AN EXPERT has revealed a “rookie” travel mistake people make with money and it catches everyone out at restaurants abroad.
Budgeting abroad can be tricky, especially if you aren’t familiar with the currency.
It might seem convenient to accept conversion rates from ATM’s to save yourself hassle, but in the long-run, your bank account will suffer.
Instead, Mark Wolters, of Champaign, Illinois, USA, has compiled a list of the biggest budget mistakes travellers make and how to avoid them.
Firstly, travellers must understand exchange rates.
He said: “Knowing the exchange rate will help you realise, oh a £3 coke in England is actually $5 in the US.”
Understanding this will make you stop and assess whether you want to spend that much money on a can of coke.
Perhaps it could be cheaper to stick to water and buy a coke from a supermarket.
But Mark also warned “don’t assume everything is free.”
This tip is aimed at fellow American’s who are used to free refills etc.
However, this “is not a worldwide phenomenon”, he added.
All restaurants in England and Wales are legally required to give customers free tap water.
This came into force in 2010 and was updated in 2014.
However, in Northern Island, there is no such obligation.
Similarly, in Europe there is no law that requires restaurants to serve free tap water so it’s important to make a specific request.
Following this, Mark urged not to exchange money at the airport as you “always get a worse exchange rate”.
The best way to stretch your money as far as possible when abroad, is to use your local bank debit card at a bank ATM, Mark explained.
He continued: “Your bank is probably the one bank that’s trying to not mess you up the most.
“They want to save you the most money so you’ll get a good exchange rate with them and the least number of fees.”
Plus, bank ATM’s tend to have lower fees than private ATM’s, he added.
Mark, who has over 1.9m subscribers on YouTube, said this is “the best budget travel advice you can get”.
