How much money do you feel comfortable having on you?
 

Hello,
Since we don't want to have to find an ATM everyday and the fees from Banks here in Canada are high, how much money do you feel comfortable having in your money belt at one time?

Here is the situation, we are a couple in our mid 30's and are going to be using the neck-pouch wallet for our passport and money.

How much euros would you carry with you? We were thinking $300 each at one time but would this be too much?

Have any of you been pickpocketed? Or had someone try to? I know that usually they try POCKETS but do they ever try for the neck pouch?

Thanks for any and all info.

I am trying to find a bank here with lower fees but the 2 I deal with charge about $5 per ATM transaction abroad.

Thanks

We rarely go out and about (or "out and aboot" as you'd say in Canada) with much more than a few hundred Euros or no more than we'd spend that day. We do maximize what we withdraw from ATM machines but to keep the fees down, we keep the money we don't need for that day in the hotel safe, along with my wife's jewelry.

Typically, we'll take out about 800 Euro and at most, have 200 between the two of us in our wallets.

My husband didn't care for the neckpouch (felt 'heavy' on the neck) however he really likes the 'leg safe' or 'leg stash' that fits around the calf (under slacks or jeans, obviously) and is adjustable via a velcro strap. Very hidden, yet comfortable and accessible.
I still use the waist-style money belt, but I turn it around to the small of my back.
Yes I was pickpocketed on a tram in Amsterdam, however I only had about 30Euro in my little coin purse (they opened my small purse and removed it while I was holding on to the pole). Husband also 'lost' his passport from his jeans pocket in AMS, and has since become a convert for the leg safe.

I feel comfortable carrying 200€ or so in the money belt, and no more than 100€ in my daybag/purse. You could split money between you to reduce the possibility of loss.

Have never had trouble finding an ATM, certainly not in towns of any size.

Through our many years of European travel and taking very long trips, we have established approx. $300 as the usual amount of cash we get each time from the ATM and split between the two of us. If robbed or lost immediately after getting it, that is $150 (not likely we'd both be pickpocketed at once). We can afford that if necessary, and don't feel uncomfortable carrying that much. Normally it works out to be the better part of a week's worth of cash we need, as we charge almost everything.

I have carried thousands in my neck pouch. I know that sounds crazy, but there were times and places where there weren't ATMs around (things are different now), and dollars were a lot easier to deal with than traveler's checks.

My husband and I carry hundreds just on a daily basis, and we work in NYC. We're not the types to go to the ATM for $20, even at home.

In many trips to Europe, including staying in hostels where there's no security, neither I nor anyone in my family has ever been pickpocketed. But we always keep our cash well-hidden and carry only a day's worth of money in a "regular" wallet (and when necessary we sleep with our neck pouches on). We prefer to use cash, since we're much more worried about identity/credit card fraud than a few bucks being stolen.

We went on a trip to Paris with a large group last year (for an event). Several folks were pickpocketed, even one poor woman twice. When I was in Bratislava, a woman entered a store I was in crying that she had just been pickpocketed. My friend thwarted thieves on a bus in Rome (she noticed someone's hand creeping into someone's bag and screamed to alert them). Neighbors were robbed on a night train in Italy. So it happens, but I think if you're vigilant, you decrease your chances of being victimized.

I normally take out 300€ at a time from the ATM machine, and it usually lasts me most of a week. I don't carry any sort of money belt, just a regular purse. The only times I've ever been concerned about theft was once on the metropolitana in Rome when in a crush someone tried to stick his hand in my purse and another passerby shoved him away, and again in Bordeaux when two Roma women harrassed me as I was eating breakfast at a café. They stole my breakfast right off the plate but I wasn't the slightest bit concerned about them getting my purse, as I had it secured to both me and the chair leg of the café table.
If your Canadian bank charges $5 per ATm withdrawal, I'd certainly check around for another bank, unless that's the norm in Canada. My US bank charges me nothing.

Photobear, there is one thing you can do to reduce ATM charges aboard. Scotiabank has a reciprocal agreement with several European banks (plus an American and an Australian bank) that allows you to withdraw funds from their ATMs without incurring the $5 Cdn charge.

I don't have the list in here in front of me, but I know that it includes one bank in the UK, one in Germany, and BNP-Paribas, which has branches all over France. I've used my Scotiabank card at BNP ATMs in France many, many times and have never incurred the $5 Cdn fee.

I am unaware of any other Canadian bank that has this kind of arrangement, but you could call your bank to find out or look into setting up an account with Scotiabank.

