Carrying money is one of the most troubling questions of long-term travel.. How to carry money on long trips? What type of bag is preferred? Does it make sense to carry money or use an ATM?
I will answer all these questions from my personal perspective and finally I will tell the story of Erinda, who lost all her money and debit card.
3 things you should never lose while traveling: Passport, passport and passport!
Where to carry passport and money while traveling?
Dividing your money in different places is always a smart method. Carry some in your pocket, some in your wallet, and some in a secret compartment; it will prevent being completely broke after any theft. Like dividing coins, carrying credit and debit cards separately will prevent them all being stolen at the same time.. Passport is the most important issue.. Although I always act completely instinctively, it would be a smart solution to carry a passport bag that is hung from the neck and hidden inside the clothes, or to leave the passport in a safe place such as a hotel room (make sure it is safe).
For long-term trips. Should I carry cash or use an ATM?
Carrying large amounts of money on long trips creates a great risk in cases of loss or theft.. A single theft can have major consequences, such as canceling the rest of the trip.. For this reason, it is more beneficial to ignore costs such as commission fees and foreign exchange differences and to use ATMs.. ATMs apply a fixed commission fee regardless of the amount withdrawn, and the exchange rate of the currency is determined by your bank.. For this reason, withdrawing from the highest limit prevents paying extra commission fees.
Making large payments by credit card both earns points and miles and also minimizes the amount of money you have to carry on you.
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What type of money bag should be preferred for travels?
My personal preference for travels is a small type of wallet that is practical to use, with an amount of foreign currency such as US dollars or euros valid in every country for emergencies.. After all, you won’t need a wallet big enough to carry your separate scorecards for each store like in Turkey.. For the seaside, with waterproof bags, you won’t have to take your money and phone away from you.
What should be considered when changing money?
Make sure that the place where you change money is an official or reliable exchange office. be. Stay away from foreign exchange traders. There is a common scam tactic applied to tourists when exchanging currency.. With a quick hand number, they may hide some of the foreign currency you have given and claim that you have given the missing foreign currency.. When exchanging currency, pay attention to the attendant instead of chatting with your friend.
The unfortunate story of Erinda, who lost all her money and cards, and the events that followed are as follows..
Erinda was trying to withdraw money from the ATM with the only debit card she brought with her on a Friday night, when she ran out of money, 5 days before her visa expired, and the ATM made a mistake and swallowed her card.. He was left without money and without a card.. When he called the bank in Thailand, he learned that the ATMs broke the card as soon as he swallowed it.. He called his bank in Italy to obtain a new card.. The bank in Italy said they absolutely cannot send cards abroad. He talked to the Thai branch of the Visa card, in case they could come up with a different solution.. They also said that the card can only be sent by the bank. Erinda asked her bank to deliver her card to her mother. The bank insisted that it can only be delivered to the person.. Meanwhile, Erinda, who ran out of money and visa, had to go out of the country.. At that time, I lent some money and together we hitchhiked from Thailand to Malaysia.. We participated in a volunteer job in Malaysia with Erinda. Thus, accommodation and food costs were zeroed.. When he needed money, he was transferring money from PayPal to my account, and I was pulling it out of the ATM and giving it to him.. After lengthy phone calls and correspondence, he agreed to send the debit card to Erinda’s mother.. His mother sent it to Malaysia by post.. It took 1 month from the loss of the card until the new card reached Erinda.
Lesson from the story
- In your purse for emergencies Have some cash on hand.
- Don’t go out with just one debit or credit card. Get two of each if possible and transport them in separate locations.
- Don’t panic, there’s always a solution.
