Ensure you have full access to your bank accounts at home (i.e. toll free and collect telephone number, online and mobile banking).

Have a method for receiving and processing payments (i.e. remote check deposit and PayPal).

Be mindful of important due dates and holidays in your home country that could affect financial transactions (i.e. U.S. Bank holidays) in the U.S. not observed in your in your host country).

Keep in mind time zone differences for account updates and daily ATM and POS limits (i.e. calendar days vs. business days).

To minimize mail delivery as much as possible, set up automated online bill pay and receive financial statements online.

You’d  be surprised what you can learn from a one-hour consultation. Research and make phone calls pre-departure and during any visits to your new host country. Find licensed professionals who have experience helping people in your unique situation. A couple of hundred dollars for consultations to ensure that you have a rudimentary knowledge of your new host country is a small investment to make.

Invest in a consultation with a licensed, qualified tax professional. If you are a U.S. citizen and subject to taxation on worldwide income this should be a non-negotiable. As a U.S. citizen, you are never outside the reach of the IRS. Even though in the back of your U.S. passport it states your obligation to file and report on worldwide income, most U.S. citizens don’t fully understand their U.S. tax-filing obligation and think that because they are moving overseas and earning income outside the U.S., their U.S. tax financial obligation ends.

Also, make sure you are knowledgeable about your tax filing requirements and potential tax liability in your new host country.

Seek advice from an immigration attorney to fully help you understand the basics of local immigration law, including visas, work permits and your rights as a foreigner.

Engaging a local insurance broker will give you an overview of insurance options available in your new host country. A priority should be medical insurance. Before you leave your home country, check your international medical coverage. Don’t wait until you have a medical emergency abroad to discover that you don’t have comprehensive global coverage.

Is your partner willing to support you financially until you get settled? To what extent? Will you have an allowance, or will he/she pay for all your expenses (a la Carrie and the wealthy Russian who paid for her apartment while he whisked her off to live with him in Paris in Sex and the City).

Are you comfortable being financially dependent? Also are you prepared to put all your financial cards on the table? Provide full disclosure about your financial debts, habits and expenses? Is your partner comfortable providing the same?

Is your partner willing to put your name on bank accounts or open a joint account?  Also, if the relationship does not work out and you must return home, how easily will it be for your to financially return to your former life?

Create a solid financial plan with a budget that includes ongoing financial obligations and unexpected expenses.  Also don’t forget to set aside funds for social activities to meet people and attend networking events if you are job searching.  

Your financial plan should also clearly outline your cash flow. Not having a solid source of income can quickly and substantially derail plans for living a global lifestyle. Also, don’t underestimate the time it might take for you to start generating income or to see your first paycheck (many countries pay salary monthly, not twice a month as is more the norm in the U.S.).

Even if you are on a company sponsored international assignment with your spouse or partner, thoroughly review the compensation package, including salary, benefits and other allowances before you both commit. As corporate expatriate packages become smaller and smaller, ask yourselves if this international move makes sense both financially and from a career standpoint as well.

If possible, rent out your house or sublet your apartment when you first move overseas.  This may not only give you a source of income, but will also keep you at ease about having a home to return to if things don’t turn out the way you planned.

Investigate if you can take a leave of absence from your present job until you have found a new job and settled into your host country (most foreign countries have employment contracts with a 3-6 month probationary period before you become a permanent employee. If you take a job overseas and your relationship does not work out, you could still have a job to return to).

If you work for a global company, ask about temporarily working in the foreign office and eventually seek a permanent transfer overseas.

Perhaps this is a good time to start an entrepreneurial venture that you can manage online like writing, teaching or launching a website.