Photo via Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash
Saving up for your holiday is only the start of it. Don’t forget that you’ll need spending money to take with you, otherwise how will you buy essentials like food or enjoy extra activities and bring home souvenirs? Even if you choose an all-inclusive trip, having some money with you will be crucial if you leave the resort at any time.
If you want to make the most of your holiday spending money, you need to make sure you know exactly how to maximise what you have, no matter how much it might be. With that in mind, here are some ways to do just that.
Be Careful With Currency Exchange
If you are heading to a destination that uses a different currency to the one in your home country and you want to use cash while you’re away (which has its pros and cons; it’s great for budgeting, but is potentially unsafe), you’ll need to exchange one currency for another. You need to make sure you choose the right place and time to do this. Get it right, and you’ll get more money, but get it wrong, and you’ll lose out and have less to spend.
The worst place to exchange currency is at an airport. You’ll get bad rates there because you’re a captive audience; you’ve got no choice. Take a look at the exchange rates for a few days in the weeks leading up to your trip, and when it seems like you’ll get a good deal, research the best places to change your money. Just don’t leave it to the last minute.
Avoid High Roaming Fees
When you travel abroad with the last minute preparations and stress before travel, you may forget about contacting your mobile phone operator. Travelling overseas and using mobile data can bring very high costs if you dont have a deal for foreign roaming and calls. Skip all of this by getting an International Sim Card ahead of time.
Extra Work to get more Holiday Spending Money
If you want to make the most of your spending money when you’re on vacation, having more is obviously going to help you do that. Even if you don’t want to take on a second job or side hustle permanently, why not consider doing it for two or three months leading up to your vacation? It will be hard work, but the extra money you make can be added directly to your vacation spending money.
You could take on a new part-time job that works around your main one, for example. You could also sell things you no longer want. Or perhaps you could do something different, like sell feet pics online. There is a big market for this, and you could make a decent amount of money for little work.
Check The ATMs
Perhaps you have all your spending money safe on a credit card or a prepaid credit card, but you still want a little cash, just in case. After all, sometimes it can be useful. If that’s the case, you’ll want to find an ATM and withdraw your money. However, you’ll need to be sure you’re doing this right, or you could get less than you had hoped.
To start with, check to see if the machine has a fee attached to withdrawals. Some will and others won’t. Choose one that doesn’t charge, and you’ll save money. Also remember to choose local currency when you’re withdrawing money (and if you have the choice when paying on a card elsewhere too). This is usually cheaper than using your home currency.
