Move Abroad

78: Can you move abroad with debt? Here’s the truth.

• Jordan Giberson

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Wondering if you can move abroad even though you have debt? You’re not alone—and the short answer is: yes, you can. But it takes some planning.

In this episode, I’m sharing the real story about moving abroad with student loans, credit cards, and other debt. We’ll talk about why having debt doesn’t disqualify you, how to get clear on your financial situation, and how to build a solid plan that includes your debt payments while living overseas.

You’ll learn:

  • Why debt is normal—and doesn’t define your future
  • How to organize and assess your debt before making a move
  • How to budget for life abroad and manage your debt responsibly
  • Practical steps to lower your cost of living, increase your income, and stay financially steady while living overseas
  • Why your mindset around debt matters more than you think

Plus, I’ll share the small systems you can set up now to stay on track after you move, without stressing about every dollar.

If moving abroad feels like a distant dream because of your finances, this episode will show you a different path forward.

👉Take the free quiz: Which European city should you move to? 🤔

Grab my free guide: 5 Exact Steps to Move Abroad

Website: jordangiberson.com
Instagram: @jordan.giberson

Moving abroad isn't about running away from your problems like the debt that you might be having. It's just about building a life that lights you up and makes you really excited and it can absolutely include paying off debt from another country responsibly so that your future self can thank you, but also on your own terms Hey, my name is Jordan Giberson. I'm a Texas girl living and thriving in London. The best thing I've ever done? Moving abroad, hands down. And I'm passionate about helping others do the same. Are you curious about finding a job abroad? You're in the right place, friend. I'll teach you the tried and true secrets of how to make moving abroad a reality for you and how to live a fulfilling life once you get there. We'll cover topics like choosing the best visa for you, how to get a job offer in another country, how to get over your fear of moving abroad, and how to live a life you love once you get there, this is The Move Abroad Podcast. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. Today's topic is on the question, can I move abroad if I have debt, student loans, credit cards, personal loans? It is such a common situation to have some sort of debt. And it can feel like it is a deal breaker to whether you can move abroad or not. So if you're wondering, do I need to be totally debt free before I can even think about moving abroad, then this episode is for you. And spoiler alert, you can absolutely move abroad with debt, but it does take planning. So let's talk about what that can look like. First of all, debt is normal and you are not alone. So, let's get one thing straight right away. You are not alone in having debt. You are not irresponsible, and you are not disqualified from building the life you want abroad. Most Americans carry some sort of debt. It doesn't mean that you failed. It means that you're just living in a system where debt is often a requirement for things like education. That is a very typical one. You might have had student loans. And so you have debt from your education, maybe from transportation, maybe you had to buy a car, and if you're in the US more than likely you had to buy a car. So maybe you're having payments every month to pay for your car. So in transportation, or even just surviving and paying for normal day-to-day life. So if you've ever felt shame about your debt, then breathe, it is okay. Wanting to move abroad doesn't mean that you're ignoring your financial reality. It just means that you're looking for a better future. There are definitely some circumstances where there is some, irresponsible debt. Maybe you've racked up a credit card debt or maybe multiple credit cards, and that's maybe not a great idea. But there are a lot of debts that a lot of people have like education debts like we talked about, or getting a car or on house payments. If you've purchased a home, things like that, that is so typical for many people to have some sort of debt of some kind. So the 1st thing that you're going to need to do is know your debt. You will need to start by taking stock of what you owe. Here are some typical types of debt that you might have. 1 would be student loans. These are often manageable to pay off, but it is annoying that we have student loans that many people have that, but that is a very typical type of debt so student loans. Another one might be credit card debt. This is a bit of a problem that you'll just have to be a bit strategic with because there is higher interest. So you'll just need to be a bit more strategic with credit card debt. Another type of debt that you might have is just personal loans, so you'll just need to check your repayment terms for that. You might have car loans. You'll need to make the decision of whether you'll keep the car in the US whenever you move abroad, or if you want to sell the car. I think that will probably depend on how long you're planning to move abroad, and if there's somebody that can take care of the car for you and store it for you and still keep it running a bit so it doesn't get moldy and gross. Okay? Not that cars get moldy and gross, but you know what I mean. You need to kind of run a car at least every few weeks to make sure it continues to run. And then another type of typical debt that you might have is your medical debt or other collections. So just make sure that you know your monthly obligations. So those are