Case Study - Jack & Julia
“Jack and Julia are in their mid-30s and live in Jakarta with dreams of a never-ending income stream and a luxury lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
Seduced by the salary, their luxurious apartment, car plus driver, the climate and its proximity to fantastic locations such as Bali: they enjoy life as if on holiday.
They attend as many golf events, Sunday brunches and social gatherings as possible. They are always dressed to impress in the season’s latest designer clothes and accessories (expensive handbags and shoes in particular for Julia) and are regulars at many of Indonesia’s top bars, restaurants and hotels.
But lurking in the shadows, a silent truth prepares to deprive of them of the future they’ve taken for granted.
Time flies and before they know it Julia is pregnant, they are now preparing to raise a family. More time quickly passes by, their two girls are now attending international high schools and aspirations for their children to attend elite universities start to grow. The outgoings have significantly increased year upon year since the family of two became a family of four, but Jack and Julia always ensured they kept up appearances within social circles, so the majority of incoming earnings was fast spent.
Now in their late 40s Jack receives some bad news from his company: Jack is now surplus to requirements and is being let go at the end of this year’s contract. His industry is not in the best shape and neither is the economy as a whole; therefore the chances of getting a similar job and package any time soon are looking remote to non-existent.
The promise of an early retirement at 60 and a life of travelling is now nothing more than a pipe dream for Jack and Julia. They are now left considering how they will manage without all of Jack’s benefits.
The house; car; medical insurance; life insurance; school fees and most importantly his fantastic salary that he was counting on for the rest of his working life to fund his pension/retirement account in later years. Now they are all gone!
A potential move back to Jack’s home country is now on the horizon as Jack and Jill can’t afford to pay for all the expensive necessities that were once provided for by Jack’s company. A move back to Jack’s home country will undoubtedly mean a reduction in Jack’s earning capacity and a less luxurious standard of living.
Jack and Julia’s concern can now be seen etched into their foreheads. The dream is over and they wonder where they went wrong, what they failed to do and why they didn’t take action sooner.”
There is no doubting that it is easy to be lured into a lifestyle of free spending; one which can leave little or no disposable income by the end of each month for saving towards emergencies, periods of unemployment, significant future expenses and retirement.
We all know people that fit perfectly in to this case-study. What was once a rose-tinted ideal suddenly becomes a head scratching conundrum.
Despite this, a message of hope remains. Saving a set portion of your salary each month towards short-term, medium term and long-term objectives is possible and there are many options which may suit in terms of how much you save per month and for how long. Many of these solutions can also be continued back in most home countries and in fact have some tax benefits over domestic accounts.
Contact GMS here for an introductory meeting and more information on savings accounts for short term savings, future significant purchases and retirement.
This could be one of the most important meetings you have this year if you’re serious about making your time working overseas really count towards securing your future.
If you’re hoping to create a better life for yourself and your family, then this is a great opportunity to make sure that you avoid the common mistakes that expatriates regularly make when making their financial plan. Click here to book your no-obligation initial consultation.
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