Are you an expatriate profiting financially from your time overseas? An expatriate who takes high paid short term contracts around the world?

Or are you maybe an expatriate who has accepted a position with your company in a more extreme environment overseas and as a result you're benefiting financially for your 'hardship'?

Maybe the country in which you're now living and working has a far lower cost of living than you're used to back home, maybe you're lucky enough to have lower taxation?

Are you benefiting from extra financial incentives offered in a bid to get you to accept a riskier position or to take a contract that others may find unattractive?

If you are such an expatriate, profiting financially from your time overseas, you are in a far more privileged position that your peers back home, and possibly in a far more privileged position than you realise.

Just think about it for a minute…

By taking advantage of the extra money you have, and intensively investing over the short, medium or long term, by taking advantage of the many offshore taxation possibilities and by using your time overseas wisely you can save in 3 - 5 years what an average investor might take his entire working life to accumulate.

Could you be benefiting more from your position as an expatriate?

Are you in a position to invest more offshore as a result of higher income, lower taxation or lower cost of living?

If so, find out how you can make your money work harder and how you can build a wealthier future.

Understanding your position

As an expatriate you are often in a far better position financially than both your peers back home and the local people in your new country of residence.

Often the countries where expatriates go to work offer a far lower cost of living - from rental costs to the weekly food bill - and yet the expatriate could be receiving over and above what he earned back home.

If you've worked before in London or New York for example, you'll find a move to India or Australia shocks you when you can see how well people live on far smaller amounts of money.

Rental costs in major cities alone are enough to eat up a salary, and when you move to a country with lower living costs you will find that your salary will take you a lot further.

Even if you are not relocated and effectively compensated by an employer for a move overseas and you choose to source a contract for yourself, you may well be working in an environment that is unattractive for many foreign workers as a result of the climate, the security, the environment, the location or whatever - and you will be well paid for your services.

All these facts mean that your income should exceed your expenditure.

Further advantages

As an expatriate, you are legally entitled to take advantage of any tax savings offered in your country of residence.

Switzerland is a country which offers an incredibly high standard of living, political and economic stability, amazing scenery and all this for an average of 21% tax! Of course a country like Switzerland has very high living costs which might negate any taxation savings!

Dubai - another location which offers an incredibly high standard of living, economic stability and striking scenery (lots of sand!) - and a country where there are no corporate taxes and no personal taxes, because direct taxation is against the traditions of the UAE.

Wherever you choose or are required to go - check out the taxation benefits of going there.

Taking advantage

Investing your excess money is simply putting it to good use.

The sooner you invest in life, the longer you can invest for. The longer you invest for the greater the returns you can potentially achieve.

By using your expatriate advantage and investing offshore you can establish wealth.

By establishing wealth you establish security!

As an expatriate there are many offshore jurisdictions with tax friendly policies that offer interesting offshore investment opportunities to you.

When choosing the right jurisdiction as the harbour for your money, considerations need to be made based on a number of factors including: -

> Your country of residence
> Your nationality
> Other countries you may be wishing to relocate to
> If/when you'll be returning home

Your personal circumstances will dictate what solutions are available to you.

Rhiannon Williamson is an experienced publisher who has produced articles for leading travel and tourism guides and financial magazines. Her specialist knowledge about both travel and finance gives her site http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ the unique ability to literally cover every single aspect of moving & living abroad - including the often less discussed offshore tax advantages that can be available when leaving our homeland.