the types of debt that you more than likely will have student loans. Credit card debt, personal loans, car loans, medical debt, or other collections. So I would recommend as an action for you to make a simple spreadsheet, list your debts, the monthly minimums, the due dates, and the interest rates because you need a clear picture to make smart financial choices for whenever you do move abroad. And you might have already done this already, if you have then. Pat on the back. That's really great. I think it's really great to make sure that you have all of your debts organized. But if you have not done that already and you are hoping to move abroad, you do need to have a clear understanding of the debts that you owe and you know, when you have the monthly payments and due dates and interest rates and all of that so that you can also put together a budget for your new life abroad. So now that you know your debt and you've put together a simple spreadsheet with all of your debts, monthly payments, due dates, and interest rates, then you have a clear picture to make smart choices. The next question you need to be asking yourself is, can you afford to move? Can I cover my debt payments? And afford life in a new country. To answer this question, you'll need to figure out how much you're going to need to afford the lifestyle you want in your new country and city abroad. So if you actually go back and listen to episode 64, it's budgeting, how much do you really need to move abroad? So if you go back to that episode and give it a listen on budgeting, I think that might really help you figure out how much you need in order to make that move abroad happen and to have the lifestyle that you want. So if the question to can I cover my debts and afford life in a new country? If the answer is yes, I can cover my debts and afford life in a new country, then you're in great shape. That's awesome. And if not, there are some things that you can do to help yourself get there. So number 1 would be to lower your cost of living. You might want to consider lower cost European countries like Portugal or the Czech Republic or parts of Spain or Italy, for example. You could consider renting a studio in Lisbon or Valencia, for example that could be even cheaper than your current life in the US. So you might actually have a lower cost of living and be actually in a better place in order to pay off those debts that you have, depending on where you're moving abroad and the lifestyle that you're hoping to have. But that could be an option where you choose a lower cost European country, like Portugal for example, and you rent a studio maybe, and you just have a lower cost of living than you would in the US, so that could help you actually. Number 2 that you might want to consider to figure out whether you can afford to move, is to increase your income, figure out exactly how much income you have. You might have a great option to have remote work or freelancing options that can give you flexibility and financial security abroad. So you'll have to figure out what your income is going to be whenever you move abroad. For example, if you're getting a job abroad or if you are hoping to take some current freelance work that you've built up over a few months abroad, to kind of figure out what that's going to look like for your income so that you can know how much you're bringing in and know how much you're spending for your cost of living and then how much you have then set aside for your debt that you need to pay off. Number 3 would be to save a runway. You'll want to aim for 3 to 6 months of living expenses saved before you go. This is really whatever you feel comfortable with. You don't have to save up 6 months of living expenses, but I think whatever, you have more responsibilities, and especially if you're moving with a family, then I think that having more months of living expenses for those surprise expenses would be a positive thing. But if it's just you and you have a very low budget, low spend rate, low amount that you spend, however you'd wanna word that, then I do think you'd probably be okay with having less months living expenses saved up. But you want to build a buffer so that your debt payments don't become stressful if something unexpected happens because you have debt and you know that you need to pay all of those expenses that hopefully you will have put in a spreadsheet and that are very organized so that you are not really stressed whenever you need to make payments and you're enjoying this new life abroad. I'd say that you just wanna make sure that you have a buffer. So those 3 to 6 months of living expenses will be really helpful so that if you have some unexpected expenses whenever you move abroad or just any expenses that kind of come up randomly, then you have that runway and you feel more comfortable and relaxed. Okay, now I want to shift just ever so slightly and talk about managing debt responsibly while living abroad. I feel like the part that no one necessarily talks about is that you can live abroad and still be financially responsible, but you'll have to do a few things in order to get there. Number 1 would be to set up auto pay and online management tools. Make sure that you can log into all your accounts online. 