Earning in Foreign Currency, Spending in Dinars: How I Think About Currency Risk
Paid in foreign currency but living on Tunisian dinars? A practical framework for currency risk, cash buffers and conversion timing. Not financial advice.
Since 2019 I've worked full-time remote for a Japanese company, while my life — and most of my businesses — run in Tunisian dinars. That makes currency risk something I deal with every month, not a chapter in a finance textbook.
This is the framework I use. It's how one person organises a two-currency life so that exchange-rate moves stop being stressful.
Not financial advice. Exchange rules in Tunisia are set by the Central Bank of Tunisia and change over time. Check the current rules for your situation with a qualified accountant or your bank before you move money.
The real problem: income and costs in different currencies
When you earn in one currency and spend in another, you carry currency risk whether you think about it or not. If the dinar strengthens, your income buys less at home. If it weakens, it buys more — but your savings may be sitting in the wrong currency for what you'll actually need.
Most people's mistake isn't choosing the "wrong" currency. It's having no rule at all and converting whenever they happen to need money — usually at the worst moment.
Rule 1: match money to where it will be spent
Split money by what it is for, not by where it arrived:
- Monthly living costs → dinars. Rent, food, fuel and family expenses are paid in dinars, so that money should live in dinars.
- Business operating cash → the currency the business spends in. A business that pays suppliers in euros needs euros; one that pays staff in dinars needs dinars.
- Long-term savings → a deliberate, written plan. This is the only bucket where you're choosing exposure on purpose rather than by accident.
Once each bucket has a currency, most of the day-to-day risk disappears.
Rule 2: keep a buffer in the currency you spend
Hold three to six months of living costs in dinars. The buffer means you're never forced to convert on a bad day just to pay rent, and a sudden rate move becomes an inconvenience instead of an emergency.
Rule 3: convert on a schedule, not on a feeling
Trying to time exchange rates is gambling with extra steps. Convert a fixed amount on a fixed day each month and you average out the highs and lows over time. It's boring, and boring is the point — it removes the temptation to watch rates all day.
Rule 4: understand the rules where you live
The Tunisian dinar is not freely convertible, and foreign-currency income, accounts and transfers are regulated. The rules can differ for employees, freelancers and companies, and they change. Before you design anything clever, find out what is actually allowed in your situation. This is the step people skip — and the one that causes real problems.
Rule 5: don't confuse hedging with speculating
Hedging means reducing a risk you already have. Speculating means taking on a new one. Moving your savings into a volatile asset because "the dinar might fall" is speculation, not protection. If you do want some exposure to riskier assets, size it with a separate framework — I wrote about mine in how much crypto is too much.
A simple monthly routine
- Income arrives.
- Top up the dinar buffer to its target.
- Convert the scheduled amount for next month's living costs.
- Move business operating cash to where each business spends it.
- Whatever is left goes to long-term savings, according to the written plan.
Fifteen minutes a month, and exchange rates stop deciding your mood.
Why this matters for remote workers in Tunisia
Remote work for foreign companies has become a real career path for Tunisian engineers, designers and marketers. It's a great opportunity — but it quietly turns every one of them into a small currency manager. Tools like NomadOS help with the visa and tax side of working across borders; the money side still needs your own rules.
Nothing in this article is financial, investment or tax advice. See the risk hub for full disclosures.