When you travel a lot, you very quickly find yourself thinking about money an awful lot. This isn’t just in terms of how much it’s costing you in flights, accommodation and so on – after all, there are a number of ways to cut down on those costs. No, what I’m talking about is actual, physical, money. I have collected a bewildering number of different currencies in my travels, and figuring out the bets way to get it has taken up a lot of my time.
Be Aware of Currency Exchange
One thing I think more travelers could do well to look into is how currency exchange rates work. It’s not so much of a problem for people who have moved abroad for work – if you’re living in a country for a while then you can take a look at basic basic bank accounts and have your earnings in that country deposited locally. However, if you’re just passing through, you probably won’t want to set up an account, and the bank certainly wouldn’t let you! Smartphones have made checking currency exchange rates pretty easy. You can just use an app or browse to a currency exchange site to see today’s rate.
Don’t Rely on Rates
Using these figures to work out how much things will cost or how much sending money you have can be a big mistake. Why? Because these are not the rates you can actually get when you go to exchanging money – there will be a number of different fees and varying rates depending on how much you are exchanging and with whom. Always make sure you use the rate you can actually get, and compare options to see whether travelers checks, credit cards, debit cards from your current accounts or other currency exchange options will give you the best deal.