Money is sometimes over looked as a way of making your trip go longer. You’ve most probably worked your ass off in a bar to earn it for your trip of a life time so why chuck it down the drain from the word go.
Shopping around for the best exchange rate can be a good deal if you grab the right price.
Depending on the amount your going to spend shopping around can save you around £10 per trip or even over £100 for a whole gap year.
It might not seem allot but over time it can add up and also it only took me 30 minutes to shop around on the high street and internet to find a better deal, time thats totally worth it.
Rule number one: Don’t exchange at the airport!
Commission free does not mean that your getting a good deal, they still can sting you on the exchange rate so bare this in mind.
Airports are not the best place to pick up a deal as the environment makes it is harder to compare the daily exchange rate, so they can charge a premium.
To check the daily exchange I like to use xe.com and they have a fantastic application for the iPhone/iPad that work both on and offline. This will give you a rough estimate of what you should be working towards so you don’t completely get mugged off.
How about withdrawing at the ATM?
For some this can be a good option but again the bank makes the exchange rate by themselves making it not very competitive. Some cards will not charge you to take out abroad and offer a good exchange rate, search around the internet for these type of cards in your country. For the UK you can have a look at these cards on Moneyexpert.com for an update comparison
Some countries such as UK, Finland, Singapore widely accept debit card micro payments,€1 for a coffee on your debit card is not a problem, but for countries such as Russia, taking your Rubbles out in advance can save the pennies were it matters.
but for more large amounts make your money go further.
Shop around.
All most all high streets up and down the country will have places that offer currency exchanges, hop around and take photos of the exchange boards.
places to consider in the UK:
Royal Mail Post office, Marks and Spencer’s, Travel Agents, Major Super markets and your personal Bank.
Some might offer special bulk deals if you take out £500 or more, see if this works for you and if your going with a friend on your trip see if they want to split 50/50 to save on the bulk deal.
some such as your local bank might prefer you to order online and check there order deals and see what might work out for you.
Once you have wondered around your high street and captured all your information see who has the best deal on the day.
there are also allot of, off the wall shops that do currency deals and sometimes they are more competitive with opening up the table for negotiation. tell them what you’ve found and see if they will break a deal with you compared to the high street price and break a better deal than what you’ve found.
by doing all the following steps your be able to work out what the best deal is for you on the day and it will be a much better step than taking it out at the airport.
the above works well for US dollars, Euros and other popular currencies, but if your going to a more unique currency destination maybe its better to haggle when your there and just take out a small amount before you take your trip for emergencies.
I hope the above works and remember that you have earned the money hard and fare so make it work that little extra, there are loads of people that would happily take your money so work with it and get that better deal for your trip.
Enjoy all the beer you will have with your savings!
