Marco Valtas

If you ever visit to this blog more than once a year you notice that not much happened here in 2018. The truth is that a lot happened and because of that I was unable to write. In a nutshell we moved to the US. And to get here was a year of planning and executing different things from getting the VISAs to research about the public school system.

Here's a list of topics I learned about:

• Deductables in health insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and/or Health Savings Account (HSA)
• W-4 form and W-2 forms
• 401(k) savings program
• Credit Rating (FICO) / Secure Credit Cards
• Zelle and/or different ways to electronically transfer money
• Cashier's Check / Money Order
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Public school enrollment rules and processes

This list is what comes to mind when I think about the differences between Brazil and US. Truth to be told these are not of unattainable understanding and certainly there are parallels between the two countries bureaucracy. It just that you do not think much about it until all names change and you need a refresh course on all.

Cheers.