1 little pro tip about this is that you need to make sure that you keep your US number or get a cheap US number that's like a quick monthly payment reusable number. There's so many options online now where you can get a quick e-sim, that's a US number, but you'll have to have something to log into your bank accounts sometimes. So this has probably happened to you and you probably don't even realize it because you're just so used to doing it that it's just you wouldn't even realize that it would be a problem. But whenever I moved abroad, I had to log into some of my bank accounts and sometimes they don't even let you send the code. Sometimes you have to do a code to an email address. They wouldn't even let me do that. It had to be for my US phone number. So I actually had a little bit of a problem for a while because I wasn't using my US phone number at the time and I couldn't log into an account because of that. And you don't want that to happen whenever, you know you have payments that are due. So just make sure that you can log into all of your accounts online and if you know that for certain accounts you have to have a US phone number in order to verify your account and they send you the code, they text it to you and you add that online, just make sure that you have that all set up before you move abroad, so you don't want that to happen. So make sure you can log into all your accounts online. Another thing would be to set up an auto pay for your minimum payments or your statement balance. So just make sure that's all set up on auto pay so that you don't have to worry about it and it's not stressful for you. You can also use budgeting apps like you need a budget, for example, that's YNAB if you're doing research on it or Revolut or just a couple examples. If you're in Europe, Revolut could be a good option. There are so many budgeting apps. I mean, pick your poison. There are so many different options. So, it just might be helpful to have a budgeting app, especially as you're just moving to a new country and some of your expenses might be a bit different from what you're used to. Maybe groceries are a lot less expensive than you expected them to be, but eating out is a lot more expensive than you thought it would be or things like that. It's just, it'll be a little bit of an adjustment to figure out what your lifestyle costs might be in your new life abroad. So a budgeting app might be useful in this case. So on managing debt responsibly while abroad. Number 1, set up autopay and online management tools. Number 2 is open an international friendly bank account. There are so many different options for banks and it really depends on the country that you're looking to move to. But a couple examples would be Wise or Revolut. They have low fee currency transfers. So there are great options. I've heard really great things about Revolut. I don't personally have Revolut, but I've heard really good things. And then you'll also want to set up a US account that is dedicated just to debt payments. That could be something that you do. You don't have to do this, but it could be an option just to keep all your ducks in a row and make sure that you're very organized on how much you need to be paying out of those accounts. So you might wanna consider setting up a US account just dedicated to your debt payments. Another thing that you might consider doing is to set a calendar reminder to send money from your international bank to your US bank account, if you will be making money abroad. So you'll want to make sure that you're sending money from your local currency. Let's say they're making money in Euros, for example, to your USD US account once a month using wise. Wise, I think is the best companies slash app to use. If you're sending money abroad, the fees are super low and honestly, I use it once a week to send money to like different accounts. So I use it all the time. It's a very low fee that you have to pay, but it could be worth looking into your bank and how much it would cost to send via a bank transfer. But I do think that WISE is really easy to use, so I would highly recommend it. You might also consider keeping a small amount of US dollars in your US account just for peace of mind. I do this as well all the time. I just make sure that I have a certain amount in my US account. And this is also just a side note, I always make sure that I have certain payments coming out of my US credit cards, so that I can keep up my credit in the United States as well. I forget what accounts it is specifically, but you have monthly reoccurring costs for like a Netflix subscription, for example. So I'd have that come out of my US account so that I continue to keep up my credit. But just keeping a small buffer in your US account to give you peace of mind and just know that if you do have a debt payment that's coming out, then you have that money in your account if you need it. Number 4 would be to track your income versus debt ratio monthly. You'll want to just revisit your budget each month to make sure that you're staying ahead and that you're not stressed if your income dips or you have a surprise expense, then you'll adjust your plan without spiraling and freaking out. And that's also why it's really good to have a buffer of 3 to 6 months of living expenses if you can, just so that you're not as stressed, that if there are some income dips or there's a surprise expense, then you don't feel really stressed about paying off your debt and making sure you're staying on top of that as well as just making sure that you're living like you need to have costs for just living life. So, just track your income versus your debt monthly. You might wanna check it every 2 weeks whenever you're first moving abroad. So I would say, schedule a regular financial check-in. Maybe you decide it's once a month, maybe you decide it's every two weeks, just to look at all of your accounts and how much money you have coming in versus going out. Especially since you're managing debt. I would recommend maybe creating a calendar reminder for every 2 weeks to 1 month to review your budget and make sure that it's set how you need it. Your spending might not change drastically from your life in your home country. Maybe it's the