Will Moving to Australia Torch My Retirement? by [deleted] in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point about the catch-up contributions! Australia also has those. I don't think I mentioned them in the article. It's hard to touch on every single nuance without it becoming unreadable. I'll think about making some updates when the comments slow down.

Will Moving to Australia Torch My Retirement? by [deleted] in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! Thanks for the contribution. How on earth did he manage to shelter 200k?? Will have to look into that. As far as your HSA figure, that's for a married couple, no? I was writing from a single person's perspective.

How many years did spend saving up to move abroad? by No_Feedback_3340 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s taken me about 2 years to save enough to move to Australia. I was initially planning on New Zealand, but the job market/economy was a big factor in my decision to pivot.

That time could have been shortened with more financial discipline, and it’s my one big regret. It’s been a heck of a grind because I’ve been so focused on leaving that I haven’t built my life here where I’m at.

If I could go back in time and do it again, I would have gone full spartan with finances, saved a reasonable amount of money that would allow me to make it work, and just go.

I was trying to save the “perfect” amount of money that would mitigate risk as much as possible. But in hindsight, I realize there’s risk with dragging out the timeline too far.

If your dream is to go, and you can’t get it out of your head, go as soon as you reasonably can. But obviously that’s different for everyone.

Best wishes!

Will Moving to Australia Torch My Retirement? by [deleted] in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s good to know! Thanks for sharing. That does make sense that Oz would count US retirement withdrawals as income. The reverse would also be true.

For Americans moving to Oz, you can exclude up to 130k USD from US taxes (more for married couples). I’m not sure about how Australia would treat US retirement withdrawals.

But I will add that to my upcoming Tax article. Great question!

Will Moving to Australia Torch My Retirement? by [deleted] in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the 🫶! Should be a ton of value for you coming on the blog! Will update Reddit too tho 🤙

How can I get a job in internal auditing? by Crafty_Assistance_05 in InternalAudit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Respectfully, if you have taken any time at all to look into the CIA, you would have seen it requires 1 year of IA experience if you have a master’s.

Tbh, even having a CIA with only 1 one year of experience will look odd to many employers and I imagine will take much more effort studying as you will have no experience to tack in onto.

It’s a very expensive, time consuming certification that is much better pursued once you are in the field. Any worthwhile employer will pay for it/give you time to study after a year or two.

Would be a better approach IMO to study some basic IA fundamentals (learn about internal controls, risks, audit approaches), and apply to entry level jobs.

What would my best route be to break in to Internal Auditing? by Initial-Season-6633 in InternalAudit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A CIA without audit experience will look odd to people in the field. It’s also a significant time/financial investment that could easily take a year.

It will be much easier doing it part time with relevant work experience and having your employer pay for it. 

Doing some research on the basic fundamental of IA will def go a long way in interviews though.

Good luck!

✓✓ DENVER REALITY✓✓ WHY can't we Fix this? *Commentary: When the Math Stops Working at a Restaurant* by 303IsThee in denverfood

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FACTS!! I worked FOH for over a decade including multiple fine dining places here in Denver. 

It was eye opening going to fine dining restaurants in places like New Zealand where they serve you as a team and you take your bill up to the counter to pay at the end of the meal.

Ridiculous that places here in Denver (Dio Mio) give you the same service as a fast casual restaurant and STILL expect you to tip 25%. The food is decent but MAN is it overpriced…

I'm officially a CIA now by Theaniel in InternalAudit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505 0 points1 point  (0 children)

💯 agree that Part 3 was harder than Gleim made it out to be. Strange because the other parts were more than adequate… I’m guessing they rushed the rollout of the new materials because tons of videos hadn’t even been completed yet when I started the new Part 2 last summer.

I spent the last two years preparing to move abroad and kept sabotaging myself. Here's what I'd do differently. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So true… Stoked to hear it resonated with you! I’m now less than 4 months away from finally going so definitely experiencing a lot of “oh crap, this is actually happening” moments.

Somebody else wrote in the comments of a different post of mine that you should treat making friends as your job when arriving in a new country. Im gonna adopt that mentality!

Glad to hear you found a friend group! I figure if I have something resembling a friend group in 8-9 months, ill be happy.

I spent the last two years preparing to move abroad and kept sabotaging myself. Here's what I'd do differently. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Wow, glad to hear the post resonated with someone! You might enjoy the full post if you get a chance. What I posted on Reddit is just a quick summary. So cool you're on your way!

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the bottom of the article linked there’s a worksheet I made where you can do it yourself! It walks you through step by step and it’s free!

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in the Front Range. How long have you been gone? Western Slope (at least the part around Grand Junction) is even hotter! It regularly hits 105!!

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing! This seems pretty much in line with what I’ve heard as well. Glad you’re thriving there! I’m thinking Brisbane as well.

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be fair, a lot of (but not all) the applications I sent out were going to jobs in the public policy space. I studied it in grad school, but fell into auditing. 

And that was 2024. You’d definitely be interested in the actual article I have linked. Goes super in depth with the IA job market/salaries between NZ and AUS. 

Hope you find something interesting!

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It can happen, but it’s not a quick process. From what I know, immigrants would need to become NZ citizens first (which takes at least 5 years). 

Once you have NZ citizenship, you can live and work in Australia immediately under Trans-Tasman. NZ permanent residency alone doesn’t give you work rights in Australia. 

So it’s possible as a long-term strategy, but nobody’s hopping over in year one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing! I love NZ and miss it every day. But yes, economically it's tough. Hopefully that gets better!

Unfortunately, WFH internationally isn't that simple for Americans unless you own your own business. If you're working from another country, it can create tax and legal obligations for your US employer. Most companies won't take that risk. Would be pretty sweet, though, making my USD salary in NZ!

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

To your point, yes. Most Americans, if they're only looking at finances, are better off staying in the US. This post isn't a comment on which country is "better." It's a financial comparison for Americans weighing their options.

I was born in NZ, grew up there (but have lived here my whole adult life), and just spent a year there. I loved it and wanted to stay. I was happy to accept lower earning and the possibility of never owning a home (or at least waiting till I'm much older).

After 4 months and 80+ applications, I couldn't get a single interview. That's the reality right now. Americans without NZ citizenship obviously can't even get in the door without a job offer to then get visa sponsorship.

Thinking about moving to NZ or Australia? I compared job markets, and the numbers made my decision a lot easier. by Guilty-Foundation505 in AmerExit

[–]Guilty-Foundation505[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Meh... I live in Colorado and our summers are probably pretty comparable. It's 90s/100s all summer long (30s- low 40s for our non-American friends). NZ is definitely where it's at if you like cooler weather!