Category Archives: Travel

Money When Travelling

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Wise Money App for Your Travels

If you are planning some overseas travel in the future, you might consider signing up for a WISE account.

WISE is not a Bank, but an international money system with a Visa Debit card. The card has a micro-chip and works as a contact-less payment card. Just wave it near the payment terminal presented to you when making a purchase.  You can load almost any foreign currency onto the card and the exchange rates are way better than Visa/Mastercard or Bank rates. You load the card initially with Aussie dollars, and convert however much you want to spend in the foreign currency using the app on your phone. You will need internet or Mobile Data at the time of transfer. Easy.

I travelled recently to USA and relied heavily on my Wise card for shopping, sightseeing and transport. It worked better than I expected.

 

Some benefits are

  1. the great exchange rates and no MCD/Visa 3% rate surcharge,
  2. being able to choose almost any currency,
  3. paying very small charges.

There is a $10 fee for your physical Wise card, but if you use the affiliate link I have for you below, you will be offered the physical card free.

Here is the link to sign-up and get a free Wise card:-  Sign Up To Wise

Convert Currency

Got Home with Money Left Over

So after your travels, you have some Euros, GB Pounds, Vietnam Dong, Indonesian Rupees, and whatever left on your Wise card.

Easy, using the App just convert the foreign balances back to Aussie dollars and spend the money at Woolworths. Coles, Aldi etc.

 

Before Travelling

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So, You Are Heading Off For a While

Background: At a nearby group of strata units, a recently widowed elderly gentleman, lets name him Harry, headed off on a lovely cruise around Australia.

The cruise was about three weeks.  Whilst gone, one of his neighbours noticed they had not seen him for a couple of weeks and they alerted the local police.

Police visited the home and could not arouse anyone inside, because they were gone for three weeks.

Then the concerned police broke down the front door of the unit and discovered that it was vacant and there was some travel information on a table.

Harry arrived home a few days later to find that his home had been invaded by the police, and door had been temporarily fixed.

 

Moral of the Story

This recent story shows how it is important to let your neighbour(s) know when you will be gone travelling, and an approximate return date.

In cases such as this, it is up to the Owner/Resident to repair all damage done when emergency services make a forced entry.

Oh, and don't forget to isolate the water to your Unit. Make sure all un-needed appliances are turned off/unplugged.