If you travel a good amount of the time, finding ways to access your money abroad will surely become something of importance. Back in the day, you took around travelers checks and brought them to banks in exchange for cash, but, that system quickly became antiquated. In recent years, and with today’s ever-digitizing world, your money can be in your greasy little finger tips easier and faster than you could ever imagine, but, you have to be careful to avoid gut-punching fees that stack up faster than you would expect. Here are few tips to help you manage money while traveling.
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Hold Multiple Bank Accounts
You might think this is superfluous, but for me, having multiple checking accounts is a fail-safe for when I travel. Many banks offer free accounts with no maintenance fees that are a good place to harbor a little extra cash, and if need be, offer a place you can transfer money into via the web from one of your other accounts. The main reason I have more than one checking account (and more than 1 ATM card) is because I lose shit! If I’m traveling, I never keep both cards on my person at a time in case I lose one. It happened to me in Bangkok, and I was ecstatic knowing all I had to do was call and cancel the one card and could just start using the other. Another good idea is to look into international bank accounts as many offer a lot of perks for the avid traveler like the ability to withdraw money in multiple currencies with no extra charge, use of a debit card, and some even pair travel insurance along as well at no extra cost!
Take Out More Money from The ATM Each Time
People are often pretty wary about taking out a lot of money at one time from an ATM, but, if you don’t get drunk and lose it or you don’t get mugged, it can save you a lot of cash by avoiding the pesky withdrawal fees. I always take out the max amount I can and just put it in the safe at my hotel or hostel and then pick away at it as I need to. This also isn’t the best method if you’re the kind of person that just spends it if you have it, so be wise!
Notify Your Bank With Your Travel Itinerary!
I don’t know how many people I’ve met on the road who head to the ATM to take out a nice wad of cash and are turned down because they didn’t call their bank first before traveling. I always call all of my banks and credit card companies before I go to set up a travel notification so they don’t freeze my cards (another good reason to have at least two credit or ATM cards while traveling). When you call in, they will also tell you of any partner banks they are affiliated with in your destination of choice that will waive ATM charges! These are just a few tips to help you manage your finances while on the road, but the hardest part of looking after your money while abroad, is having it in the first place! So, read my other post, “how to save money to travel” if you’d like to learn more.