How much to save for big move?

[Ally & Rach 24]

Hope someone can help me here as it feels a bit weird asking about this.. Ive only just had my NA02 approved so everything is by no means signed and sealed.. However I am trying to prepare best I can for being in the US and for the likelihood I won't be able to work for around 3 months or more. With that in mind can anyone advise me on a ball park figure of what they think is a minimum amount of savings to take over.. I know everyone has different circumstances but what do you think.. One person a while back was stunned when I suggested $10k and they said at least $20k.. not going to happen!! Ill be starting from scratch over there and my fiancee is a dancer (not that type;0)) so doesn't make a lot right now..

Just interested to hear what others think.. cheers..

[thatbritishlass 2]

There is no set amount you 'should' be saving. It depends entirely on the salaries you and your fiancee have now, where you will be living in the US, whether or not you will have to pay rent, etc. But I would advise you to save as much as YOU can. What another person saves may not be even remotely feasible for you.

The saving onus was largely on me as in the UK I was in a relatively well paid job whilst my now-husband works for a company that definitely doesn't have good pay as one of its selling points FWIW, here's what I did. At the beginning of every month when I got paid, I put 20% of my salary in my savings account. At the end of the month, whatever I had left over that I hadn't spent, also went in that savings account. I'm a tight-fisted Yorkshirewoman, so this happened quite frequently

Essentially me and my fiance had an agreement that we would save as much as possible but that we both also still had to have lives and money for ourselves (going out occasionally, seeing friends, etc) - otherwise we would just end up resenting each other. However, I was saving for 2 years before I finally quit my job and moved over here. If you already have your NOA2, you're probably much closer to the move than I was when I started saving, so you may feel you want to really scrimp and scrape to maximise your funds.

Remember, at the very least you will need money to cover:

* Wedding-related expenses (marriage license at the very least)

* Application fee for AOS ($1070)

* Unemployment Survival (money to live on while you're awaiting your EAD - expect 3 months and then hope for the best)

Plus a little extra to cover unexpected expenses, and yes, they will happen - my laptop needed $300 of repairs within 2 weeks of me getting here and then don't even get me started on the work I had to have done on the car I bought...

Try not to worry too much, though. Many, many people are in this situation every year and most find a way through

[Ally & Rach 24]

Thanks for the lovely reply.. I feel a bit better after reading that now..

Cheers.

[Justine+David 218]

Yeah, I make more than enough money to support David over here, so it wasn't an issue. His savings did pay for our wedding though...as a couple, you should figure out a budget for what you'll be living on while you're in the US. We started doing this about 3-4 months before he moved here just so we were clear on what money we did and didn't have.

[Ally & Rach 24]

Yeah, I make more than enough money to support David over here, so it wasn't an issue. His savings did pay for our wedding though...as a couple, you should figure out a budget for what you'll be living on while you're in the US. We started doing this about 3-4 months before he moved here just so we were clear on what money we did and didn't have.

I think im going to stick to aiming for $10k.. I have a property over here and will continue to let it out.. hopefully thats a wee nest egg for us in a few years if we need it..

When I think about the money we have spent on flights etc in the past 3 years.. around £12k.. There goes the savings! soooo worth it though..