Four Ways You Can Offer Support to Friends or Family Living Abroad

If you have family members, extended relatives, or close friends living abroad and you want to support them during times of transition, there are ways you can stay in touch and offer assistance even when you’re still at home. This can mean helping them when they’re faced with a sudden emergency situation such as travel difficulties if they’re attending university abroad, or even if they suddenly find moving expense fees they didn’t anticipate. There are four ways you can help them out financially as well as through personal communication and support.

Plan A Trip To See Them When You Can

While it probably can’t happen too often if your loved one lives overseas, being able to see them once in a while still can be the greatest gift you can give them. Maybe it’s almost holiday season, or maybe they have a special life event that you want to be there for. A short-term trip to their place might be something you can save for, and then once you’re there you may be able to offer some physical assistance if they’re undertaking any major activities. Travelling abroad can be expensive, but sometimes you can find discounts for certain airlines or car rentals.

Help By Paying A Bill For Them

If you can’t be there in person to give support but want to help someone financially, you might be able to pay one of their bills for them. You could do this either by writing a check to their creditor or landlord on their behalf, or possibly accessing a bill pay service. You might need to check with the creditor to make sure they allow payments on behalf of someone else, and in other cases where the financial matter can get a little more complicated, you may need power of attorney such as needing to access any of their personal accounts to do this. But if it is feasible, you could help alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with the first year of living abroad.

Help By Sending Money Directly To Them

If you find out that your loved one has run into some very difficult financial situations that they’ll need cash for, there are ways you can get it to them even when they’re stranded somewhere like an airport or train station. Money orders have been a traditional way to send money abroad in person, but maybe your loved one doesn’t have time to wait for one to arrive. There are also special money transfer services, some of which you can find at local supermarkets and retail outlets, and you could send cash, debit card or credit card payments to them instantly. Many airports and other transportation hubs have these services in their terminals or nearby convenience stores, and if your loved one has access to one of these, they can pick up the cash. If it’s easier, you could even have the agent wire the money to their bank account though it may take a little longer to arrive. But the main things you’ll want to have are information about your recipient including the exact name that’s on their ID, which they will need to have if they’re picking it up in cash, and you’ll also need to be able to contact them to give them the tracking number so they can receive their cash.

Set Aside Time For Video Chat Or Other Online Meetings

Sometimes your loved one will feel closer to home if you have face to face chats with them using video calling services. As long as their internet connection is good, you’ll be able to catch up either one on one or even have more than one person or a family gathering to speak with them. You might be surprised at how much it could help if they’re homesick, or perhaps they’re going through some personal difficulty and need emotional support. Let them know how much you care by video calling them and sharing updates from home and hearing their stories.

Sometimes it takes just a little more creativity to give the kind of support you want to your loved ones, but usually just simple ideas for staying in touch go a long way. Thanks to money transfer services that are spread out across the globe, both short-term and ongoing financial support is possible if an agent is located near your loved one. So long as you know the exchange rates if you’re going to be changing currency for them, it’s generally a simple