Many of you made suggestions on how to transfer the money.
The big banks in Canada charge ridiculous fees to do an International Wire Transfer. So does PayPal, and so does Western Union. But the problem is, the fees are hidden. Sure, the bank tells you up front that their fee is between $30 to $80 depending on the currency and the amount, but they don't tell you that they are also marking up the foreign exchange rate by at least 2%.
TransferWise is a UK company that operates worldwide. I've had an account for a while now, so I used them to do the transfer. They use the real foreign exchange rate.
But the big banks in Canada are not happy with TransferWise undercutting their profits. So only Bank of Montreal has so far agreed to allow Transferwise as a bill payment option (which would be free) for getting money into your TransferWise account. Otherwise, I had to do two Direct Debit transactions because they are capped at $9,500 each maximum.
My fee to do the transfer was $87.10, plus the two direct debit fees of $20.25, and $24.00. And with no foreign exchange mark up.
So I paid out a total of $131.35 to do the transfer instead of over $400!
In related news, TD Bank in Canada has increased from 2.5% to 3% the amount they charge on top of the foreign exchange rate when you do Visa transactions in another country.
Anyhow... we got it done and are so excited about our Australia trip.
But in the meantime, we are still enjoying Mexico for three weeks!
Yesterday, we moved from Roca Azul to Villa Corona, and the Chimulco Water Park.
We had to trim some trees to get out of Roca Azul!
Scenery along the way.
More scenery.
It was only a 40 km (25 mile) drive!
Yesterday's drive, 40 kms (25 miles).
Sherman, in site #1.
So we were set up well before noon. Ruth and I and Sherman have been here three or four times before. There is a huge water park with warm water that is all included in the price of camping. We like it here. And, it's close enough to Guadalajara to go for a day trip, which we are doing today!
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And in Canada...
Congratulations on your new purchase. I'm sure will have a lot of fun with it. Safe Travels
ReplyDeleteThank you Lorne! I'm sure we are going to have a lot of fun as well and some great adventures with this truck camper.
DeleteGood deal on the money transfer now just waiting until my birthday when you can pick it up !
ReplyDeleteKevin is always looking to find the best deal available even with the money transfers. He hates giving the banks more money than they deserve because they are always try to gouge us for something these days, not like they were years and years ago.
DeleteCongratulations. Lots of trust goes into a deal like this. Did you mention how you found this couple?
ReplyDeleteYes, there is definitely lots of trust but it helps when you do your research as well.
DeleteNo, I don't think Kevin mentioned how we found the unit. He found the rig for sale on one of the Australian motorhome groups in Facebook and then found another advertisement for it on Gumtree Australia, from there he started researching more about the truck and chatting with the current owners over the internet.
Congrats! That should be fun....just make sure to buy some bug killer when you get there, they have so many weird creatures in Australia
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYes, they have some weird and wonderful creatures over here but we are sort of hoping that we won't see too many because we will be there in cooler weather. Obviously we will still be well aware of our surroundings. :-)
Now to go through the whole thing again when you sell the rig! You will have fun. My sister has traveled the whole world says the first countries she would most like to return to are Australia and New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteYes we will have to do that again but if the rig works out well for us we may not sale it right away and just rent it out to family or friends or even put it into storage and then come back and use it again next year. It can also be shipped over to New Zealand and where we can explore that country next. There are so many possibilities. :-)
DeleteCongratulation! You did a great job MoneyWise.
ReplyDeleteThanks Angi! Kevin is always on the lookout for the best choice and value for our money even when it comes to transferring money.
DeleteCongrats on the new rig:))
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
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