Going on trips is always exciting, but it can be a little scary too, especially if it’s your first time around or you’re going to a destination you’ve never been to before. One of the biggest concerns for most people, is money. Planning and budgeting well in advance always helps, but you never know what might happen.
If you are thinking of staying in that destination for a while and maybe earn a living, you may not know how long it’ll take for you to get a job. The true cost of living could also be higher than you imagined. This is why you need to be prepared for any event and have a plan B if anything goes wrong. Here are a few tips to help you stay financially secure while travelling abroad.
Take Care of Your Bills
One of the first things you have to do is make sure that everything is okay on the home front while you’re gone. You will still have bills to pay, so you’ll want to set up automatic payments. You should also have all the money for these bills saved up.
Don’t expect future revenue to cover your bills as you never know what could happen with your income. You might feel fairly confident that the money you’ll earn from work or your business will be enough, but you may lose your ability to earn during your trip.
You could get an injury or come down with a sickness that incapacitates you for a few days or weeks. This could end up putting you in lots of trouble very fast. So, have everything in order before you even book your trip.
Have a Lifeline Back Home
You need to have someone back home who will have your back if you get into trouble where you are. They could help you to not only get out of a financial pickle, but also if you are involved in an accident or if you get in trouble with the law.
They need to have a way to send you money easily if you have any issues. When travelling abroad, it’s usually better to go with money transfer services as they will get you money fast and are available virtually anywhere. In some cases, you might be able to get to a money transfer kiosk before you will find an ATM.
When it comes to money transfer companies, Ria is one of the most widespread and reliable. We would suggest that you install the Ria Money Transfer App right now and encourage your friends back home to do the same. This could literally save your life if you can’t get access to your bank account or credit card wherever you are for some reason. You could run out of money, and you could also become a victim of theft, and you wouldn’t want to be out of cash with nowhere to stay for the night. This is where having a lifeline becomes important.
Get in Touch with Your Credit Card Company
Many people are not aware of this, but you could get into a lot of trouble if you don’t notify your credit card company before you start spending money in a foreign country. Credit card companies have very strong anti-theft and anti-fraud systems in place right now, and if they notice lots of foreign transactions all of the sudden, they might assume that someone is using your card illegally.
This is why you need to call your credit card company before leaving and tell them where you’re going. If you don’t, your credit card might get locked overnight with no warning. It’s also a good idea to have two credit cards with you. Getting a travel prepaid card can also be a great idea.
One of the benefits of a prepaid card is that you can easily load and unload it. This means that you can put just the amount of money you need to cover your expenses when going out. This way, there will be less for potential thieves to steal.
Get Local Currency Before Leaving
Getting local currency at the airport is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Not only will the rates be disadvantageous, but there might be some ridiculously high fees on top of it. You should at least have enough local currency to cover one week’s worth of expenses.
Again, you never know when you’ll be able to find somewhere where you can exchange money or access an ATM. In some cases, you might not come across an ATM for days. This is why having cash on hand is essential.
If you decide to go to a hotel, make sure it has a safe and deposit your money there while keeping enough on you to cover your day’s expenses. You should also enquire with your bank before leaving and ask their rates for the currency in question. You might be able to get it from them for cheap, but you need to let them know well in advance as it can take time for them to get their hands on the currency.
Keep Scanned Copies of Important Documents
You should scan copies of all your important banking and identification documents before you leave. This can easily be done with a smartphone application. You should then store your copies on the cloud so you can access them from wherever you are. Having scanned copies of your credit card and ID documents will make things easier if you want to block your credit card or get new documents if they were lost or stolen.
Do Some Research on the Destination
You should also try to know as much about the country you are thinking of going to as possible before leaving. This could help you organise your finances better when you’re there. You might find out that using cabs is actually cheaper and convenient than taking public transit, for instance. Or that eating out is prohibitively expensive. In this case, you might want to prioritise accommodation that allows you to make your own meals.
These are all tips that will allow you to stay Financial Safety While Travelling Abroad. The most important thing is to plan as soon as possible and be ready for any event.
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