No traveller wants to spend her vacation worrying about money, of all things. Here are some tips to smooth that financial path in advance.

1. Take along a no-fee debit or credit card for your shopping, one that doesn’t charge—or at least, not much—for foreign currency conversions. Or use a prepaid shopping card that doesn’t charge fees for loading. Those don’t charge for conversion or interest, and can be replaced for a small fee if lost.

2. When making travel arrangements online, proofread your personal data before clicking the Accept button, and print the confirmation and booking forms afterward. Pay special attention to the spelling of your name on airline tickets—be absolutely certain it’s spelled the same way as on your passport. This way, you can prove that any errors in reservations weren’t at your end, putting the onus on them.

3. Book and arrange everything in advance, including airport parking, even if it’s just before leaving home. It’s always a bit less expensive. And leave a bit earlier, too, to ensure there’s time to run about and pick everything up. Some of those international terminals cover quite a lot of ground.

4. Another thing travellers don’t want to do is fuss over foreign notes while shopping. So familiarise yourself with the host country’s currency in advance, which can prevent costly errors. For comparative rates, find “cheat sheets” online that show prices of common items both at home and there.

5. When exchanging cash, avoid the airport exchange. If saving money on your trip is a priority, avoid the airport everything—restaurants, shops, even the duty free. Places catering for tourists won’t be the cheapest, either, and it’s astonishing what two blocks off the tourism path will save you.

6. Finally, ask for low denominated notes. Counterfeiters prefer to make the ones with higher numbers on them, to maximise their profits, and a tourist probably wouldn’t know the difference if handed one. Besides, that takes care of the “sorry, no change” line used by taxi drivers the world over.

Source: http://www.news.com.au