Financial Update Post

So, I have not made as much progress on my student loan repayment as I would have liked. I had to use my emergency fund (EF) to pay for some stuff back home and I have been rebuilding it back up. My EF in the U.S is only $1000.00, but I am trying to build an EF here in Sweden of about 25,000 SEK or about 2500 USD. This would be used for moving expenses and first months rent and deposit when I move out of my current apartment.

I also might have made a mistake when it comes to my U.S. taxes. I recently found out that because I have been putting money into my IRA I might not be eligible for the foreign income exclusion on my U.S taxes. So, I am going to hold off on putting more money in until I know exactly what is going on. I have also heard that I might be eligible for a tax break on my Swedish taxes because I have been using my Swedish income to pay my US student loan. I know it is not the best move when it comes to accruing interest loans but I have decided to only pay a little more than interest accrued once a month. Just to see for sure where I stand in the tax situation in both countries. So, that means I'll be saving my money, instead.

I was considering putting my money in a Swedish brokerage account especially since savings accounts here don't accrue interest right now. I went to my bank here and I asked about opening a savings account, and I was told that it was essentially negative interest, but they are so kind they just bump it up to 0% interest. So, I am just leaving it in my free checking account for now until I figure out what I can do.

The good news is that I am helping my mom run a  Poshmark page, a Mercari page (which I will add the hyperlink later), and an Etsy page. So, a portion of the money earned from here are going towards our Financial goals. I will make a specific post about my goals specifically.

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More difficult than I expected

Wow, this is a lot harder than I hoped.

When I was back in the U.S working it was a lot easier to keep track of all my money. As of now, I have two accounts and two financial lives to worry about essentially.

I got paid twice a month and I did not have to worry about the exchange rate. For the last couple of months the Swedish Krona has been falling against the U.S Dollar, so that means when I wire money over I am getting less dollars than the previous time. This pretty much means that I can only really do my budget the day I get paid and am ready to transfer money over. Although, I have found a way to send money to the U.S for cheap using Transferwise. This has been such a relief for me. I am only  paying for the conversion from SEK to USD as opposed to 2 sets of bank transfer fees. I am inputting my link, if you decide you want to use it. There is a bonus for both of us if you hit certain requirements. WIN WIN!

Also, I've had to get used to seeing the prices and not thinking something is expensive when I see it, ex. 300 SEK which is only about 30 USD. I've just been doing a basic conversion in my head.

So, I have a budget of 2000-2500 sek for food and fun expenses per month, which is not a lot in retrospect. Especially considering how expensive food is here. I have been eating at home and bring lunch to work. Yay! Tuna sandwiches! Which is fine, as I am still trying to find places out that I like. I also am able to make things spiced to my liking. I am Latina, I like spicy food.

I've also been really stressed and craving sugar so I have spent wayyy too much money on soda and other sugary drinks. These are about 20-30 sek each time and it adds up. So, this coming month and the next few weeks I have to cut back on that. Plus, it has been very hot here so I have been drinking lots of water to keep hydrated and sugary drinks do not help with hydration.

I've also further cut my expenses back by biking to work. I was given a bike by a colleague, granted I need to fixed it up which only equated to 400 SEK. This is cheaper than having a metro pass and a gym membership. However, I have never really dealt with snow, so by the time the first snow appears or ice is becoming a regular fixture on the road I will go back to riding the metro. For the next few months I'll have an extra 600 SEK in my budget. Woohoo!

Anyway, I'll come back with more updates!

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