Dealing With Your Cash Overseas

2/10/2015Jake Ryan

Let’s face it when it comes to carrying cash at home or overseas, something can always go wrong! And when you're travelling you don't have the telephone numbers you need right under your nose like you do back at home to resolve any issues that might pop up. So you want to be damn sure you do everything you can to keep control of your cash.

photo credit: USD via photopin (license)

These are the best ways to make sure that the only people who take your money are the ones you decide to personally hand it over to.

Tips When Carrying Cash

1 - Keep Cash Separate

Don’t be foolish enough to carry your cash all in one place. Spread your money out between a couple of different wallets, that way if you’re one of the unlucky ones who does get pick pocketed or if you lose your wallet, having the money in a few different places means you won’t lose all your cash. Consider carrying a dummy wallet too so that if someone pick pocket you, they end up with nothing but the offensive note you leave inside.

2 - Don’t Keep Your Wallet In Your Back Pocket

That’s just inviting a pick pocket to take your belongings.

3 - Be Aware Of What’s Going On Around You

You must always be aware of whats going on around you when on holiday. Busy tourist areas are the worst for pick pockets. Always try to keep your hands on your belongings and your bags in front of you.

4 - Don’t Ever Leaves Bags Or Wallets On/Under A Table

Thieves are waiting for you to put your bag down, for your attention to drift and before you even realise your bag is gone. Keep your bag on your knee. If that’s not possible and you have to place it on the ground, put your foot through the strap so no one can run off with your bag without taking you along with it.

Another tip is to not leave your phone on the corner of a table. A thief will walk by and quickly grab your phone and you won’t notice until you go to get that Instagram food shot.

5 - Avoid Showing How Much Cash You Have

It’s best to avoid taking out your cash in public, I understand you’ll obviously need to take it out to pay for stuff but try to avoid taking out the whole lot. I often carry a few loose notes in separate pockets so I can quickly grab money for tips or drinks when walking around without having to remove my wallet at all.

Alternatives To Carrying Cash

1 - Pre Paid Currency Cards

In America credit cards are king. And it’s quickly becoming true everywhere else around the world too. I usually travel with pre paid currency cards wherever possible now. Pre paid currency cards are great for making transactions overseas easier, no more will you spend 7 minutes trying to find the right notes or coins you need, just swipe your card or use chip and pin and away you go.

What Are They?

Currency cards are credit cards that are pre paid and loaded with cash to make the hassle of handling cash overseas easier.

Advantages Of Currency Cards

You Can’t Overspend. Because these cards are pre paid, you can’t spend more than you load onto it. Once your money runs out, you’re done! (however these can be topped up so don’t worry about emergencies)
Cash Protection. Most cards offer cash protection if your card is lost or stolen.
Better Exchange Rates. I don’t know why this is, but it’s known that you get more $$$ for your £££ when it comes to using pre paid currency cards.

2 - Travellers Cheques

Travellers cheques used to be the most popular way to carry money overseas without actually carrying any money. The main draw to travellers cheques was the ability to replace the cash if you had the cheques stolen or if you lost them.

The problems with travellers cheques do quickly add up however, as although you can replace the cash if your cheques are lost or stolen it’s a timely process. You need to have a list of serial numbers of the unused cheques and the wait for your cash can take anywhere from 24 hours to a few days.

On top of the worry about how long it will take for a cheque to be replaced you also have the worry that not everywhere will accept them. Some places will refuse travellers cheques due to the fact that they’re a timely and expensive process for merchants. Obviously not everywhere will accept currency cards either, but with currency cards you have the option to draw cash out from a ATM.

All in all, travellers cheques are a safer option then carrying cash, but may end up costing you more in exchange rates and might just give you a headache when it comes to trying to spend them.

3 - Bit-coin Wallets

Bit Coin wallets are the latest way of carrying cash overseas electronically. Surely you’ve heard of Bit-Coins in the press sometime over the last year. Bit-coins are a form of digital currency and are held electronically, the currency of a bit-coin is cash that is never printed.

photo credit: Bitcoin, bitcoin coin, physical bitcoin, bitcoin photo via photopin (license)

So whats a Bit-Coin wallet?

A Bit-Coin wallet is a free online electronic wallet, which you can use to to make purchases worldwide by paying electronically. The perks of a Bit-Coin wallet are the ease of using it from your phone anywhere at anytime.

Get all the information you need on Bit Coins Here

How do you handle your cash overseas? Let me know by commenting below.

Make sure you're following me on social media