Here at Nomad Capitalist, it's all about breaking down the barriers - real life, as well as psychological ones.
For some reason, people mostly find this nomadic and offshore lifestyle being a huge, impossible step to take and they are not brave enough to go outside their familiar framework and comfort zone.
That's why it's important to start thinking globally, explore the world, travel, get familiar with the "other side". You don't have to go all-in, "baby-step" your way to the final goal.
And remember: No one believes it's possible until it's done.
Risk tolerance and people's idea of safe are mostly completely wrong - they tend to stick to the old, rooted ideas about the world and don't take into consideration the constant changes.
People still believe that the most developed countries are also the safest when it comes to investing, banking and other financial matters.
The reality is that emerging countries, like Armenia, Georgia, countries in Southeast Asia and Europe are much more suitable for foreign investments, prices are stable, or constantly growing and there are fewer problems in general.
Are you one of those people who believe that investing in Australian real estate is reliable and profitable?
On the contrary - it just may be the worst investment move you can ever make. Returns and yields are surprisingly low and you will have to pay high taxes as well.
Therefore, if you want to invest your money in real estate, you better look for a place in some of the emerging markets, such as southeast Asia or Latin America, where your wealth will grow and forget about Australia.
"Where do you pay your tax?" This could be one of the most important questions that a banker will ask you when opening an offshore bank account and all because of one regulation: the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
CRS has been created in order to facilitate automatic information sharing about foreign financial accounts between more than a hundred member countries.
However, there are still some countries that are not applying CRS and they indeed are good choices for offshore banking, e.g. Georgia, Armenia, Serbia, Cambodia, Paraguay, and even the United States.
The world is constantly changing and some, maybe unexpected places are slowly taking the "throne" and becoming the "next big thing".
Here at Nomad Capitalist, we believe that Armenia and its capital Yerevan could be one of the best options to live, bank and invest your money.
It is a country with a long and important culture, strong work ethics and efficiency and even though there were stories lately that corruption in Armenia is on a really high level, that only motivated its citizens to be even better and develop their country more.
The nomadic lifestyle is becoming more and more popular every day and it is inevitable that we will witness some changes in the time to come.
As people nowadays are earning a lot of money by working remotely or online they won't be satisfied anymore with living on a low budget in Thailand or Bali, just because everyone is doing the same.
That's why we believe that the digital nomad of the future will be an online entrepreneur that wants the best of everything - luxury, expensive prestigious things, etc.
A modern version of today's perpetual traveler who goes beyond the ordinary.
There are so many different types of tax all around the world - some less, some more obvious.
This video will help you get familiar with these 9 common types and hopefully motivate you to plan your tax reduction strategy more successfully.
00:57- Income Tax
1:27 - Income Levy
1:52 - Payroll Tax
2:28 - Wealth Tax
2:53 - Sales Tax
4:30 - User Fees
4:58 - Sin Taxes
6:33 - Property Tax
7:32 - Stamp Duty
Despite being the biggest and one of the most known banks in Hong Kong, HSBC bank may be one of the most problematic banks as well.
There are several issues that people run into while banking there.
First of all, because of the fact that Hong Kong is one of the biggest offshore havens in the world, HSBC started being suspicious and rejecting people who want to open an offshore bank account.
Furthermore, their employees are not so familiar with the individual cases, which makes the HSBC rather slow and inefficient.
Would you move to Tulsa in Oklahoma for a year and get paid $10K? There is a program, started recently, offering location independent US citizens to move to Tulsa and open their business there.
The only question is: Do you really want to move to Tulsa just because it's "free"?
You will still have to pay income tax, that's inevitable, and if you've already made a move to go to Oklahoma, you can go even further and live somewhere where you really want to be.
The important thing when planning your asset diversification is to think outside your home country and not store all of your wealth in the same place.
Always be ready for sudden changes and shocks and divide your money in entirely uncorrelated assets: have cash in lots of different currencies, hold some precious metals, cryptocurrency or stocks while choosing markets that are not co-dependent.
Also, investing in real estate around the world could be a good way to get second residencies or even citizenships, so always consider all possible options.
Have you ever heard of the lump-sum tax system?
It's a special kind of taxation, based on a fixed amount, rather than on the real circumstances.
What is interesting is that it is "reserved" for the ultra-rich people who don't want to go offshore to some distant countries in order to pay zero or really low tax, but rather wish to have more predictability regarding their tax payments.
The country that is the most famous for allowing this type of tax is Switzerland, which gives super-rich people a privilege to negotiate and fix the amount of their tax.
Travel bloggers and Instagram influencers are missing a big opportunity while traveling the world. Specifically, they're not looking for opportunities in the country they visit.
