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| HOW TO MAKE YOUR BUCKS BANG! Want to start a long conversation with any world traveler? Just ask about TIPS or MONEY. Obviously, you'll want to bring some money along on your trip. How much is up to you. The problem is how to bring that money, in what physical form, and how to prepare to carry it around on your body. The Stevens Rule of Smart Bucks is: DON'T BRING CASH! I'm talking about actual currency, scratch, booty, lucre, whether in U.S. or foreign denominations. Your major aim should be to bring as little as possible with you and carry around only a tiny bit as your trip proceeds. Limit yourself to the actual currency needed for small, incidental payments, like subway or taxi fares, a cup of coffee, a glass of ale, etc. Carry your substantial funds in the form of a variety of plastic or non-cash instruments like Credit Cards, ATM cards and Travelers Checks, all of which can be replaced if they are lost or stolen. I once had a tour member tell me somebody broke into her room in Buenos Aires, and stole $800 in cash. My first reaction wasn't just pity, but astonishment! What was she doing lugging $800 around anyway? Would she ever carry that kind of cash to Philadelphia, New York or Miami (and leave it in her room)? Things to bring are your Credit Cards. These are accepted all over the world, and the exchange rate for sums later appearing on your bill are pretty benign, and favorable to you as a traveler. Lose your card any you are liable only for the first $50 illegally charged to it (provided you report its loss promptly). We've been brainwashed into believing we can use our credit cards only for big, important purchases like hip replacements or orthidonture. Baloney! Do you know they have McDonald's and lots of other familiar fast-food restaurants all along the freeways of Europe - and they'll take your card for a Big Mac, Fries and a small Coke? It's true - you'll get a receipt - and they'll never bat an eye! The exchange rate you'll receive by using your credit or ATM cards is excellent - exactly the same as large corporations enjoy on their exchanges of millions of dollars. Smart travelers plan their entire vacation based on the expectation they will use their 'plastic' for all immediate cash requirements. Again: NEVER, EVER change more money than you will need for a day or two - and don't walk around anywhere with large amounts of cash. Carry Traveler's Checks on your person for those periodic cash needs when you can't (or don't believe you can) use your credit cards. Before leaving home, write down the numbers of the checks you purchase (they're FREE from the Auto Club). Give a copy of the numbers to a friend or relative for safekeeping. Stash an additional list in your diary. If the checks get lost, you phone a toll-free number and in 24 hours, sometimes less, your checks can be replaced. Finally: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER change money at a commercial money-changer's window, at airports or train stations, and especially not from those money-changers near Piccadilly Circus! And, in even bigger letters DON'T CHANGE MONEY AT YOUR HOTEL! (The other things to avoid from your hotel room are Long-distance Telephone Calls. The extra charges on your bill will be astonishing and brutal)! TO TIP, OR NOT TO TIP. THAT IS THE QUESTION? This is the other part of that conversation starter mentioned above. Tipping is not something we invented - but as realistic travelers we have to admit the practice exists - it's almost mandatory - so we might as well get used to it, and do it as painlessly as possible. Twenty Percent of the TOTAL bill is the current (UGH!) standard. I have seen folks trying to reduce their exposure to this custom by attempting to subtract the local tax items from the bill and then figure 20% of THAT. Some even use those neat little solar-powered calculators. My advice: compromise. Add 15% to the total bill (that's 10% plus half of 10% in easy math). It looks impressive; you'll be long away before the truth is calculated, and it's probably a good, fair amount anyway. Later on we will try and show how accommodating this tipping mandate affects your tour cost. It's impressive! Use the quick form below to tell us your ideas for enhancing this information, improving our services, or anything else that comes to mind. |
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