United States that you're moving from, but some things might be cheaper than you were expecting, like groceries or healthcare, for example. And some things might be more expensive than you were expecting, like eating out, for example. So some things you might just need to adjust after being there for a little while so that you can have a good understanding of, am I still on track? Or what needs adjusting? So again, on managing your debt responsibly while abroad, I'd recommend 1, setting up autopay and online management tools. Maybe you wanna set those up. Number 2 would be open an international friendly bank account. Number 3 would be track your income versus your debt spending every month. And then number 4 would be track your income versus debt and just make sure that you're scheduling regular financial check-ins. So debt doesn't need to define whether you can move abroad or not. So many of us have internalized the idea that we have to get our life together in quotations before we can do something bold. But here's the truth. You don't have to be debt free to create a joyful, fulfilling life abroad. You just need to be intentional and proactive. You can absolutely move abroad with debt. You just need to be careful. You just need to keep track of your expenses. And like I said, you just have to be intentional and proactive and just make sure that you're staying on top of your debt, just as you would be keeping up with the amount that you're spending each month that's going out. Moving abroad isn't about running away from your problems like the debt that you might be having. It's just about building a life that lights you up and makes you really excited and it can absolutely include paying off debt from another country responsibly so that your future self can thank you, but also on your own terms where you can still achieve your dream of moving abroad and living abroad and enjoying that life. So can you move abroad with debt? Yes. Will it take planning also? Yes. Does moving abroad with debt mean that you're irresponsible? Absolutely not. It does not mean that you're irresponsible. You can definitely build a life abroad while still having debt. You just have to make sure that you're doing it responsibly and tracking it, and not just forgetting about your debt and pretending it doesn't exist and moving to another country and just forgetting about it, but this is what I would recommend that you do next. Number 1 would be to create a debt inventory. That's what we talked about at the beginning, where you create an Excel spreadsheet and just document all the debts that you have and the payments and what that would look like. So, work on creating that debt inventory if you have not done so already. Number 2 would be to build a budget that includes debt, payments and realistic living expenses abroad for the country and city that you're looking to move to. There will be very different living expenses if you move to London versus if you move to, Lisbon, Portugal, for example. So you'll just want to make sure that you are looking at the realistic living expenses. Number 3 will be to look at destinations where your money goes further. You might want to consider somewhere like Lisbon, Portugal, that I just mentioned, or somewhere in Italy or Spain, for example, or Czech Republic, somewhere where your money will go further and you'll be less stressed about the debt payments that you have to make while you know you're making a certain amount of income and also paying for the lifestyle that you need. Number 4 would be to consider remote work or, income streams that you can travel with maybe you can do some sort of freelance work on top of another job or maybe you just make sure that you have income that will cover all of your debt very comfortably. So you don't have to be really stressed whenever you move abroad because we don't wanna move abroad and be extremely stressed. We want to move abroad and really enjoy the experience. And then number 5 would be to make a plan, and just move forward slowly and intentionally and boldly. You can still move abroad even if you have debt. You just have to make a plan and be intentional and just make sure that you know what money is coming in and what money is coming out, and just make sure that you're staying on top of all of the payments that you need to make. And if you want help figuring out where to move abroad, I have a free quiz online, which is, which European City should you move to, which will help you just have a starting point that will match you with your lifestyle and budget and vibe and the place that will work best for you. So the link is in the show notes. It's easy to find. If you just kind of scroll to the bottom of the podcast description really, then you can find the link to the free quiz, or you can go to Jordangiberson.com/quiz and you can take the quiz there. And then if you found this episode helpful, then I would love it and be so appreciative If you shared it with a friend who has dreamed about moving abroad, but maybe they feel stuck in their finances, you never know who needs to hear that they're still allowed to go even with debt. So this episode will be helpful and the episode that I mentioned previously about budgeting abroad, I think that was episode 64, budgeting. How much do you really need to move abroad? Then just a quick reminder that that episode might be helpful for you. So again, would love if you shared this episode with a friend, I'd be so appreciative. But thank you again for listening to this podcast. I so appreciate you listening to the podcast episode. So thank you for listening to another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. I will catch you here again next week, same time, same place. I'll catch you then.