Five Money Saving Tasks to complete Prior to Traveling Internationally

1. Save by Figuring out your Cell Phone Situation

As we become more reliant on our technology, it is becoming even more important to ensure we have a way to stay connected to our devices while we travel. Whether it is to be able to contact family in the case of emergency, use google maps to get around, or just you want to be able to see the latest Instagram has to offer we need the internet. Most US cell phone carriers still charge extremely high data roaming charges when you are outside of the United States and not being prepared on how you are going to stay connected can become extremely costly, however, there are several options you can take to save money:

• Use an Option offered by your Carrier- With all of these options call your carrier and make sure it is available on your plan 

	Included w/No Additional Cost	Optional Add On	Calling without Add-on
T-Mobile	2G data and texting in 210 countries	$5/day for 512MB 4G LTE	.25/Minute
Sprint	2G data and texting in 200 countries	$5 or $25 a week for unlimited LTE Data	.25/Minute
AT&T	None	$10/day for unlimited calling, texting, and data subject the limits of your plan.*	.35/Minute
Verizon	None	$10/day for unlimited calling, texting, and data subject to the limits of your plan. *	$1.79/Minute

 

*you will be automatically charged this fee you if you or any background apps in your phone access data while abroad.

 

• Buy a local SIM Chip — Your Phone Must be unlocked

  • At airports all around the world you can buy SIM cards to pop into your phone upon landing. Once activated those SIM cards will typically offer you a limited amount of Data, Texting, and Calling which can be added to at any time. Typically this option will only run you somewhere between $25-$50 depending on how much data and calling you expect to use.  If you do not have an unlocked phone you still may be able to use this options. Depending on your agreement with your carrier you can call up your carrier and have them unlock your phone. If this does not work there are many stores in malls or places online you can go to get your phone unlocked or if you are planning an extended trip it may be worth it to buy a cheap older model phone that is unlocked. I typically keep one hand for this sort of situation.

• Buy a Burner Phone

  • If you can’t get your phone unlocked and don’t have a suitable option offered by your carrier, you can always buy a prepaid pay as you go phone either prior to you leaving the US or when you arrive in country. For example 02 a major phone carrier in the UK sell prepaid smartphones as low as $25. These will be extremely basic phones but will get the job done for a short period of time.

2. Save by Figuring out your Money Situation

• Credit/Debit Cards

One big mistake that inexperienced travelers make, and I made my first time out of the country, is they think that you can use your credit/debit cards the same way you can use them back home. Most credit/debit card provider charge international transaction fees of about 3% on all purchase you make abroad.

If you are planning a long trip or are planning to travel internationally frequently it may be smart to sign up for a credit card that has no international fees. Most travel related credit cards have no international, but do typically have annual fees. These annual fees are typically offset by large sign up bonus, increased benefits, and increased earning rates on purchases.

There are several cards I would recommend, but will likely do post (please contact us if you want more info). However, I do want to call out the discover IT series of cards because they are one of the only cards I am aware of with no international transaction fees and no annual fee. While I don’t carry this card myself, it is a great option for a basic card with no fees. Determining how you are going to manage the international fees will save you significant money.

Prior to leaving make sure to go call your bank and have them put a travel notice on your credit/debit cards so they remain active while you travel.

• Ways to get Cash

  • All over the world cash is king, you will rarely run into a situation where you are not going to be able to pay in cash.  The issue then comes down to where should you get your cash; all ways to get foreign currency costs money, but there are ways where you can minimize this expense.
    

    	Costs	Drawbacks	Cost to Withdraw 200 Euros (at current exchange rate)
    ATM (Preferred Method)	Typically banks will charge a foreign ATM fee of about $5	In Asia not all ATMs will accept American ATM cards. Check to make sure ATMs are available where you are visiting. You typically will need to withdraw larger amounts at one time to avoid being hit with the fee more than once.	$234.52
    Get Cash at your Bank	aLrger banks will offer a currency exchange service at no additional fee.	You are subject to whatever the “sell rate” is for your bank. This is typically above the exchange rate because the banks look to make a profit. You will need to buy all of the cash you need for the entire trip prior to leaving the US.	$242.66 (based on Wells Fargo price)
    Currency Exchange	Some currency exchange locations will charge you a per transaction fee, the ones at the airport typically do not.	You are subject to the exchange rate for the currency exchange. This is typically above even the bank “sell rate”	$258.38 (Based on TravelEx rates)

While a $20 difference doesn’t seem like much when you extrapolate that into bigger amounts that you would need for a whole trip you are talking about potentially 100s of dollars you can save by utilizing an ATM.

3. Save Money by Researching Tipping Customs

It may shock many travelers inexperienced and even some experienced travelers but tipping service providers and waitstaff is not customary is most countries throughout the world. While tipping started in England it was truly brought to another level by the United States. In most countries waitstaff actually paid a very good living wage and do not have to rely on tips. Tipping has actually grown worldwide due to American tourism which has caused the expectation of tipping.

This being said you can save a lot of money and even in some cases embarrassment by knowing what to tip in the countries you are visiting. For instance Japan is a no tipping culture and it actually can be seen as an insult if you leave a tip. I have read about tourists who left a tip in Japan and the waiter chased them down to return it.

In most countries tipping is significantly lower than what you would normally tip in the United States. A great resource to determine where and how much to tip is www.whototip.net. Given that most of your meals while on vacation will be at restaurants you could potentially save $10-$20 a day just by knowing tipping customs.

4. Save Money by Researching Local Transportation

One of the most common mistakes that newer travellers make is they take taxis everywhere. In my experience, the larger cities in both Europe and Asia have amazing public transportation. By utilizing public transportation rather than taxis you can typically cut your transportation budget to a small fraction of what it would be if you took a cab. While we were in Shanghai, we utilized a 72 hour shanghai metro pass which allowed up unlimited subway rides for about $7. This is less than a one-way ticket on shanghai’s maglev or one cab ride.

Even if public transportation is not your thing, it is still smart to do research on the different methods of transportation. For instance in  Prague Uber close to a tenth of the price of taking a taxi. A taxi ride from the Airport to Old town square will run you about $60 while the same ride in an uber will be between $8-10.

Utilizing a cheaper method of transportation you will be able to save hundreds of dollars on your trip.

5. Save Money by Researching Local Restaurants

My wife constantly teases me about how meticulous I am when it comes to planning a trip. I tend to put together detailed itineraries with a complete plan of what we are going to be doing and where we are going to be eating. While I am not suggesting doing that amount of research (I am just a special kind of nut), it definitely pays to do some research about where you are going to eat.

By just doing some basic research and compiling a list of the best cheap places to eat in the area, you will be able to save significant money on food and ensure that you are only eating at good restaurants.