I tend to withdraw about €300 at a time when I'm in France. We go through money fairly quickly because we generally pay cash for everything.

Anselm

Never carry more cash than you are comfortable losing. Not that anyone is comfortable being robbed. :-)

In Florence in '94 a lady in our tour had her wallet stolen from her purse in front of the Duomo. She lost a little over $500 in cash. This was money she was going to use to buy leather goods for Christmas gifts. She wailed that her Christmas was now ruined too. I'd define that as carrying more cash than you're comfortable losing. :-(

I get 250euro at a time from an ATM. I put most of it, my passport, extra credit card and ATM card in my velcro leg stash. I'll keep around 100euro on me in my wallet. I can afford to lose 100euro.

I use a money belt because I often travel alone. The 1 & 2 star hotels I use many times don't have a safe available. When alone I can't turn to a friend and say, "OK you'll have to charge everything until we get home."

By the way the point of a money belt is that no one knows you have it. I never, never get into it in where people can see me. My hotel room, in a car and bathrooms are about the only places I access it.

I am willing to carry up to ~$600USD at a time... I split it between a couple places on my person, wallet, purse, and luggage.

I do not like the idea of neck pouch because they are so obvious and uncomfortable (so I've heard, I've never used one) and if heaven-forbid it somehow got lost or fell off you'd lose it all.

If a security feature is desired I'd go with hidden pockets in clothing, leather belt with hidden inside zipper, or traditional money belt.

With two people take ~600 (remember to check w/ your home bank for daily ATM withdrawl limits) and split it between two people, and then split it between two places (i.e., now you have $150 in 4 different places) if pickpocketing is a big fear.

Thanks AnselmAdorne

We deal with Caisse Populaire and a friend of mine is with Royal Bank and both have the fees. I might open a Scotiabank account just for the trip but I can't move my business there are we have a lot.

Thanks for the info. I off to ask at the National Bank if they can do better as there is no Scotiabank handy to me but Bank of Montreal and National are...I off to ask.

I don't feel comfortable walking around with that much cash on me here at home. I certainly wouldn't want to do it in a foreign country where I am preoccupied by looking at sites and not knowing where I am.

When we were in Italy, my husband carried about 100E with him, in small bills in his wallet, which he sometimes put in his front pocket (in places that were a little sketchier). He had one credit card and an ATM card. I had a different credit card and another ATM card. I kept maybe 30E in my purse.

We really only used cash for little things, admissions to places, small souvenirs, quick snacks. We prefer to pay for most everything when we travel by putting it on our credit card. It is simply easier for us and we get some frequent flier miles out of it. We usually only went to the ATM every three days or so.

The ATM fees are incredibly minimal. The banks there usually don't charge a fee, so the only fee comes from your own bank. But another option would be to take out however much you want from the ATM and put most of it in your hotel's safe, keeping out a small amount to take with you.

My wife and I maximize CC usage and rarely have more than the equivalent of $200 in cash and that would be immediately after using the ATM. A week each in London and Paris last November included one trip to the ATM in London and four in Paris and the largest withdrawal was $185 (100 GBP).
We did start the trip with about $50 in each currency left from previous trips.

I wear a folding neck pouch most often worn over my belt and waistband with the pouch inside my trousers. I keep passports, one set of CC and ATM cards in it. Ready cash and another set of CC and ATM cards I keep in a billfold in my buttoned front shirt pocket.

What some orf the responders seem to be forgetting is that you will be using a moneybelt of some sort which, in my opinion, makes carrying a lot of cash more secure. However, I would use a credit card to charge as much as possible (you'll get a better exchange rate usually).

I've only been pickpocketed once in the many times I've traveled: in Barcelona, on the Metro and was not using my moneybelt--never again will I not use one.
I do not think 300 Euros is too much to carry around, provided you carry it around in a secure fashion.

In case I wasn't clear, we carry 2 CC and 2 ATM cards and they are on 4 different accounts. My wife also carries a CC on a fifth account. Yes, I do wear belts and suspenders.

I'm aware of one attempted pickpocketing at the Tuileries Metro station. A passenger got on in front of me, dropped a cigarette pack and stopped abruptly to pick it up. I was banged by his accomplice behind me and in just seconds both exited as the doors closed. Nothing lost because there was nothing to get at.

