4 ADVICE EVERY SEAFARER SHOULD FOLLOW
At a young age, many aspiring seafarers leave the comfort of home to work hard on ships. It takes time for them to get used to the intolerable heat of the engine room, continuous loud noise, and soft murmurs of ocean waves. But the struggling days have their learnings. Seafarers come out as much more strong-willed, flexible, and responsible professionals who are always ready to grab opportunities presented to them. If you have ever been part of the crew on a ship, you know well how much we love advising each other. But as we know, not every piece of advice works in favor of everyone, so how about discussing some filtered version of advice relevant to every seafarer on board the ship?
Advice 1 – NRE And NRO Account
aNon-resident external accounts (NRE) and Non-resident ordinary accounts (NRO) are opened by NRI to transfer foreign earnings to India. A seafarer being NRI is required to open their accounts as soon as they start earning. However, it is advisable to have access to both NRE and NRO accounts in the same bank. This will facilitate convenience for seafarers working onboard and keeping their financial statements in check.Â
 Advice 2 – Income Tax Return is a must.
Suppose you are a seafarer who pays tax on your earnings on a regular basis. Well, congratulations, you are on the right track. We all are familiar with the non-taxable salary structure in the merchant navy. But there are few benefits when it comes to filing an income tax return. These are helpful if you want to apply for housing loans, purchase life insurance, get a visa for a country, etc. So, seafarers should pay their taxes on time and avail themselves of the convenience and benefits that come with it.Â
Advice 3 – Create A Separate Email address
How many spam emails do you receive a day? We know they are a lot. And sometimes, due to this, we miss out on important information related to our financial matters. To avoid this problem, we advise seafarers to create a second email address that specifically deals with their money statements from banks, mutual fund institutions, and others. Otherwise, imagine an important notification regarding a change in the bank’s policy, and before you see this mail, it gets lost with hundreds of other emails. Now the money loss you might have suffered was due to the case of information loss. Hence, remember always to segregate your financial statements from your professional ones.Â
Advice 4 – Keep a record of all the paperwork.
Organization skill comes in handy when we discuss keeping a record of all the paperwork a seafarer has entered that year. Trust us, you never know when you will need them, be it your joining ticket, emails, contract letters, expired passport or CDC, Bank statements, or portage bills. Always have a backup folder available at your convenience. What if someday the government asks for some of your documents from the ship, if you have it well arranged with you, there is nothing you have to worry about.
So, last but not least, record keeping makes a seafarer much more efficient at work.
Good advice can make or break your growth. Thus, it becomes crucial for seafarers to filter what they hear or from whom that information comes in. Invest in legal and trusted ways throughout life. Follow the points mentioned above and see the changes in money matters and personal convenience.
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