How To Make The Most Of Your Money Abroad
2022 is the year for holidays, trips and time away with seemingly everyone jumping on planes to explore new places. Life has been tough for the past few years, and life at home now isn’t much easier. We all deserve a break and a relax. But while we may plan flights, hotels and excursions in advance, we don’t always think about money abroad.
Inflation is at an all time high so any way of saving some money is a must. If you’re gearing up for a getaway make sure you know how to make the most of your money abroad.
Set a budget for your money abroad
Way before you head away you should be thinking about a budget to know you can afford everything you need. While you’re planning your holiday consider what you’ll need to spend money on from airport transfers and excursions to food and drink. Then make a budget for your trip.
I usually plan/ think about most of my excursions/ day trips before going away so know how much to save there. Then I research online to work out rough prices of food and drink and give myself a budget per day for spending.
While you’re away try and track your spending just so you know if you’re in budget and don’t get any nasty shocks.
Shop around for currency
Some holiday destinations are better set up with technology and accepting cards. Whereas some places rely on physical cash more so it’s worth doing some research before you go to get an idea. But where ever you go you will want a little bit of cash, even if it’s for a drink at a stall or a taxi ride.
But do not change up any money at the airport! Research online to get the best rates, Money Supermarket have a currency comparison tool you can use.
When spending money abroad, use a card
If you’re planning to stick to a strict budget it’s worth looking into multi-currency pre-paid cards. Rather than spending on your regular debit card you can load up your currency onto a card which will allow you to make transactions abroad without paying additional fees or charges. However much is on your card is how much you have to spend so it’s a great way to stay in budget. I’ve done this for some trips to America before to stop myself going overboard on spending.
You can also opt for a travel-friendly card to use when spending. For example Monzo give you the currency rate as soon as you use your card so you know what to expect. And there are no currency charges.
Shop in local currency
If you do spend on plastic while you are away you can be charged for spending in pounds, so always opt to pay in local currency. You should usually get a choice of how to play, sometimes the cashier will ask or it will pop up on the terminal screen.
If you don’t want to keep a lot of local cash on you check if your debit card charges to withdraw currency when abroad. And if it does opt for an account that doesn’t charge anything. This way you won’t end up having more cash than you need, and you can withdraw it as and when you need it.
Look at your phone contract
A few years ago most phone companies would allow you to use your data/ minutes/ texts in a lot of European countries at no extra cost. But now the UK are out of the EU some phone companies are charging for this. To make sure you’re not left with a hefty phone bill look into your contract before you go to see what is and isn’t included.
If you’re lucky enough to on Virgin Media O2 (like me) then they still offer free European roaming. So if you travel a lot it may be worth switching provider when your contract is up.
Make the most of any Wifi connections while you are away and if data isn’t included turn off your roaming and only access the net when you’re connected to Wifi. You can save money on calls by calling through WhatsApp when you have Wifi
How do you make the most of your money abroad?
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20 responses to “How To Make The Most Of Your Money Abroad”
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All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
Nothing currently planned
What I usually do is exchange my money at a local bank, they usually give the best rates.
I haven’t left the US in almost a decade, so haven’t had to deal with currency exchange. I do remember my mom looking around for the best rates last time we were there and also adding the international plans to our phones for the month to avoid high fees.
Great tips! The biggest one for me is to shop in local currency and not use my card actually! I take out my money before and pay with that otherwise I find you constantly lose out on the FX.
Using money can be a great option, I always hate being left with a few small notes and coins after, especially if I won’t use it again x
Useful tips to make the most of money when on a foreign trip. Spending wisely should be the focus.
These are great tips. I haven’t traveled outside of the States in a very long time, but I remember how important it was to make sure I was careful with money.
There are so many places you can visit it doesn’t surprise me that so many haven’t travelled out of the US in a while x
I’ve never traveled abroad, but hope to someday. This is a great and comprehensive guide on budgeting!
It’s important to shop around before changing money. The amounts you get can vary so much. Never use the airport unless you’re desperate.
Thanks so much for all your tips here, brilliant! Then we can have more money to spend during trips, personally I exchange at local banks also try not to use credit card to a pod charges if possible. Or try not to shopping unnecessary, though not easy to control self . Cheers Siennylovesdrawing
100% avoid credit cards if they have charges. Thankfully I have ones that don’t which is a big bonus x
I love all the tips. I can m make use of these tips when I travel abroad.
These are great tips. We tend to travel abroad once a year and gets expensive, especially phones, thanks!
We are heading back to Asia this summer so these are great tips for us to follow. I need to start shopping for the right currency exchange rate to get the best deal
Ohh exciting, hope you have an amazing time. Asia is somewhere I’ve never been but would love to x
Thanks for the tip! especially about the better exchange rates at some supermarket. I will keep this in mind the next time I travel.
I always forget to check my phone contract and end up being hit with so many fees when I land. It’s such a struggle. Thank you for this great check list.
Ohh no that sucks, gotta make sure you check and turn off your roaming if needed x
Great tips here, we use a card where we top up and use when we are away, our phone plans means we can use abroad for no extra cost, which our friends found the hard way recently
Yeah I can still use my phone with O2 within my contract in Europe but my fiance who is with Vodafone can’t x