Being a student is not easy. You’ll have to balance your time and energy between studying, socializing with your peers, and maintaining a healthy relationship with your families. Most students choose to travel to get away from all of these stressors. But since students like you don’t have a stable source of income yet, do you know how to manage your money while travelling? Let this article help.
Running out of money while in another country is a traveller’s nightmare. This experience can surely result in a lot of frustrations. To ensure that this will never happen to you, take the time to know how you can manage your money while travelling. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Create A Travel Budget
Going on a spontaneous trip without having a single plan in mind can be memorable and exciting. However, when you’re in one, anything goes. You’ll only choose accommodation once you see what’s available on the road, and you’ll likely dine at any restaurant you’ll pass by. A spontaneous trip might be fun, but it isn’t the best way to go if you want to manage your finances while travelling. If you don’t want to end up not having any money for a week after travelling, take the time to create a travel budget.
Budgeting should be your next task after planning where to travel. When you have a budget, it’ll be easy to track your expenses and look for cheaper alternatives.
Here are some tips to help you create a travel budget:
- First, list down all of the expenses you might have during the trip. For example, how much are you going to pay for the accommodation? How about the food? Are you planning to pay for a tour guide or will you travel all by yourself? Then, come up with an estimated amount for all of these expenses.
- Decide if you’re going to bring cards for travel, too. Depending on the country you’re planning to visit, these cards can be a more convenient and safer alternative than getting cash.
- Don’t forget to allot money for emergencies. For example, you might catch the flu and need medicines while travelling, so it’s best to be financially prepared.
2. Exchange Before You Go
Travelling to another country can be fun, but it will require a lot of things from you as a traveller. Aside from learning the language of the locals, you will also need to visit a money exchanger before leaving. In addition, you need to make sure that you’ll bring accepted currency to the country or place you’re travelling to.
While most airports house currency exchanges, they usually charge a commission whenever you swap dollars for certain currencies. This can lower the value of your money. So once you’ve decided that you’re travelling soon, scout for banks that offer the best exchange rates, determine when the currency of the country you’re travelling to will increase and choose to have your dollar exchanged during this time. When it comes to money exchanges, timing is critical.
3. Cash Is King
If you’re travelling for a more extended period, say for a week, it’s best if you bring enough cash to cover all of your expenses for the next 24 hours upon arrival. This means that the money in your pocket should be enough to pay for food, taxis, and accommodation once you arrive at your destination.
Keep in mind that businesses in some countries within Africa and Asia are still not using ATMs and credit networks. So bringing your credit or debit cards as an attempt to pay for your overnight accommodation will be useless. When you don’t get enough cash, you’ll likely spend hours looking for a more prominent hotel that accepts ATMs—and this is not the best way to start a trip.
4. Look Out For Any Types Of Scams
Scammers are present in different parts of the globe. Regardless if you’re planning to travel to one of the best destinations in the world or a small city near your location, you’ll likely bump into some of them. To avoid losing any money, look out for any types of scams. Pay attention whenever locals and other tourists ask for money from you.
Any product or service offered by a local that involves a considerable amount of money should put you on high alert. Tourists asking for money for whatever reasons shouldn’t be entertained either.
If they are in trouble, why are they asking for help from you, a stranger, and not their friends and family? Why didn’t they contact the authorities or embassies first? It’ll be hard for you to have fun during a trip if all of your money has been taken away by scammers.
Think Long-Term
You have the skills to effectively manage your money while travelling means a successful and stress-free trip. Spending your money wisely also enables you to have enough financial resources for other upcoming trips. When you practice all of the tips presented in this article, you’ll be able to have many stress-free trips in and out of the country!
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