While countries like Iceland, Sri Lanka, and even Gambia have become go-to spots for the emerging jet set, few are aware of the banking, investment, and lifestyle opportunities there beyond a quick photo.
The world is constantly changing and one of the things you need to know is that bank secrecy is dead.
When it comes to the US citizens and Green Card holders, they already have FATCA - tax compliance act that requires all foreign banks to disclose and report US citizens' bank accounts.
However, there is another act called CRS (Common Reporting Standard) that is practically FATCA on a global level.
It is in force in more than 100 countries, including traditional "offshore havens", and it's making your accounts and your money completely transparent.
Banking in Armenia may just become the "next big thing".
It's a country very similar to Georgia when it comes to banking - they are both open to foreigners opening bank accounts and storing their wealth.
Also, they're not applying the CRS standards, which means you have more privacy, in addition to the high interest rates and the possibility to invest in their real estate market.
What is interesting about Armenia is that they allow you to bank in lots of different currencies - euros, US dollars, and even Russian rubles, which may be a twist you were looking for.
What is the "Nomad Tax Trap" and how can you avoid it?
With the growing trend of digital nomads and perpetual travelers all around the world, some of them believe that they are not obliged to pay tax in their home country, or any other for that matter, as they are always on the run.
However, governments and banks don't exactly like those people who claim that they "live nowhere" and they'll try to force you in many ways to pay your tax.
That's why it's important to know your base and your actual "tax home", so you can make a unique holistic offshore plan that will help you reduce your taxes.
Imagine if some really important country in the "world of second citizenships" suddenly decides to sell a certain number of passports for a lot of money.
Would people buy them? Would you buy, e.g. Swiss citizenship for ten million Swiss francs if it was for sale, in return for a strong passport and visa-free access to many important countries?
Having in mind that many developed countries do have financial issues, maybe this is not as impossible as it sounds.
In this video, we are going to share six different ways that will motivate you and help you save more of your money by going offshore.
There will be some obvious ones, like reducing taxes and costs of living.
On the other hand, there are also some more behavioral and human factors, such as reducing stress and compliance, increased revenue from feeling good or revenue from off-limits. These are maybe not so measurable, but that doesn't make them less important.
There have been a lot of stories and rumors about it lately and now it's here: the US Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed a new wealth tax that would affect people with more than $50 million dollars on their bank accounts, regardless of how much they're earning and where's that money coming from.
What is interesting is that this proposal is going to turn the existing income tax system upside down and this is probably just the start, as the numbers and tax percentages are likely to go up over the years.
So this is the time when you should ask yourself: "Where is my country going?" And, if you don't like it anymore and you feel exposed and not secure enough there, you should maybe start making plans and strategies on how to go where you're treated best.
Are you familiar with the Blue Ocean Strategy?
It is a marketing theory based on market competition and it's a result of an experiment done with numerous companies.
The main point is - you shouldn't thrive for the "red ocean" and markets flooding with competitors but try to be the number one in your own industry, master of your own domain.
Be the pioneer and discover the "blue ocean". There is a whole wide open sea of opportunities waiting for you.
Before you start searching for the cheapest citizenship option, you should ask yourself: "What's my final goal? What are the benefits I want to gain from this?"
If you are just looking for a "safe haven", a place to retire and live peacefully, or a country where you want to work and study, the cheapest options are definitely citizenship by descent (through your parents and ancestors), as well as citizenship by naturalization.
However, if you are a six- and seven-figure entrepreneur and you want a second passport because of financial reasons, you know very well that "time is money".
In that case, citizenship by investment may be your best choice, as those processes in some countries are pretty straightforward, fast and can be cheap, too.
There are a few things you should know when opening an offshore bank account, even though today, according to their characteristics, they can be considered as "normal" bank accounts.
A lot of "regular" countries, also known as being "offshore havens", as well as their banks, usually accept foreigners.
What you need to remember is to always look professional when you go to the bank, to be prepared to tell details about yourself and your business, as well as the reasons why you want to open a bank account there.
Finally, apart from the traditional offshore bank account opening, where you have to be physically present, there are some other options, such as remote bank account opening and app-based banks.
But be careful, as they can be less reliable and efficient, as well as time-consuming.
At Nomad Capitalist, we like to say that there are three ways of setting off and leaving your home country - for tourism, traveling or living.
Whether you're still just a tourist or you decided to dive in and move your whole life to another place, it's important to have a certain routine, as it's really hard to run a multimillionaire business while dragging your suitcase all the time.
Another misconception about the Nomad Capitalist lifestyle is that being in a country or city completely different from your home doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do everything "local" - it's perfectly fine to live in the "Nomad Bubble" and keep that little piece of home all to yourself.