Banking tips for the newfound traveler

I’ve been traveling abroad for 6 months now, visiting 12 countries around Europe, the United Kingdom and northern Africa, and I’ve got to say that I’ve learned a thing or two. You would expect to learn quite a bit on a trek that size. My previous trips have all been one week to one month long up until this time out. I won’t be returning home to the United States until the beginning of November, so I’m sure there are a few lessons out there, sneaking and waiting to pounce. Although my life has changed immensely in that time, I have struggled, and I have grown – which is one of the major reasons why people NEED to travel the world. As Eye & Pen evolves and content is published 3-7 times a week, more and more information is presented, and additional focus on the various lessons I’ve learned will be shared with you – in hopes that your own travels will be memorable, life-changing and hopefully a bit safer and more successful in some regards.

For this blog entry, I wanted to focus on banking and money management for international travel – I’ve published a few tips previous here. I wouldn’t say that I’m a ‘newfound’ traveler, but for as far as long term travel is concerned, I would have to say that I am newly graduated in some areas – one of which is money management while traveling abroad. I’ve found that using your home country’s debit card (at least from the USA – which I’m sure Canada, Australia, and UK banks are quite similar) to draw money out at ATM’s is a safer way than bringing a ton of cash with you – which I learned the hard way in Puerto Rico. However, ATM fees can really add up, because you have more than just the ATM fee, you also have the International Charge Fees from your own bank. These fees can range from standard fixed amounts up to set percentages, which can change on the amount you withdrawal and the country you’re in.

I have only one month left on this current trip, so I won’t be setting anything up just yet, but there are other options that I’m going to talk about, that I will be doing as well, for my future trips abroad. For starters, there are some credit cards available on the market that offer no international trading fees, so you might want to look into the benefits of one of those cards, in additional to the benefits of opening an international bank account. These can be useful if you’re planning to stay in one country for an extended period of time – for example, transferring money abroad to a new account might be a good bet if, say, you’re backpacking Europe, because maybe it would be best for you to setup an account in a base country of your choosing, then travel sporadically through the other neighboring countries, where your bank account will be able to offer better options for you.

For my next trip abroad, I believe I will be traveling through parts of Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia and Asia, and this is definitely a potential option that I will further research once the time comes. If you’ve found other reliable options, please comment below to offer up advice from your own experiences.