Traveling abroad is one of those experiences that every person should have at some point in their life. Whether you’ve just graduated university and are heading out for a gap year before getting a job, or are looking for an adventure later in life, traveling can really expand your mind and heart in ways you would never imagine. You’ll meet people and have experiences that you just couldn’t do any other way.
But before you go traveling, it’s important to think about things like finances and prepare those to make sure you’ll have plenty of funds while you’re away. Saving up money before and having plenty on hand will ensure that you don’t have any financial emergencies while on the road. But even the most prepared of people will run into a situation where they just don’t have the money they need. Maybe your wallet gets stolen, an incident that is unfortunately rather common among travelers. If this or something like this happens to you, don’t worry: you’re far from the only one, and there are plenty of ways to remedy the situation.
Money transfer
If you run out of money while abroad for whatever reason, you can get an international money transfer from home to cover you. You can learn about Trans-Fast for more info on international money transfers. You may be wondering the obvious question: how much does it cost to wire money internationally? Well there can be two types of fees: fees for the transaction, and the exchange rate between your home currency and the currency of the country you’re in.
Transaction fees
Transaction fees may occur for the sender, the recipient, or both. Usually, there will be fees on both ends of the transaction. Many providers will try to hide these costs to make their service look more attractive so make sure you really understand what you’ll be paying before you make the transaction.
Exchange rate
This is a big hidden cost when it comes to international money transfers. Many companies will say that they are “commission free”, which obviously sounds good! They don’t charge anything for their service then, right?! Wrong. If a company claims to be commission free, they are probably loading the exchange rate so that you’re actually going to get less for your money than you should get.
Bank transfer
Another way to transfer money that can be a lot less expensive is through a bank transfer. If both you and the sender open the same bank account (it has to be in the country you’re in) then you won’t have to pay any of the fees associated with an international bank transfer. So look at the pros and cons, and if it makes financial sense to open a new bank account just to make the transfer, then this is an option for you.
