Traveling abroad, particularly in developing areas, provides some challenges and difficulties that we just don’t see in most of our home countries. One thing many forget to think about is what to do with the mail and bills while away. Yanking money out of an ATM nets you international charges that doesn’t happen at home. Many places still don’t accept credit or debit cards as a form of payment, and what about traveler’s checks? Do those things still exist?
Dealing With Mail And Bills
In the digital age we live in, never has leaving home for up to a year been so easy. We can now arrange for most, if not all, our bills to be delivered electronically. Even better, we can pay our bills online, and we can even schedule them to be paid automatically, which comes in quite handy for those times you’re out in the Amazon jungle while on your RTW. It’s a good idea to take care of all this before leaving. Chances are you have most of your bills set up this way already, so it shouldn’t be too much work.
But what about all the other crap that comes in the mail each day. Unfortunately the post office will only hold your mail for a month, so you need to make other arrangements. Having a friend or family member agree to pick up your mail or have it forwarded to their house is the best way to go about this. Whoever does this for you, you really owe them one, so make sure to pay them back when you return. Or if you have the extra cash, think about using a mail opening service like Mail Box Forwarding. That way you don’t have to bother any friends or family members with this annoying task.
Are Traveler’s Checks Still Around?
Yes, you can still get traveler’s checks, but they are rarely used anymore. You can use them just as they were used a decade or two ago, but it’s really unnecessary with the advent and prevalence of ATMs. They can still be changed for local currency at banks, airports, and high-end hotels, and they can still be used to pay for some things at more pricey businesses, but the exchange commissions are always going to be higher than the small ATM fees you’ll pay if you play that game right. And by using ATMs you can access your money 24-hours a day, while changing traveler’s checks usually involves waiting in lines during limited business hours.
It might not be a bad idea to carry an emergency fund with you in the form of a traveler’s check or two since the ability to get a refund if they are lost or stolen could really come in handy. But most travelers are leaving the bulk of their money in their banks and withdrawing from ATMs as they go, which also limits the potential to get financially wiped out on the road.
ATM fees
ATM fees do add up over the course of several months or a year, but in the grand scheme of what you’re spending, the amount is miniscule compared to the convenience. Make sure you shop around before leaving. While most charge a flat fee for withdrawing money internationally, there are still some banks who give you a certain number of freebies per month.
If you aren’t lucky enough to find one, then make sure you are smart about how much you are withdrawing per transaction. Plan it out, ask yourself how long you will be in that particular country before moving on, and withdraw as much as you feel comfortable carrying around or keeping in a safe place in your room. If you get mugged and will be devastated by how much got taken, then withdraw less.
Credit Cards
Credit cards work in much the same way as ATM cards do. They charge a certain amount or percentage per transaction. There are some who don’t charge for international usage, though, so shop around and see what kind of deals you can find out. Opening a card with airline miles, particularly if you are buying plane tickets as you go, may be a good idea as well. While there are still a lot of places in developing countries who don’t accept credit cards because of high fees they are charged, you can still use it for big transactions like flights, a hotel splurge, or an expensive activity. Having a credit card for back up is essential.
The surcharge on your bill of between 1 and 3% for each purchase made outside your home country might sound like a fee that’s best to avoid, but there are no methods of paying for things that don’t involve losing something along the way. Changing cash or traveler’s checks will involve fees that are normally a bit higher than that at best, and ATMs generally charge an unavoidable fee each time you withdraw in a foreign currency, so 1 to 3% isn’t so bad.
Another advantage of credit cards that you don’t get with ATM cards is it’s much easier to get the charges knocked off if something goes wrong. And using plastic over the internet for future flights and reservations is normal fairly safe if you are careful, but with credit cards there is usually much lower potential liability if you happen to be the victim of fraud. And certain credit cards also offer extra insurance or protection for the thing being purchased, which you don’t get with ATM cards.
Having Some Emergency Cash Is A Good Idea
You probably want to keep a small emergency fund somewhere safe, either tucked away somewhere in your bag, in your money belt, or wherever you think is safest and best. Having US dollars or Euros is the best currency to have. There are various border-crossings and airport exit taxes that are best paid in dollars. In many (but not all) cases they’ll take local currency as well, but this can get complicated if you are leaving a country and some fee pops up unexpectedly. Generally you’ll want to leave each country with as little local currency as possible, so if you’ve successfully used up all of your money and a fee pops up or you want to buy something beyond customs at an airport, you can almost always pay in USDs or Euros.
Money Belts And How To Keep Your Money Safe
Most travelers carry a money belt of sorts around with them. It’s a safe way of carrying cash, credit cards, and your passport with you at all times. Every traveler has a different opinion of the best way to keep their valuables safe, so that’s going to be up to you. Some carry the bulk of their cash, credit cards, and passport with them at all times, and some always keep this stuff in their rooms. If staying in a dorm, be sure to lock them up. If there isn’t a locker, then it’s probably best to carry everything with you.
There are several different types of money belts, but the most commonly used ones either go under your pants and belt in the front or around your neck like a long necklace. The one that goes under your shorts or pants is usually big enough to hold your passport as well as cash and cards. These tend to be the safest as it’s pretty difficult for a thief to get under your clothing without you noticing. The versions that hang around your neck under your clothes tend to be large enough for things like your passport as well, but many find these cumbersome. Another variation slides up your leg with a large pocket that is snuggly kept along your lower leg. Different people find different things comfortable so go to a travel store and carefully check out your options to see which you think will work for you.
Other Security Measures
There are some other security strategies that you’d probably never need in your hometown, but might be worth trying in countries where you don’t feel as safe. Generally speaking, the chances of getting hurt or killed by a thief are extremely low, yet the chances of getting mugged aren’t nearly so trivial.
One method is what we like to call the Two Wallet System. Keep most of your cash, credit cards, and any other important documents you need in one wallet, and keep that wallet in the safest possible place. Then buy an inexpensive wallet for most day-to-day uses. You’ll keep enough cash for the day in there, as well as maybe an old library card or some other non-critical plastic. That way if you take a wrong turn and suddenly somebody demands your wallet, you hand them that one and you are on your way with only a minor loss.
By this point, the planning process is nearing completion. The date could be drawing near, and the itinerary could be getting more and more set. Or maybe you chose the buy as you go option for your flights, so you want to leave your itinerary open. The next article in the planning section deals with the itinerary and how open or planned it should be.
All Things Money Checklist
- Find someone – a family member or friend – to take care of your mail for you. Have it forwarded or use a mail opening service if you don’t want to bother your loved ones with this task.
- Get all bills set up for paperless billing and automatic bill pay so you don’t have to worry about paying bills on the road.
- Research ATM fees at your bank.
- If they are extremely high, start shopping around – some banks offer a certain amount of free withdrawals per month.
- Research credit card fees and make sure you bring the one with the least amount of international surcharges – Capital One is one of the leading credit cards for international usage.
- Make sure you have an emergency cash fund -in US dollars or Euros – somewhere safe.
- Research and try different money belts and have a plan for how to keep your money, cards, and passport safe.
