Money
Organizing Currency A tip about carrying and using foreign coins You won't be able to convert them back to USD, so the goal is to use them up before you leave the country! We found if we combined our coins into one ziplock baggie or coin purse that helped. Each morning we would count out the coins, so we would know instantly if it would cover our 1st purchases of the day without holding up the line. If you are unable to use your coins up before you depart, determine if you will be returning in the future and is worth keeping it, purchase items at the airport or make a donation to a local resident..an unexpected and appreciated random act of kindness!
Many times we visit several countries on one trip that have their own currency. It can
be confusing at times, but the best system I have found is by Baggallini (just go into the travel section of their website) . You can wear it on your money belt inside your pants, in your money belt or attached in your pack. There's actually 3 more zippered sections, once you flip it over!
Wherever you are traveling to use google to search for coupons
I googled Dubrovnik coupons and was rewarded with a 2 for 1 coupon at a local cheap eats restaurant called Fresh, the extra bonus ....they are also located in Korcula!
Upon arrival, pick up the local information at a TI office or brochure stand. Many times restaurants and attractions have coupons inside of these! We found a great smoothie
place in Split called Tonik this way!
Lithuania, 2007
International "Dollar" Stores
These are great places to save on beverages, snacks and if you're lucky, a souvenir!
During my travels I've been most fortunate to have the experience of rounding the corner of a cobblestone alleyway & low and behold a neon TUTTO 1 EURO sign shakes me out of my cultural immersion!!!!
So, I would like to provide you the resources to have that same experience!
EuroShop - All items for 1 Euro located in Italy, Bulgaria and Switzerland
Euro General-Ireland
Euroland - Netherlands
Tiger - All items under the equivalent of 5 USD located in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Germany and England
Poundland- All items 1-2 pounds located in London, Scotland, Wales
Poundstretcher-All items 1 pound, located in the UK
99 pence stores - located in the UK
Dollar Giant -located in Canada
A buck or two - located in Canada
2 Dollar shop- located throughout New Zealand, maybe Australia too
Tal Lira -located in Malta
*those in blue where added in 2010
Florence, Italy 2006 Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2009
Currency Converters
Oanda.com provides a great one for travelers We create a cheat sheet of all the currency we will use throughout our trip, Just copy and paste into a word document, change the table to text using the tab option and this is what it should look like fold paper to fit into your pocket inconspicuously. This sample has been enlarged, but if you change it to a size 10 font... several countries can fit on one page!
Ordering Money from your bank
We always order currency before we leave overseas
WHY? Because.....
It is flat service of 10 dollars, no matter how small or large nor is there a seperate charge for each currency we order. This will save us quite a bit in ATM service fees
Check with your bank to see if this is an option for you!
Christmas Island 2007
Emergency Funds
There are many reasons that you might need emergency funds, all highly unlikely BUT if it happened to us, it can happen to you! Thank goodness we had our American Express card with us! Now we always go to the American Express website before we leave and print out the locations within our itinerary
Worst case scenario you might need money sent to you...
This link tells you what the US Goverment suggests when you are receiving money while you are overseas!
