Working for a New Zealand company while in Australia. What's the best to way get the most out of my New Zealand dollars?
I'm a online-based contractor moving to Australia. I'll be continuing to work for the same company in New Zealand while in Australia. My problem is, how can I get the most from the NZ dollars I'm getting paid?
They want to pay into my ANZ bank account but is that the best way to regularly receive payments? That way I'd need to keep transferring the money to Australia.
I worked for a NZ company for a couple of years while living in Australia and I found the best way was just to get it paid into my NZ bank account and then bring it over using Currency Online every month. If you have a credit card with a good rewards program you could consider putting it on that instead - I know someone who did that - but generally the higher currency charges and cash withdrawal fees on a credit card will outweigh the benefits.
Being paid in NZ dollars while living in Australia does mean your income will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate, so it's really only something you would want to carry on doing if you really like the job and they are paying you enough in NZ for it to work out as a reasonable income once converted.
On the bright side, you only pay tax on the converted rate and the tax rate is lower here. You also get a student loan holiday for a couple of years (if you have one), so that evens things out a bit!