Australian savings to UK

learning_every_day

I'm currently living in Australia and plan to for another 12-18 months. We are trying to save what we can so we can return to the UK with a savings pot for whatever, deposit, wedding, rainy day.

The exchange rate is good right now from our position but I'm not sure if I should start sending lumps back or hold off to see if the rate further improves. I'm more concerned about the Aussie dollar weakening against the pound.

Maybe I should secure a forward type position with a forex company (not sure what this would be called) for a years time?

Does anyone have any advice?

We are currently getting around 4-4.5% on savings here.

HappyMJ

At $1.45 to the £1 I'd be transferring now....or transfer just enough to maximize the exchange rate and minimize the fees. Last time I did it to get a rate very close to the wholesale rate I had to transfer $25,000. So depending on how much you have I'd be sending that amount every few months. The interest on savings in the UK is around 2-3%.

I wish the Aussie dollar would start weakening and the pound get stronger myself so I can send money back to Australia.

Whatever you do it'll be a gamble....my opinion...I don't think the dollar will get much stronger...maybe a few pence difference but not much.

learning_every_day

HappyMJ wrote: »

At $1.45 to the £1 I'd be transferring now....or transfer just enough to maximize the exchange rate and minimize the fees. Last time I did it to get a rate very close to the wholesale rate I had to transfer $25,000. So depending on how much you have I'd be sending that amount every few months. The interest on savings in the UK is around 2-3%.

I wish the Aussie dollar would start weakening and the pound get stronger myself so I can send money back to Australia.

Whatever you do it'll be a gamble....my opinion...I don't think the dollar will get much stronger...maybe a few pence difference but not much.

Thanks for your reply. I too do not think the dollar will get much stronger but I know little so could easily be wrong.

I might look to send back what we have now and do the same quarterly

sabretoothtigger

The pound is moving outside the boundaries of what is a normal move. Could be for a few reasons but I guess it doesnt have to go back up or Aussie to go back down

Considering the interest rate difference between the two and that it is relatively safe to stay in a normal account I would not consider doing anything like this :

forward type position with a forex company

If you were considering a holiday anywhere you could also take those currencies to some extent, dollar or euro that kind of thing.

Personally I'd just collect the higher rates at where you are living now, unless you can pay the money forward towards a bill here and secure that cost.
But it sounds like immediately you have no need for sterling just speculation on its future worth and cost to you

HappyMJ

learning_every_day wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I too do not think the dollar will get much stronger but I know little so could easily be wrong.

I might look to send back what we have now and do the same quarterly

Shop around. The banks in Australia do usually give a good rate but there are FX companies that may offer a better rate and a lower fee. The TT fee with ANZ cost me $32 to send and at the time RBS charged me £8 to receive the money...so economy of scale works here the more money you send in one go the cheaper it is.

It's also very quick via a bank. I sent the money via online banking on a Friday morning and received it in the UK on Thursday afternoon..Only a couple of hours after I sent it. The time difference gave me an extra day of interest.

sabretoothtigger

I sent the money via online banking on a Friday morning and received it in the UK on Thursday afternoon..Only a couple of hours after I sent it. The time difference gave me an extra day of interest.

learning_every_day

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

Haha! Thanks for your replies. I will give it some thought. I have an account with a forex company here that I have used once before so I'll see what kind of amounts I need to get a close to the rate