Traveling can be very exciting and interesting but can also be regrettable and frustrating as a result of careless mistakes or falling victim of some bad apples which might end up keeping you stranded.
You must have received different kinds of advice regarding traveling, ranging from how you must be very careful of strangers, keep your properties very close, how dangerous some areas can be for travelers, and lots more.
These tips can be quite overwhelming but in most cases, they should be taken heed to, because there is no limit to how cruel the world can be.
On this note, we have embedded in this article tips on how to best protect your money while traveling to enable your trip to be a happy one and also avoid you getting stranded at any point of your journey as a result of losing money.
Let’s get to know some ways to protect money while traveling.
How to Protect Your Money While Traveling
1. Beware of Pickpockets
Always be mindful and watchful while walking through crowded areas. Keep your wallet in a place it can be easily monitored by you.
Do not put your wallet in your back pocket, I repeat “DO NOT PUT YOUR WALLET IN YOUR BACK POCKETS”, it can be easily snatched if this advice is not taken heed to.
Also, to be at a very safe end and prevent excessive loss which may lead to tears, always keep a limited amount of cash in your wallet.
Keep over 70% of your cash in your money belt and a little on your wallet, this way even if your wallet gets snatched, you are at very minimal loss.
Also, avoid keeping all your bank cards in one particular wallet. Have in mind the sole aim is to minimize the level of loss if you fall victim to pickpockets.
You might end up getting stranded if you happen to lose all your cards all at once so, beware.
2. Don’t Carry Much Cash
While traveling, the first thing you need to do to keep yourself at a safe end in regards to losing money is by carrying a minimum amount of physical cash.
By doing so, you save yourself much of a regret if robbed as you don’t lose a lot, also by carrying little physical cash you make yourself less of a potential target of getting robbed.
With the modernization and improvement in technology in the world today, there is no much need to go about with lots of physical cash owing to the introduction of cashless transactions.
There is availability of ATM almost everywhere and with a debit card, you can easily withdraw cash anytime and anywhere.
You can also make use of Fin-Tech innovations or travel cards if you choose to save yourself of the charges of using an ATM.
Nevertheless, countries like Cuba and Iran which likely do not have ATM in most places might require you to carry enough cash to avoid you getting stranded as you might not be able to use your bank card occasionally.
If that’s the case, however, you should not blindly carry a very huge sum of cash. I’ll advise you to make an estimated budget of the amount of money you’ll be needing and then add about 10% to 15% of your initial budget in case of an unforeseen emergency.
3. Protect Your Cash
After trying as much as possible to minimize the amount of physical cash you carry, you should also consider hiding the little cash with you.
Hide your travel cash properly in a locker or a safe place at the hotel or hostel you are lodged in and carry a little in your wallet that will fit your bills for the day while going out.
Also, a trick to adopt whole hiding your cash is to use your imaginative sense to hide it in a place where no one would probably think of looking, that’s the safest place. An example is under the sole of your shoe, take an observation around you and think of the best spot that’ll work best for you.
If you are travelling in a car, you can use tint 35 for your car, however it is not legal in New York.
4. Monitor your deals with Money Changers
Though lots of money changers are quite honest, it cost no harm to be somewhat careful while dealing with them.
Many travelers have laid complaints of being cheated by money changers on a few occasions, giving them less amount of money than they should because they were not conversant with the currency and its exchange rate.
Therefore, this calls for being careful and enlightened while dealing with both official and unofficial money changers.
5. Research Properly Beforehand
In regards to the earlier mentioned, it is ideal to conduct adequate research and be acquainted with the different currencies and their exchange rates of the area you are about to travel to before the actual trip.
After research, do your math to know the actual amount you should be getting for each exchange with a money changer and also take your time to count your money adequately after each exchange to avoid being cheated.
6. Get a Money Belt
Another reliable way to protect your money while traveling is getting yourself a money belt.
A money belt is a belt worn around the waist which got a secret pouch for keeping money. A money belt is quite like any normal belt with almost the same functions too, it’s difference is the discrete opening embedded to hide money.
Always be careful not to be seen while loading up your money belt with money, this will eliminate the factor of it being discrete.
Nevertheless, you are still safe from snatch and run robbers as they find it impossible to lose your belt and run away with it even if they are aware of your money belt, they will rather go for your wallet. For this reason, I recommend a money belt for travelers to keep their money safe.
7. Protect Your Digital Profile
In as much as the safety of digital profiles is not taken much attention to in most cases, it can impose great risks and dangers.
Having your accounts hacked or your identity stolen and impersonated can pose lots of undeserved discomfort and threats. It can not only lead to you losing your life savings but can also lead to you getting wrongfully arrested, and trust me this can be embarrassing and might cost you a lot.
Therefore it is wise to keep your digital profile and cards highly protected and clear of strangers.
8. Avoid Internet Cafe’s
Using an internet cafe might leave you vulnerable and prone to being a victim of scammers stating the fact that you would be making use of their computers which might have been embedded with various types of fishy software to monitor and store your details and passwords.
Another factor that leaves you vulnerable is the fact that all cafe users use a single network which is prone to be hacked easily.
Therefore it is advisable to try as much as possible to avoid making use of internet cafes, rather, use your digital device and always enable you VPN(to be explained better next).
9. Get a VPN
You might be wondering, what is a VPN? if that’s the case, let me enlighten you. VPN is an abbreviation for Virtual Privacy Network, just like its name, it is a tool that helps ensure your privacy and security.
The Virtual Privacy Network has various usings depending on your intentions. It protects you from being vulnerable to phishing scammers or hackers and also changes your IP address making it very difficult for you to get tracked.
Added to that, it also helps you get over Internet firewalls in various censorship countries.
10. Get a Malware Software
To protect your digital device while traveling and prevent scammers from installing trojans in your device, get yourself an excellent malware or anti-virus software.
This will also help to save quite some money as it does not only prevent some activities of scammers, it also protects your devices from malicious commuter virus’ which might end up damaging your device and giving you extra expenses.
I’ll advise you to get a 2 in 1 anti-virus and malware software as it will also help you save quite some money.
11. Use a Pre-Paid Travel Credit Card
Finally, the last on my list to help you protect your money while traveling is using a pre-paid travel credit card and loading it from your main account.
This will help you much more than you think, it protects you from losing your actual bank card while on the road and also prevents the risk of your bank card getting cloned.
In other words, you get to lose only the money in your travel credit card if you fall victim to pickpockets or other scammers rather than all the money in your bank account.
Furthermore, pre-prepaid travel cards are free of charges and have a commendable exchange rate which also helps save you quite some money whilst traveling.
Conclusion
Traveling is fun, hence avoid the frustration that may come by implementing these smart tips on how to protect your money while traveling with you.
Put these tips to play on your next trip and witness as you stay clear of losing your money on the way.
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