Superyacht Crew Love wasting money.
Wasting money is one of the biggest issues Superyacht Crew face. But why? And how do you stop?
How to stop wasting it;
Make sure your bank account is the same currency as your salary:
If you get paid in Euros into a £GBP account for example this will cost you money every month before you even do anything. Also, if you are doing this wrong you will almost definitely have a debit/ credit card in the wrong currency too.
This will also cost you every time you use it. All this adds up to roughly 1 months salary per year. That’s a lot over a 10 year career!
Have a look at our article about this here. It’s a bit of an eye opener!
Don’t bank offshore:
Lots of people will disagree with this. Some will even say “what do you mean? Offshore banking and Yachting go hand in hand”.
But, have you ever asked yourself why you bank offshore?
I guarantee that 90% of you bank offshore because someone you work with encouraged you to. Offshore banks have one benefit and that is a Euro or USD debit card, but that’s pretty much it.
- The card charges are high.
- Monthly fees are high.
- You earn no interest,
- There is a minimum balance requirement.
- It doesn’t help your credit rating
- Contrary to popular belief YOU CANNOT HIDE your money there.
The reality is this. An offshore account attracts more interest from the tax man than any other account.
Get a bank account in your home country that can do multi currency accounts. THE END. If you can’t find one, CALL US.
Don’t use savings accounts:
Savings accounts are not a great way to save. Don’t waste your time. More importantly stop wasting money. It will do much better somewhere else.
You will be lucky to get 1% these days and that is pretty rare. DO NOT leave your money piling up in an account that is doing nothing for you.
Even more importantly, don’t leave all your money in your EURO account. It will do you no good there. Take advantage when the exchange rate is good. If you don’t know how, CALL US
If you are saving for something specific such as a house deposit then this is fine. But, don’t leave your money in a savings account because you don’t know what to do with it. Do something to make this money work for you. Invest it. If you don’t know how, a regulated financial advisor will help you. But please, make sure they are regulated. All our financial advisors are regulated so, if you need a hand please get in touch by clicking here
Do your tax return
If you are resident of a country where you have to file a tax return, make sure you do it. We know some of you will disagree and honestly believe you don’t need to declare your income. Unfortunately you are wrong. If you plan on having any kind of normal life, now or after yachting you need to file tax returns. Otherwise things will end badly and expensively for you.
Don’t let the fact that you haven’t been caught give you a false sense of security. When you are caught it will be EXPENSIVE. Much more expensive than if you had just done your taxes in the first place.
We know some countries are much more favourable than others when it comes to tax and we can’t help that. Unless you are 100% certain that you don’t have to do anything (and have taken specialist tax advice to support this) then do yourself a favour and check where you stand. Doing your taxes also gives you access to all sorts of investment opportunities such as mortgages and pensions which you would really struggle to get otherwise.
Remember, You don’t own the yacht!:
It’s not your yacht you just work on it. Therefore you don’t need to spend like the owner. Everyone gets carried away now and again as you get paid well and some earn great tips.
A blow out after charter is normal but nobody should be getting to the end of the month short of cash. Especially if this is because you are wasting money
So what do I do?
Start by taking 20-30% of your salary every month (as this is what your friends would pay in tax) and commit it to something. Whether this is saving for a house deposit, a pension, stocks and shares or a combination of all of these make sure you do something. You can still have a great time even whilst you are saving. As long as you don’t spend all your time off renting Lamborghini’s and eating dinner in Le Louis XV!
Get in touch if you would like to discuss anything or have just realised you need our help.
Crew Family Office was set up by ex-Superyacht Crew who made every mistake known to man with their money. Our mission is to stop you from making the same mistakes we did and leave yachting with some savings, investments and properties to make the rest of your life nice and easy.
Click here to contact us so we can help you.