Money When Traveling Abroad
You have made the decision to head off to some exotic foreign location to immerse yourself in a new culture and learn about yourself. Then again, you may just be going for the skiing, beaches or some other aspect. Regardless of your intent, you are going to need funds to pay for the trip.
The obvious solution to carrying money abroad is just to haul a lot of cash with you. This is generally not recommended. While theft is the obvious reason, there are others. Budgeting when you are cruising the world is not the easiest thing to be disciplined about. When you are dancing the night away with that exotic Spanish woman/man, sticking to your budget becomes a long forgotten issue.
For most people, the answer to the money problem is to go with the travel cheque solution. American Express is the biggie, but there are other providers. The cheques can be replaced if you lose them, which makes theft a non-issue. There are some downsides, however.
First and foremost, you have to sign the cheque when you redeem it. Your signature must match one you previously made on it. This may sound simple, but you have to remember some countries are famous for their civil servants. I once lived in a city in Siberia for a year and used American Express cheques. I was one of two Americans in the city. I was the only one cashing the cheques. Still, I had all kinds of problems getting the "friendly" Russian clerk to accept my signature. This happened each and every month I came in to get money. It was maddening!
As the global community grows, the money issue is becoming less of a problem for travelers. Why? Well, most cities now have that magic machine found in your home town. Yep, they have ATMs! More importantly, your debit card works in the machine and you get good rates as well. Your bank will crack you over the head with "foreign transaction" fees, but it is an incredibly convenient way to deal with the money issue.
At the end of the day, you can choose whatever money method you like. I highly recommend you check into the ATM option, as it can save you a lot of hassle.
About the Author
Burton Jones is with TravelYeti.com - get daily travel tips.