Keeping your money safe during your travels is something that could be a huge concern, especially when traveling to places where theft or pickpocketing is prevalent. Although traveling can be an amazing life-changing experience, it can also be unsafe and sometimes just cruel and unfair.
Protecting your wallet and the money inside is something you really need to focus on while traveling. It doesn’t matter if you are pickpocketed or robbed or perhaps you just misplaced and lost your wallet, this can lead to chaos and turn a fun and enjoyable trip into a horrible one.
Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the case. In this post, I have some great tips and helpful ideas that you can use to protect your wallet and keep your money safe while traveling.
So what is the best way to carry money while traveling?
There are actually a few ways you can go about doing this.
#1. Split up your money
Don’t keep your money all in one place. You should try to keep a mix of cash, credit cards, cheques, etc. in different places. You should never keep all the money you have for your trip on your body all at once. If you were robbed, you lose it all at once. You need to be smart and split up the money and take only what you need for that day.
#2. Use a travel wallet
You may want to consider using a separate travel wallet specifically for travel use only. Most likely you have an everyday wallet that is crammed with things like membership cards, gift cards, coffee cards, etc.. and what will happen is when you start to thin it out for travel, the wallet will be stretched out from all the items that were inside. This will make it easier for items to fall out and get misplaced or lost during travel. So make sure to use a separate travel wallet.
#3. Use a dummy wallet
Pick pocketing is a real thing and unfortunately, it happens far too often. If you are traveling in a place where it is known to have an issue with pickpockets, you can use a dummy wallet. Just pick up an inexpensive wallet that looks like a real one and put small or fake bills inside with a few fake credit cards. Make it look just like the real thing. What this will do is prevent the thieves from getting the real wallet and in the event of a real mugging, you can toss the fake one at them while you run away.
#4. Use Money Alternatives
If possible, use money alternatives like bus passes or tickets that are for multi-use purposes. This will minimize the amount of cash you need with you, and lessen the number of times you need to look into your wallet or pocket to pull out cash.
Related: Can you carry your wallet through airport security?
How To Hide Money While Traveling?
There are many travel security products that you can take with you on your travels. Actually, there are tons of travel gadgets in general on the market today. For travel security, stay away from pouches, bags, and wallets that have zero security measures built into them. These are very easy targets for thieves. You need to use something that will actually work. Here are some great options to hide cash on your body while traveling.
#1. Use an Anti-theft travel security belt
You can use an anti-theft security belt to hide your money inside them. They look just like a normal belt but have a zipper inside which you can store money and other items. These belts are a great way to hide your valuables on your body and not worry about them getting stolen.
Available on Amazon here.
#2. Use hidden pockets
These are great as you can just sew them into the inside of your pants and use them to hide cash, passports and other valuable. They stay hidden from thieves as they are underneath your clothing.
You can get these on Amazon here.
#3. Use an undercover leg wallet
Easy access and more comfortable than a bulky money belt around your waist. Protect your personal information, credit cards and passport with the included RFID Blocking Sleeves.
You can get these on Amazon here.
#4. Use a wrist wallet
These are really affordable option for securing your cash and other valuables. RFID-Blocking Wrist Wallet. Protects Against Identity Theft and Perfect for Travel.
You can get one on Amazon here.
Some other on body storage options for keeping money safe:
#1. Neck Wallets
Neck wallets are a bit easier to hide than a money belt. They will normally hang down inside your shirt to keep your valuables unseen. They work best with shirts and tops that don’t have a low neckline.
#2. Shoulder pouches
These fit over the shoulder and under your armpit to keep valuables close at hand. Some shoulder pouches are designed to be used under your jacket. If possible, look for ones that sit against your skin and can be used with pretty much any clothing. It just provides that added layer of security.
#3. Anti-Theft Wallets
As we know, any wallet can be an attractive target for pickpockets. You are even more of a target if you store your wallet in a back pocket or loose clothing. To keep thieves out of your money, look at getting an Anti-Theft wallet designed specifically for travel.
What Is The Best RFID Blocking Wallet?
According to Slate.com:
RFID-blocking wallets are designed to help insulate you from a very particular brand of electronic pickpocketing, called RFID skimming. The concern is that some credit cards, passports, and driver’s licenses now come with embedded radio frequency identification chips. When activated by an RFID reader, these chips transmit certain types of information wirelessly, so that you can verify your identity or even make a purchase without swiping your card. The downside: Anyone with an RFID reader can activate those chips and pick up whatever information they’re designed to transmit. And, if they’re sneaky about it, they can do it without your knowledge.
So do you NEED an RFID Blocking Wallet? No.
Should you get one? Yes.
RFID Wallets on Amazon here.
In Summary
Keeping your wallet and money safe while you are traveling should be taken seriously. It’s something that you and your family should plan in advance before you travel. Hopefully, I have given you some good advice and a few solid options to help you decide how you plan to protect your money and keep it safe during your next vacation.
Thanks for reading!