3 APPS YOU NEED FOR TRAVEL BUDGETING
The apps I share in this post will help you save money during your travels. Watch the video for more in depth explanation.
The KEY to being able to sustain a traveling lifestyle is becoming an expert at budgeting, and I believe I have reached this level of mastery.
These are three apps that have helped me save money and keep track of my spendings over the years. The less you spend, the more you can travel – its that simple. The key is to get very good at making money last, and these apps have been indispensable in my life for over 6 years. So here they are, use them wisely, they are your best travel buddy!
Apps To Help You Save Money
WISE
Transferwise, recently re-branded and is now called WISE.
If you spend much of the year in countries with different currencies than that of your own bank account, then you are familiar with those PAINFUL currency exchange and foreign transaction fees. On top of the often unavoidable ATM fees, currency exchange fees can add up to a significant amount of cash that could have been better spent on beer or delicious food.
My traveling life changed the day I got my shiny neon green TransferWise card in the mail.
By the way, this is not a paid ad post (I wish) – I genuinely love these apps.
What is TransferWise? You may know it as the service used to send money internationally for a very low cost. BUT it is also a borderless account that lets you spend money anywhere in the world at the real exchange rate. It has the lowest conversion fees and zero transaction fees.
Here's the breakdown:
- It’s a Mastercard debit card
- It allows you to change your money into 50+ currencies inside of the app in a matter of seconds, at the real time exchange rate.
EXAMPLE: So if you have all your money in Euros but you are in Mexico, you can log into the app and quickly switch some money into your “Mexican Pesos Wallet.” Next time you pay, the account automatically recognizes the country you are in, pays with the national currency, and will not charge you for currency exchange rate because your money is already in pesos. Its brilliant! - Free ATM withdrawals up to $350 a month.
- Free to open the account.
Unfortunately, at the moment you can only sign up for this account if you have a permanent address in the European Union, the United States, UK, Australia, New Zealnd, Japan and Singapore. However, they are quickly expanding worldwide so keep an eye open.
I highly recommend this card to US citizens since US banks are brutal with their foreign transaction fees – I say this from experience. Sign up for TransferWise and stop wasting money in avoidable fees!
SPENDEE
The key to making money last is BUDGETING. Impossible to stress this enough. It may take a bit of planning, but after you get into the grove of budgeting your trips before they happen, you will find that your money lasts longer.
I have been using this app for over 6 years. When I was a student I used it for everyday life, trying to stretch the bills as much as possible. Now, I mostly use it when I travel.
You can set up your own categories, color coordinate them and set up a specific budget for your trip. This way, you can break down how much you are “allowed” to spend each day and keep yourself in check. With a super user friendly interface, Spendee creates graphs and you can easily see how far away you are from reaching or overshooting your budget.
SETTLE UP - Traveling in Groups
This app is a game changer when traveling with groups. You know that uncomfortable “I pay this time, you got the next one” dynamic that often self-institutes itself when you are traveling with friends? Then a few days go by and you are pretty sure you have been paying more than everybody else. We need NONE of that! Good friendships are too precious to let any animosity arise because of a bad bill at the bar. Solution? Settle Up!
How it works? Everybody must download the app and join a group. Then, you simply create an entry for every purchase, including how much you spent, and who you paid for. After many entries, the app optimizes all of the spendings and calculates who owes who. The updates are synced on everybody’s phone in real time.
Check out their website for a better explanation. This app is not only useful for travel, use it for splitting bills with roommates or any kind of group spending situation.
Photo Gallery of my 2020 Southwest USA road trip: Ghost Towns of Route 66
