You’ve probably researched your destination, booked your flights and accommodation, and planned a rough guide to how you want to spend your time there.
And then there’s the budgeting aspect of traveling, a worry everybody has. When you’re on holiday or traveling for work, it can be hard to keep track of every dollar you spend.
This blog post provides some of our best tips for protecting your money when traveling so your finances don’t get damaged.
Use a Travel Wallet
If you want to keep your money safe:
- Make sure it’s in a secure place
- Don’t keep it in your back or front pocket – thieves can easily slip their hands into the back pockets of unsuspecting travelers, and the second is an easy target for pickpockets.
- Please don’t leave it in hotel rooms and common areas like airports, buses, restaurants, and public beaches
If you’re traveling with friends and family members who are not as vigilant about keeping track of their stuff as you are, consider purchasing a travel wallet for them.
This way, they can also have access to their cash while on vacation without worrying about losing all their money at once!
Credit card and foreign transaction fees
Get a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
If you’re traveling internationally, this is the most important tip:
Do not get stuck paying for currency conversion. The only thing worse than losing money is losing money and still having to pay for something that was supposed to be free.
To avoid this unpleasant experience, choose a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (or at least one with low ones).
That way, if something goes wrong while you’re abroad – say, if your ATM eats your debit card or an exchange rate changes unexpectedly – you won’t have to shell out extra dollars just so that someone can get paid in their currency.
Map out your daily budget and use cash as much as possible
- Plan your budget before you leave
- Use cash as much as you can
- Plan your budget for each day and avoid ATM or credit card charges by getting cash from your bank account at the beginning of each day
- Use your debit card for cash withdrawals, as it has no foreign transaction fees & interest if used within 45 days of purchase
If you are traveling with a group, you can split the budget among everyone and cook by yourself, instead of buying food in restaurants or bars that could be very expensive when traveling abroad (drinks in bars especially).
Don’t Keep All Your Money in One Place
It’s a good idea to keep some cash on you, but not all of it. If someone steals or robs you, they can still get away with stealing your money even if they don’t have access to your credit cards or wallet.
The only way to protect yourself is by keeping some cash in different places, so the thief doesn’t have access to all of it if they steal from one Place.
It would help if you also considered carrying some emergency funds in case something happens during travel (this could be an emergency flight home or something else).
Don’t use unsecured Wi-Fi connections to access your bank account
You may be on vacation, but you still need to stay safe! The last thing you want is your credit card information in the wrong hands.
To avoid this, make sure only to use a secure connection when accessing your bank account through an Internet browser.
A VPN will protect you from prying eyes in public places like cafes and keep other people from seeing what websites you visit on your computer or phone while traveling abroad.
Conclusion
With these simple tips, you can save money as much as possible and avoid losing money during the travel. Using them carefully will make your trip more convenient and enjoyable.