Making your Money Last Longer

If you are traveling on a one week chartered trip, you might want to spend as much as possible on your holiday and can just stop reading right away. Are you, on the other hand, a backpacker who is traveling months at a time you might try to save every penny you can to make your trip last longer. I have listed ten tips that might help you run out of money slower:It doesn’t help to save a lot of money if you cannot keep them, so lets start with the “Safety first”

A PASMO card gives you cashless travel when in Tokyo

1. Never show off big amounts of cash
A golden rule that everyone should follow. Flashing money among people is both rude and stupid, as it will look tempting for poorer people. I call it common sense.

2. Split your cash, to lessen the loss
In some situations people might make you open your wallet, and when you do they might demand what is in it. It can be a taxi driver insisting that the taxi should cost 10 times more than it should, or a policeman just using his bargaining power or a seller who wont give you what you want before he knows he has gotten maximum out of you.

3. Bring two credit cards
You might loose one, it might break, be stolen etc. A spare one will make sure that you can just block the other and live on with your spare one. Make sure they are good ones without big fees abroad.

Getting fooled is the most common robbery abroad, and the reason is simply because you don’t know better

4. Learn the exchange rate of the country currency
Do not use the overpriced exchange rate you will see at the airport or at your hotel. Check webpages like xe.com or your converter app with updated exchange rates.

5. Learn the local tipping culture
Tipping is important and you neither want to be a cheap ass giving too little or a dumb ass giving too much. A conversation with your the person sitting next to you on the plane usually helps. Otherwise use the next tip would also help for tipping

One dollar room in Udaipur, India. Found by asking around

6. Ask around for prices
Ask the hotel receptionist for the taxi prices, the taxi driver for the haircut prices, the hairdresser for the whateveryouneed prices. Use the people around you to be better prepared for upcoming negotiation situations.

7. Claim VAT refunds
Many airports have counters where you can hand in receipts and get the cash refunded.

8. Haggle just the right amount
Haggling is important in order to make your money last longer. It requires training and bartering skills to get the best deals as you are not supposed to be rude, as you do in fact have a lot more money than most people you are haggling with. And always remember to get the right price before you get a service done, eg. before you get into the taxi.

9. The best deals are not the ones with the flashiest signs or are highlighted in guidebooks
Most restaurants, hotels or tour companies that get listed in Lonely Planet use this to the fullest. This results in the places being crowded and overpriced. Ask around and you will usually find guesthouses and restaurants run by local families that will give you a more friendly and cheaper experience.

10. Don’t listen silly advise online on how to book cheap plane tickets
As a travel agent I have booked thousands of plane tickets, and I only have one tip that will give you cheap airline tickets: book them early, especially for the most popular flights. The only exceptions are campaign tickets and private fares that travel agents can offer.