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The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Outskirts of Shrewd'm / Living Abroad
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Author: oddhack   😊 😞
Number: of 343 
Subject: Re: Best way to get USD into Wise?
Date: 09/16/24 3:12 AM
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No. of Recommendations: 5
I do have an IBKR account but I find the site exceedingly difficult to use. The website is complex and confusing (try something simple like finding a "monthly statement", something every other of the dozens of financial institution I've dealt with generated for me). Perhaps it's because they're targeting active traders who need or want the incredible levels of fine-grained control and access they offer, but simple day-to-day things are not simple.

Also, I've found IBKR to be faux-security conscious to the point of unusability for a lot of common scenarios. Want to initiate an external ACH from IBKR after you've configured the connection? That requires you go into their app - not their website - to "approve" the transfer within a narrow time window after they hear about it. Want to initiate an ACH *out* of IBKR? You can't even configure the connection unless it's to an institution that's already done an *inbound* transfer, and you have to send them statements showing the transfer from the other institution - or a physical letter, signed in "ink", from the other institution validating your account, to be physically mailed to IBKR. Want to just login to the website? You must have the app running separately on a mobile device to "approve" it.

Maybe there's a justified level of paranoia behind measures I have never encountered anywhere else. But it makes me think that, should I emigrate, actually *using* IBKR may become difficult to the point of unviability. It's barely usable as a US resident, IME.

FWIW Wise is just about managing currency exchange and is quite easy to use now that my funding issue is resolved - foreign bank account up and running nicely, IBANs are simple to use by comparison to US ACH.
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This community has written 340 posts about Living Abroad. The article-length ones it recommended most:
Welcome! · 12 recs · 2024
USA to Portugal (Sabbatical) · 8 recs · 2024
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