I try to carry the equivalent of $100 or $150 USD., as does husband or mom when they are with me. Children (regardless of age) have a neck pouch into which goes about 30 GBP or 50 E. Also in the neck pouch: small laminated card with brief itinerary (hotel name, phone, address, dates of stay), my cellphone # for that country, child's passport #, date of birth, and names of those with whom he is traveling. If we're separated, they can reach the hotel, and if they are in an accident, someone can reach us. Overkill? Possibly. Okay, probably.

no, no, you're looking at it wrong ... my comfort level goes down when the dollars go down, and up when I have a pocket full of cash. One cannot be too up, I find.

To Photobear, CIBC charges C$3.00 network fee for ATM overseas withdrew.

Less than $100 in my pocket. When traveling abroad I'll typically start w/$1k or so in various currencies. I always keep a couple of hundred $$ American on me as well.

I used to carry everything in my purse till my last trip when I switched to one of those thin waist bands. Waist band is very comfortable. I will not use a neck pouch, it is too obvious.I use ATM and credit cards all the time but I am one of those people who feel unsafe to rely only on cards! I carry $1000.00 to $1500.00 in traveler checks and one or two thousand US dollars and a few hundered Euro or other currencies in cash, passport, couple of credit cards and ATM card in the waist band. I bring back most of them. I don’t wear tight clothes when I travel so I can easily hide and cover the waist band so the little bulge does not cause suspicion. I also always look for hotels with safe deposit box in the room and if not, I carry this all day with me.
In my small travel purse that I wear in a way that hangs in front of me I mainly carry 50 to 150 Euro for the day, one credit card, and a copy of the front page of my passport. I always have another 20 or 50 Euro in my pocket just in case my purse was snatched so I won't be stranded and can get back to my hotel with dignity.

It's hard for me to understand the security some folks feel with credit cards.

If I get pickpocketed and lose a 100 bucks, that's the end of it.

If someone gets my charge card, it could lead to major trouble. Not to mention being stranded if that's the only source you were counting on. Even if you are reimbursed by the credit card company later on, what a hassle it would cause.

St Cirq, they stole your breakfast right off of your plate? Now that is something to make one pause. Should we be guarding our food now when we dine al fresco, makes for an amusing image.

This thread was so interesting! I think it just goes to show how differently we generally feel about carrying cash.
I'm a cash kind of girl and use credit cards only for internet and major purchases. Most days I walk around with more cash on me than you guys talk about taking on vacation. I never realized I was so abnormal!

We've had to bring over 1200E ("cash payment on arrival, please") for an apt. once. It made DW a little nervous, so we each carried half.

This is an interesting question. I am known for never carrying any cash at home. I have always used my card. I like the convienence of having it pulled right out of my checking account.

I do take some cash while traveling though. I use the local currency for "small purchases" like my daily meals and tips. If I purchase something more expensive I put it on my card.

I think that while I was in the UK I only had about 300 pounds with me. And that was for almost two weeks.

I do use a neck pouch for my passport and one chrge card and the bulk of my cash. If I am wearing a looser fitting shirt I wear it across my chest, like you see some women wearing a pocket book, but under my shirt. It hits under my left arm. It is fine in the winter between my t shirt and over shirt. If it is summer time I wear it in the small of my back or tacked into my skirt or pants. I really do not understand why people think that they are so obvious. It is made of silk and I don't find it uncomfortable.

Usually if I go somewhere that takes credit, I just put it on my card. I use the cash when credit is not available. I hardly ever go over my budget, and I think that keeping track of what comes out of my account helps me do that. If I do decide to purchase or go over my budget and charge something, that is the card that is kept in my neck pouch. That requires me to take a time out and get it. If I have to take the time to do that I usually come to my senses and don't spend it.

I think that the time that pick pokects would try for a neck pouch is if you are reaching into it in full view of the public and they then know that it is there.

I keep the few dollars that I want for purchases in my back pack in the inside zippered pocket. which is also safety pinned.

Marci- Hello from another cash carrier! While I use ATM's often and credit cards only for major expenses my reasoning is you will never be stuck if you have local currency. It's a sure bet.

If I am wearing jeans, I put bigger bills, folded or rolled into my front pocket. If someone has their hand in there, they had better know me rather well! Smaller bills and ones go into a small purse inside my handbag, which always gets carried bandolier-style across my body and in the front.

I carry as much cash as I can bear to part with if it's stolen...this makes me feel much more relaxed! For me in Europe that meant carrying about 250 euros at a time until it was spent.

I can;t believe you guys carry so much cash. We do the same as at home: pay for everything possible with credit cards and never carry more than about $200 in cash each. When it gets down to about $50 we go and get more from the ATM. Meaning we go maybe twice per week.

(Caveat: I also always have about $100 US mad money - but in the hotel - not with me.)

