Taking Short Breaks and Cheapest Way to Get Money Overseas

Hari Raya holiday is coming up and there is a long weekend if your company is having a 5-day work week. There should be a day off in lieu since Hari Raya falls on a Saturday. This is the time when people can take a day off and go for a short break. You can have a spa holiday or a beach holiday.

Now, what is the best method to pay for your expenses overseas? According to a study in The Business Times, using a debit card is the cheapest way to spend money overseas. At the same time, you do not need to carry too much cash with you.

Changing money is a little expensive when you factor in brokerage charges, and if you have large amount of cash left over, unless of course the currency movement within a week or two is significant enough for you and you can even make a little money from the movement. Especially when you go for spa holidays, sometimes you need to have cash with you to pay the masseurs that give you a great massage. So, we still need to carry cash with us.

Using credit cards to sign for purchases is slightly more expensive than using debit cards to withdraw cash. There are many ATMs you can withdraw money from, but cash advances are quite expensive if you are using your credit card to withdraw money. Hence, it is still cheaper to use credit cards if you do not plan to use ATMs. In addition, like what I love to stress, you get to earn points. In fact, some of the credit cards that offer air miles give better rates when you charge to your card from overseas.

Travellers’ Cheques are one of the more expensive options, as many people only use four-fifths of the amount they changed, even after five years. That means people are squandering their money away by not using the cheques.

No matter what method you are planning to use when you go overseas, do remember to spend wisely. If not, you will be saddled with a big bill when you return. To save even more money, you may wish to check out some of the cheaper flights around. Short weekend breaks really do wonders to your motivational level.

Sarah Tan – SingaporeProfit.com