US debt

Whats the deal with paying off us credit card debt after you move to the UK?  Am I paying it with pounds from my UK bank account?  Do I keep my US bank account??  Im confused about the money issue..... any help mucho appreciated.

Congrats on your wedding! HMB is a gorgeous backdrop. I have fond childhood memories of the pumpkin festival.

I am planning on keeping my bank when I move. I have a credit union so it won't cost me anything to keep it and I have a bill pay system set up. There are a couple of threads on here that talk about wiring money using different means. I haven't decided how I will do it yet probably month to month via paypal or something.

Lots of credit card companies are online these days so you may want to call and ask if you could set up a bill pay from a UK account. Exchange rates and convenience fees complicate this but it may be worth looking into.

I saved a LOT of money in an ING account and linked it up with my credit union to automatically pay off my loan each month. I also can transfer money from my ING to my other checking to pay my US credit cards. If i stay here (I'm a student dating a brit), I will end up using paypal b/c it's free to transfer up to $500 (I think) a month and that will be enough for me. OR, worst comes to worst, I'll cash in a lot of pounds into US dollars and physically take it with me when I visit the US and deposit it into my checking and pay off that way. I've stopped using my US credit cards here though b/c they charge a foreign transaction fee that makes everything more expensive!

I still have a US bank account.

I think it's a good idea to keep a bank account in the US.  You can use it to pay off American bills by direct debit, and you can also have American payments (tax refunds, income from investments, and when you are older, income from Social Security, pension and/or IRA) deposited directly into the US account. 

Just remember that if you earn interest on the account you will have to pay US taxes for it.

good advice sweet peach, thanks.  Im going to do exactly that.