July 9, 2010
First things first/ Money money money
Well, I guess, before anything starts, you have to choose where you’re going! Then you can think about moolah.
My personal favourites would have to be:
New York City
Tokyo/ Japan in general
Vienna and Austria
Loire Valley, France
South Africa.
But of course, there are many things one has to consider:
Where do you want to go? Why do you want to go? Do you want to go with someone? Does this person know? Well why haven’t you told them yet?
Also: what does going on holiday mean to you?
Today’s blog will focus on Money!:
One’s budget will be determined by where you’re going. Think of the country, figure out the basic cost of things you’ll need. For example, I recently went on holiday to NYC for a month. I budgeted myself $100 per day. I kept this figure in my head and mentally added up my purchases throughout the day: food, clothing, souvenirs and transport issues that arose from my inability to figure out the difference between uptown and downtown subways. My accommodation was a different payment, but your situation may be different.
Who you’re travelling with will drastically alter this price. I tended to get by on breakfast from the person I was staying at (Raisin bran for life), a cup or two of coffee and a pretzel from a street vendor close to a theatre per day. If you’re travelling in a group, or in a hotel where no food is provided, you will probably eat and spend more. Being on holiday, especially in cheap places or awesome places will cause your shopping budget to increase a bit.
In short: be very realistic with yourself. Figure out what you’re going to be doing, budget for it.
ALSO: Always put in more money than you think you will need. An extra few hundred will definitely help if you get an eye infection and run to the chemist, on to find that the US are incredibly annoying about giving out antibiotics without a prescription and you’re forced to have an uninsured doctor’s visit to get something ’cause your eye hurts. Travel insurance helps, but you’ll have to pay the money for the doctor’s visit upfront; reimbursement comes when you get back home.
Exchanging money:
Start watching the foreign currency markets early. Look at how things are going. Also, go to your bank and discuss options. Just discuss. DISCUSS. Figure out exactly what will work for you (many banks now offer a debit credit card where a lump sum is put on it in a foreign currency) and set it up so all you have to do next is walk in and ask them to set it on up for you. Then keep watching the currency market. See a report with a good exchange rate? Run like hell to the bank and set things up.
I am not a huge fan of currency exchanges at airports (rip-off!) and such; best have traveller’s checks or money exchanged already in cash or on a debit card. You never know what may happen with the markets.
Now, the best way to be a smart traveller is to do your research. In New York, people spend hundreds for Broadway show tickets, but there are tickets for as low as $20! Many Broadway shows have lotteries for tickets a couple of hours before a show starts on any given night. Anyone can put their name in the hat and join other excited participants hoping to have their names drawn out. The Wicked lottery is an experience; hundreds can turn up and put their names in, only to have one family get 6 of the 26 available tickets. My tip for the Wicked lottery? Befriend large-ish groups. They will each have their name in with the chance to win 2 tickets each. If only some of them win, they may choose to give up their tickets to the friendly foreigner they just met in the queue. Booyah. There are also half price ticket booths in many locations. There are so many shows that most shows are begging to sell tickets. But some shows are so insanely popular that they sell out early. Some may sell standing room tickets, some will have very cheap tickets which are “partial view” (on the severe left and right of the audience); generally not bad, except for the one time a fire hydrant blocked my view of a third of the stage.
Enough of my rambling, my point is: there are ways to get things cheaply, and the best way to figure these out are to trawl the internet or befriend locals with similar interests to yours.
Shopping, DOs and DON’Ts:
There is NOT something similar like that at home, so get it. Now.
Carrying something fragile home is NOT a good idea. If it breaks, your heart will break with it.
Do NOT be afraid of buying something a little unusual
Little pictures and art pieces by local artists bought at street markets can be a great way to decorate your home.
Keep packing your suitcase during your stay. If you can’t fit everything in your suitcase on the way home and you don’t have any cardboard boxes at your disposal, you’re stuffed.
Do NOT be afraid of buying large numbers of little souvenirs. You will inevitably forget a close friend (or someone who thinks they’re a close friend) or someone’s birthday will come up soon after you get back and you’ll have a little extra thing to add to their present. Oh, and don’t be afraid to shop around for souvenirs, as different stores will be selling practically the same thing for different amounts of money. I thought I hit the jackpot when I found $1 NYC keyrings, then the owner of the shop (a charming man who boasted that he had “Two wife and girlfriend!”) insisted I stay in New York and be his girlfriend. Win some, lose some…
DO NOT BUY YOUR TRAVELLING SECOND COUSIN POPCORN. SHE WILL INEVITABLY GET ANGRY ABOUT THE GODDAMN POPCORN AT 3 DIFFERENT AIRPORTS. ESPECIALLY IF SHE’S GOING HOME TO AUSTRALIA, LAND OF QUARANTINE AND “You can’t bring those seeds in, sweetie, people make drugs from those. You’re six, so I’ll let you off with a warning.”
Ahem
I enjoy buying random stuff at the tourist locations I go to. I do not regret the “Mark Twain for President” Badge from the Mark Twain house giftshop, and it’s always nice to say you bought Huckleberry Finn from the place where the author wrote it or somesuch. Not only are you buying something that will help you remember your visit, you will get a stylish, unique bag to carry random things around in once you get home, or to present birthday presents in.
If you are a lover of art and culture, you really need to include museum entrance fees in your budget. Museums are a wonderful way to learn about the local culture, and big places like Tokyo are likely to have something odd, like a Parasitological Museum (it’s in Meguro) that you MUST go to (assuming you’re a bio nerd like me).
A note about food: even if you’re a small eater, being in a foreign country means that finding things out about your surroundings may very well include buying and eating them. You’ll most likely come across something strange you must try; maybe amazing things, like apple cider donuts, or terrible, like octopus icecream (with octopus bits included). If you’re staying with Japanese relatives, taking home strange food you’ve found at the end of the day is a good way of showing your appreciation for their hospitality. Again, budget it depending on your situation.
In short: THINK. PLAN. STAY AWAY FROM CHEAP KEYRINGS, POPCORN AND OCTOPUS ICECREAM.
Over and out. Leave a comment with any feedback or questions if you’d like, and please suggest topics for me to cover next.
