Arrange your money

Three big things to think about here: cost, availability and security. Traveller's money comes in many forms: local cash, American cash, traveller's cheques, bank debit cards and credit cards. It's best to have a combination of all of the above carried in different parts of the person and baggage.

A little bit of local currency is always handy to have before you arrive in a new country. It simply eliminates the need, and sometimes the hassle, of having to visit a bank or exchange booth right off the arrival bat. As well, money exchange facilities handy for you upon arrival (such as in or near the airport, railway or bus station) likely charge poorer rates and higher commissions. If your destination is outside of Western Europe, Australia or North America, you may have trouble finding currency before you leave home. In this case, get yourself a supply of American money, it is the most accepted currency around the world and comes in handy at various points throughout your travels. Carry enough cash for emergencies (i.e. to get you through a couple of days before you can get to an exchange facility), but remember, it is very theivable and non-replaceable.

A quick note on the euro for travellers to countries where this has become legal tender: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia; the currency came into use as cash from January 1, 2002 onwards, and now currencies local to the aforementioned countries have been phased out. If you have currency local to these countries, don't worry - they say that banks will change them for a long time to come, if not an indefinite time. The value of the euro was fixed against these countries' currencies as they were on January 1, 1999 and started out similar in value to the US dollar. One one-hundredth of a euro is a cent, or eurocent. www.euro.ecb.int is a good source of info on the euro.

Carry traveller's cheques. Next to cold, hard cash, they are the most widely used and recognized form of money and can be changed at exchange facilities or even used as cash at certain hotels and stores. Bank and credit cards are useless in certain towns and you can't carry enough cash from the outset to last forever. Simply put, they are a protected form of cash that require your signature and passport to spend. If they are lost or stolen, you can cancel them and have them replaced or refunded. Typically, purchasing the cheques will cost you an additional 1 to 2%. If you are travelling outside of Western Europe, Australia or North America, invest in American currency traveller's cheques and carry at least 50% of the funds you anticipate spending on a day to day basis. Get your traveller's cheques in varying denominations so that you have the option of changing whatever sum of money you wish. Carry small ones for when you only want a little money, and carry larger ones for when you are changing money where per cheque service fees apply. Larger denominations also save time for those pesky signatures required at both times of purchase and of spending/exchanging.

Bank debit cards acquired from wherever you maintain a bank account require a bank machine to get you money, and not just any bank machine. Some machines only cater to local bank cards; look for machines accepting cards recognized world wide with the symbols 'Plus' or 'Cirrus'. Such machines are popping up all over the world - check in your guidebook to see if you might find them in your destination. If they are available, make sure you know your PIN (personal identification number). It would also be worth checking with your bank to see how many digits in the PIN might be expected in the country you are visiting as this can vary and cause you to not be able to access your money. It's a good idea to carry two different cards with different affiliations so that you can access both the Plus and Cirrus international money networks; sometimes only one or the other is available. This may involve setting up another back account at home. Don't rely on bank machines entirely though. Machines can be closed, broken, out of money or non-existent. Taking money out of a machine not connected with your own bank will likely cost you a service charge, and perhaps even an additional fee from that particular machine. However, the exchange rate you get will likely be a fair one, better than what you might get at local exchange facilities. Make sure you find out before you leave what maximum daily or weekly withdrawals apply to your card. You may also want to look in to Visa's TravelMoney card which is a prepaid debit card not requiring a bank or credit card account.

Credit cards are advertised as being accepted world wide but this is a gross exaggeration for the budget traveller or the traveller to more remote parts of the world. Outside of urban and tourist areas in a lot of the world, credit card acceptance can be extremely limited and is usually costly with surcharges of up to 20%! This is especially the case in developing countries. Don't count on being able to use credit cards anywhere but posh hotels and restaurants and reputed travel agents. Credit cards are, however, necessary for major expenses and emergencies. They are also handy for getting a fair and better exchange rate. If you are travelling to developing countries, carry at least one of Visa or Mastercard, or both. These two cards are the most accepted around the world, with American Express being less so. The best option is having a credit card from the same bank where you have an account that also allows you to withdraw your own money by using your credit card in a bank machine (make sure you set up your unique PIN for this purpose before you leave). This can help you avoid costly cash advances, but will also carry the fee for using a bank machine not connected with your own bank. Generally, Visa is connected with the Plus system while Mastercard works with the Cirrus system. Beef up the security on your credit card by registering your absence and a rough trip itinerary with your credit card agent so that they can monitor you account, looking for strings of large purchases or purchases in unexpected areas of the world which may indicate that your card has been stolen. Also carry with you the emergency phone number to cancel your card if it is lost or stolen. For information on how to pay your credit card bills while away, see Leave Your Life Behind. For more information on handling money on the road, see Money.

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