And we don't use any money pouches, secret pockets etc - just regular wallets (mine in my purse - his in his jacket pocket - or front pants pocket. And in more than 60 trips - we've never had any trouble.

We usually withdraw 200 euros at a time and carry it split between the 2 of us. I don't use a money belt or neck pouch, just carry a regular purse. The passports and sometimes extra credit cards stay in the hotel safe. I prefer to carry only what I need when I'm out during the day. Over a 15 year span, I've had 2 unsuccessful pickpocket attempts, one in Paris, another in Italy.

suze,
If you contact the credit card company, they should be able to replace the stolen card while you're traveling, although I agree that you shouldn't rely on any one source of funds. I don't usually carry all of my cards with me, so it'll be only 1 or 2 cards at most that's stolen. You don't have to pay any of the fraudulent charges so I'm not sure what you mean by waiting for reimbursement. Usually a temporary credit gets posted to my account which gets changed to a permanent credit when their investigation is finished. I've never been out any money and have always continued to use my card as usual.

Patty, I understand, but contacting my credit card company from Europe is about the last thing I want to be dealing with on vacation.

The equivalent of $200 is my comfort level when it comes to carrying cash, whether at home or abroad. Any more than that, I start appearing really nervous and shifty-eyed, constantly patting the place on my body where my wallet happens to be. Either the pickpockets will sense this and go for the kill, or the police will arrest me for suspicious behavior.
So, I continue to dwell with the $200- or-less crowd.

"Too obvious" or not, has anyone ever heard of someone having money/valuables stolen out of a neck pouch while it was around someone's neck?

The breakfast off the plate doesn't surprise me..obviously the food must have looked pretty good or the thieves were really hungry...the starving will eat anything.

This is a really interesting read. So far we have only travelled in Asia but are planning our 1st European trip. We only ever use our credit cards in an emergency as we have been warned about credit card scams. I don't want to arrive home and find a whole lot of purchases and charges I didn't make. I have only read one other post about this, isn't it a problem in Europe?

It can occure in europe - as anyplace else - but it's really quite rare. No reason not to use your credit cards.

And if you're worried about fraudulent use there's no need to wait til you get home to check your account. If you don;t want to take your laptop with you just go to the nearest internet cafe and check your account on-line when you look at your email.

The answer, of course, is to use your credit cards for every purchase, no matter how small, where credit cards are accepted.

Several years ago, there was a strike by the drivers who brought currency to banks. Some people still mistakenly believe this strike only affected ATM's; actually there was a shortage of currency throughout the country. What happened is many businesses dropped their asinine regulations regarding minimum purchases with a credit card and life went on.

The metro takes credit cards for fares as low as a single ride (€1,20) and most moderate restaurants take credit cards. What places do you need cash? Small bistros for a coffee, tabacs for phone cards?

Luckily for me, my bank does not charge for ATM withdrawals so I walk around with no more than €30 at a time and use my credit cards everywhere for everything....

May not, I admit, be practical for you because of the high ATM fees but to me, this is still the best way to handle money while travelling.

$ 500. No pickpocket can get the better of me.

My observation from many money discussion threads is most people tend to do what they do at home. Cash people travel with cash. ATMers continue their every few day withdrawls. Credit card users stick with that. Not right or wrong, I just sense we are mostly creatures of habit.

Having just returned from Tokyo, I carried lots more cash there than in Europe. Taxis were very expensive (typically about $8- $20 per trip) and had to be paid in cash. Most train (or metro) ticket machines preferred cash to my debit card, another cash drain. In Europe we mostly walked everywhere, with a taxi home at the end of a long day. Different places, different cash strategies.

But I must say I didn't mind carrying $400- $500 in cash in Japan. Pickpocketing does not seem to be a problem in that very civilized city.

kwsl,
Regarding your experiences in Japan, I feel the same. I routinely cashed travelers checks for about $500 equivalent in yen, then carried the cash around until used up. There are some places in Tokyo and Yokohama where I would be cautious about pickpockets and thieves, but on the whole, I felt much safer on my travels in most of Japan. Of course, the Japanese habit of carrying relatively large cash wads around while traveling has made the Japanese traveler a target elsewhere, which is unfortunate.
How I miss cities like Kobe and Nagasaki, where you have to really actively do something stupid to be in danger!

VanCity Credit Union out here in BC also charges $3.00 for foreign ATM w/d. I assume that is standard for credit unions.
But look at it this way, what is another $3 when it comes to your comfort level? Or if you are going to get taken. $3...$5... peanuts