Going away on vacation should be an enjoyable experience. After all you have been saving all year for it right? Unfortunately many people have travel horror stories and a lot of them have to do with finances. As an avid traveler, I have learned many tricks over the years on how to keep my money safe and sound while I am on the road. Today I want to share with you 10 of my favorite ways to make sure that your trip is a success and not a financial nightmare.
10 Best Travel Tips
Here are the 10 best travel tips you can use on your next vacation.
- Hidden Wallet – Use a hidden wallet to carry most of your valuables and identification. My hubby and I use money belts. As much as they can take a bit to get used to they are a great way to carry around your stuff. It is really hard for people to pick pocket or steal from you when you have stuff strapped to your belly.
- Mail Money to Yourself – If you feel comfortable sending money in the mail, mail a money order to yourself at your travel accommodation location. This way, if you lose some of your money, you have a way of getting more.
- Pack Light – Why cause yourself the extra stress of having to worry about keeping track of a ton of things you really don’t need. Only bring the necessities with you. We travel using back packs. Not only are we able to travel at ease by carrying our stuff on our backs but we also don’t have to take much time to pack when we move from one location to the next. If you have to do a load of laundry on your trip, who cares.
- Leave an Itinerary at Home with Relatives – My hubby and I have done this each time we have traveled overseas and it has been a great tool for peace of mind. Our families know where we are at all times. They don’t bug us while we are away but if something happens in the area where we are vacationing or something happens at home, our families are know where we are and how to get a hold of us.
- Keep Copies of Identification at Home – Even if you take the originals with you, it is a good idea to keep copies back at home. Before each trip we make copies of our health insurance, passports, travel insurance, plane tickets, etc. and leave them with our family. We also take copies with us and store them in different parts of our luggage. That way if our originals go missing, we have back ups we can use. Did you know that you can get a passport replaced within 24 hours if you have a copy with you?
- Choose One Credit Card – This way, if your wallet gets stolen you will minimize your losses. Another option is to choose a pre-loaded credit card (I’ve used a Mosaic Mastercard) which is really more like a debit card that you put money “on” so that if you end up losing your wallet no one can trash your credit rating.
- Important Phone Numbers -Make sure to bring important phone numbers with you on your trip and put them in two different places. Bring a phone number that will cancel your credit card; if you’re traveling out of the country bring a phone number to reach the embassy; bring phone numbers of close family and friends who can help you if you get into trouble; and bring phone numbers of the hotel and car rental company as well. You never know when you might need to call them.
- Register With the Embassy – We also do this as an extra safety measure. That way the government knows where we are traveling in the event of a political or safety issue.
- Bring Medical Information – Not only will you want copies of your travel insurance but you should also bring medical information with you. Medical information like blood type, medications, and allergies can be critical in an emergency. Also make sure that the medical information is translated into the primary language of the place you are going to so that non-English-speaking doctors will have no problem understanding the situation. In addition, make sure you know what your insurance covers. You wouldn’t want to get into a situation where you can’t pay for medical treatment.
- Schedule Your Bill Payments – There is nothing worse than pissing companies off by being late in paying your bill. Before you leave for your trip, schedule any payments that will be due while you are away. Not only will this keep your finances on track and save you late fees but it will also allow you to really leave home behind and relax.
You see, with a little organization and planning you can make your vacation a lot more safer and stress free. Now isn’t that worth the effort?!
So readers, have you had any bad travel experiences? How have you gotten yourself out of the dire situation? Or what kind of tips and tricks have you found work well? Please share.
This post was written by staff writer Miss T.
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I think that is good for all people who are on holiday or business travel.