did you make this purchase?’
The Wise debit card works like a normal Visa everywhere. The exchange rate you use when converting between currencies is the mid-market rate, the real rate you see on Google, with a small, transparent fee that’s a fraction of what any bank charges.
What I use it for:
- Daily spending in Brazil
- Online purchases in BRL, especially when I buy flights on GOL airlines
- Moving money between my US account and my Brazilian spending money
What it doesn’t do well: Wise isn’t a full bank. It offers no interest on balances, no credit-building, and no loan products. It’s a spending and transfer tool, not a savings vehicle. Use it for what it’s built for. I use it mainly in Brazil because I have had many issues with my American cards not working.
Annual cost to me: Usually under $30 in fees for the entire year, across dozens of international transactions.
Layer 2 – My US home base: Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking
If you’re an American living abroad and you don’t have a Charles Schwab checking account, open one before you finish reading this post.
Schwab reimburses all ATM fees worldwide, every month, with no cap. Not some ATM fees. All of them. I pull cash from ATMs in São Paulo, Lisbon, and Tokyo. Schwab refunds every fee at the end of the month without me having to do anything.
There are no foreign transaction fees on the debit card. No monthly account fees. No minimum balance requirement. It earns a small amount of interest on the balance.
This is the account my US income flows into. It’s my financial home base and the account I’d keep if I could only keep one. The ATM reimbursement alone has saved me hundreds of dollars a year.
What I use it for:
- Receiving US income and payments
- Cash withdrawals abroad when I need local currency fast
- Backup card when anything else has an issue
- US bill payments, subscriptions, and anything dollar-denominated
One important note: Schwab occasionally reviews accounts for unusual activity, and living abroad can trigger that review. Call them before you leave the US, tell them you’ll be abroad for an extended period, and give them the countries you’ll be visiting. Takes five minutes and prevents a lot of headaches.
Layer 3 – International transfers and larger moves: Wise again, plus Remitly for specific transfers
For moving larger amounts of money, like transferring $2,000 from my US account to my Brazilian account, I use Wise’s transfer service rather than a bank wire transfer.
A traditional international wire transfer costs $25–$45 at most US banks, takes 3–5 business days, and arrives with an exchange rate that quietly takes another 2–3% in the spread. A Wise transfer of the same amount costs a fraction of that, arrives the same day or next day, and uses the mid-market rate.
For US-Brazil transfers, I occasionally compare Remitly, which sometimes offers promotional rates that beat Wise on that route. The difference is usually small but worth checking for larger transfers.
My rule of thumb: For transfers under $500, Wise every time. For transfers over $1,000, spend 3 minutes comparing Wise and Remitly for the specific rates that day, since they fluctuate.
Small Game Plan
Here’s the complete picture of how money moves in my life:
US income → Schwab checking (home base) → split between:
- Wise (fund BRL balance for Brazilian spending)
- Schwab debit (cash withdrawals anywhere via ATM)
Brazilian income or payments → PIX (stays in BRL for local expenses)
International transfers → Wise or Remitly, depending on the amount
The tax reality nobody wants to talk about
This section isn’t financial advice; it’s a warning. If you’re an American citizen living abroad, you’re required to file US taxes regardless of where you live or earn your income. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and the Foreign Tax Credit are designed to prevent double taxation, but they require proper filing.
If you’re earning money in Brazil from employment, freelance work, rental income, or any other source, Brazil also has tax implications that depend on your residency status.
Use an accountant who specializes in US expat taxes. Yes, it will cost money, but it will save you money in the long run. The penalties for getting this wrong are significant, and the rules are genuinely complicated enough.
To make it easier to open a Brazilian bank account as a foreigner, open an account with Santander in the USA. Santander is also a major bank in Brazil. And use Anytime mail to get a digital address for specific locations.
