| |
When you go to the grocery store, you are casually
asked whether you want to bag your items in paper
or plastic. Then you make the decision whether to
pay with paper (cash) or plastic (debit or
credit cards).
These routine decisions probably take you less
than a second to decide, but what about the
vacation version of the paper or plastic option?
Typically, a credit card
is your best option when traveling. If you lose
the card, or it is stolen- you can make a quick
phone call to your credit card company and stop
your liability for fraudulent charges. Always
carry the customer service phone number of your
credit cards with you, in case you do lose or have
the card stolen so you can quickly call and remedy
the situation. It's also a good idea to travel
with two credit cards, from different banks, in
case of emergencies.
When traveling internationally, a credit card is
an excellent choice as you will not need to deal
with exchanging your cash for the local currency.
A word of caution, however, you will want to
verify whether your credit card is accepted in the
country to which you are traveling, as some cards
are not accepted in all countries. You will also
want to verify ahead of time the cost of using
your card in another country, as some card lenders
impose fees for purchases made in other countries.
On the other hand, ATM withdrawals are often
cheaper despite the cash advance
fee-so you may decide to withdraw cash from a
local ATM while traveling.
Even when not traveling outside the country,
credit cards can make everything so much more
convenient. Renting a car, getting a hotel room
and dining in a restaurant are all perfect
opportunities to swipe your card rather than
counting out cash. Keeping your receipts for each
transaction while on vacation means you have a
record of each activity when you return home. You
can figure out what your vacation cost you, and
better budget for future vacations with that
knowledge. When you spend cash throughout the
trip, it's easy to lose track of how much you're
spending and on what, and who knows if when you
went to pull out the $60 to pay your server for
lunch another $20 fell out of your pocket?
If you are someone who tends to lose control of
their spending, however, using plastic might not
be the best idea for you! If you have to keep to a
strict budget while on vacation, and the use of
credit cards might cause you to overspend, then
obviously go the cash route. A good way to keep
your cash as safe as possible while traveling is
to wear a money belt underneath your clothing, so
that no one knows that it is there. Never wear the
"fanny packs" on the outside of your clothing, as
they make easy targets for pocket pickers and you
are practically inviting them to steal your cash.
It is recommended not to carry all of your
vacation cash on you at once, just in case you do
have a run in with a thief.
If you can determine how much money you can spend
on your vacation, and know that you are able to
stick to that amount while using credit cards, it
is typically a good practice to use plastic for
your vacation expenses. A good rule of thumb is to
have the money saved for your vacation before you
go, even if you plan to use plastic, and then that
is your travel budget.
|
|
