Le Monde Entier [#606]
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Le Monde Entier [#606]

Heading to England any time soon? No doubt you’ll have been crying into your socks about the exchange rate, because frankly it’s horrid. We’re basically halving our money, and how are we seriously supposed to afford all of the Guinness and steak and ale pies with that amount of money!? (Hint- head north, it’s so much cheaper than London!). When you’re travelling abroad it can be one of the last things you think about organising, after the flights and things you’re going to do, so I’m here to give you the low down.
How I take money with me abroad
Easy, the same way I always have actually, and it’s using the Cash Passport Multi Currency Card. When I first started travelling, they had a different card for different currencies but have now combined them all onto one card which is awesome. So if you’re travelling around the word, you can load pounds, euros and dollars onto one card all in one go. Not only do you get the rate of the day (so make sure to follow the exchange rate and choose a good time to load on), but it stays as this loaded rate even if the currency falls the next day.
Another benefit is there are no charges to use the card as an eftpos card when you’re out or at an ATM. The only ATM charges you’ll receive are the ones that come from the particular ATM itself, which basically means you’ll always have some small charge but the difference in using this to your normal bank card is you’re only being charged the one fee and not from your bank as well.
Tips of the trade
· Try loading a big sum at once – you get charged around a 1 per cent loading fee so the more transactions you do, the more you’ll end up paying. You’ll also probably pay your travel agent a small commission if you load with them every time as well, so try to eliminate that.
· Follow the exchange rate. You can use websites like Travelex to track them and receive email updates.
· Don’t take out a lot of small sums at ATMs and get charged every time. Take our larger sums, but obviously keep your money safe, whether it be in a safe in your hotel room or in a money wallet on your body.
Where can I get one of these currency cards?
Any travel agent should be able to supply you with one, but you can also buy them online and have it posted out.
By Madelin Baldwin / lemondeentier.net