So I've read that a money belt is a must. I'm just a little confused. You are suppose to wear it around your waist under your clothes, right? So how do you get out cash when buying something? Just reach under your shirt and pull out some money? Thanks in advance.

I have never and will never use a money belt because i think they are absurd devices. Just carry the cash you will need and whatever you usually carry/need in your home country.

If you do decide to use a money belt, keep a small amount of cash on hand and if you need a larger amount (which, with credit cards and bank cards should not be the case), go to a bathroom and take it out. Just don't do it in plain sight or you defeat the purpose.

I find it more convenient to take only what I need for the day (one credit card or ATM card, just a bit of cash) and tuck it (NO wallet) into a very deep front pocket or inside zipper pocket if the weather calls for a jacket.

You can also find slacks/skirts (even a half slip) with secure zipper pockets nowadays.

I am sold on money belts since the incident on the city bus in Florence when my husband was pick pocketed. He had cash for the day as well as a credit card and ATM card stashed in a deep side pocket that was both zippered and velcroed. The bus was crowded and he was standing but never felt any jostling, etc. His passport, other documents and additional cash were safe and untouched in a money belt under his clothes. We now know it is naive to think that a professional thief will be deterred by a zipper. We called the credit card company within an hour of the theft and the the thief had already charged $2500.00 against the card.

Now this may be a dumb question -

where can I buy a secure, good quality money belt?

Consider the 'money belt' a document safe! Paranoid? good reasons. Suggestion, make copies of tickets, passports, credit/debit cards, telephone numbers and medical information. Carry one set and give a set to another in the group. Lose a passport? You need to travel to the country embassy or consulate. They have limited hours, no weekends! What do you do if your money is also missing? The discomfort of a 'money belt' is worth its value.

Get a good one and use it. Better to be safe than sorry in a strange, far away place.

Where to buy one? My sister bought mine, and I suspect she found it at our local luggage store.

You can also buy one at www.magellan.com, like this one:
http://tinyurl.com/p7xl7

Having been a victim of a purse snatcher in Barcelona, I definitely will never travel without a money belt. (My purse contained only an expensive digital camera. My credit card and passport were safely tucked in a money belt.)

Ah, what price to be cool, laclaire.

Nothing convinced me of the value of a money belt like holding hands with someone I didn't know when my hand was in my pocket. I was on the metro in Rome and they apparently thought I had something of value in there.

did you break the bastard's hand? I would have...

Dee - you make an excellent point about how quickly a thief will charge against your card. I do always carry the credit card phone numbers on the trip with me, but usually leave that info back at the hotel. Now I will always carry those numbers with me (separate from the cards of course) so I can call immediately if a card is lost or stolen.

To answer laclaire's comment - in my home country I don't carry a passport, my bank has branches all over the place and getting replaced credit cards is much easier than when you are far away.

I have never been pickpocked, but I'm smart enough to know it can happen anywhere, to anyone. Money belts are just not that uncomfortable to bother taking a risk.

My husband and I now use a 'leg stash' because we travel in cool weather and always have full-length pants/jeans/slacks on... more comfortable and still accessible if need be.

Money belts are widely available in any luggage section. You can pay more at a travel store or you can just go to Target or Walmart.
There are a few different styles, they can strap around your waist, strap around your ankle, hang around your neck or loop unto your belt.
Personally, I don't like the ones that go around the neck. It seems like it would be uncomfortable and for the truly paranoid, if someone grabs it from your neck it could hurt. I just feel more secure using a money belt.
My husband, like laclaire, wouldn't even consider it. Neither of us have ever had a problem. I might add though, that my hubby has more clothes with deep pockets with zippers inside.
We did pick up a good tip on this board: We each carry a credit card and an ATM card from a different bank. If something happens to one person's cards, it doesn't effect both of us.

Hot off the press, right here on Fodors forum!
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34789404

I find that I can keep a small pouch (flat wallet type) with my passport and important docs in my cleavage

Seriously! No one is going in there without me knowing it, and it doesn't bother at all after the first couple of minutes. Inside the bra, to the left side of the left breast -- it doesn't move in the slightest, and doesn't show. Make sure to have a waterproof pouch, though, due to sweat

Like GSteed, I wear my money belt as a "safe" to keep my passport, extra credit card, airline tickets (e-ticket for my next trip) extra cash, and anything else I can't afford to loose. For the day I keep a minimal amount in my wallet, which I carry in my jacket pocket or purse. I normally wear the money belt on the backside, rather. Much more comfortable than on the front/belly side. I wear tops that don't need to be tucked in, so it's not noticable at all.

Monica

darnturkie, No! You do not access your moneybelt during the day. It stays under your clothes at all times. digging around in it totally defeats the purpose.

Carry enough cash for the day somewhere else, in your pocket, daypack, coin purse, purse (not sure if you are male or female).

www.travelsmith.com offers 5 styles: traditional waist money belt, leg safe, neck pouch, hidden pocket worn on your belt flipped to the inside of pants, and arm safe.

I use the over the neck style, to the side... and it rides just above my belt line, under my arm but lower than armpit.
This is UNDER all clothes (except Bra).. not on top!
I never notice it is on, and the most difficult thing is to remember to put it on before you put on your tops!
I do need to go to a restroom to get more money/a different CC etc but usually does not happen). I keep small amount of "running" money and perhaps 1 cc in purse. If I do not think I will need CC I put it in neck wallet.

I do as Monica does -- wear my moneybelt in the back, kind of right there in the small of my back. For me it works a lot better than front or side. I can even access it to get out a credit car with just a brief surreptitious (sp?) behind-my-back movement of one hand. Otherwise I carry just cash for the day in a tiny zippered pocket, attached to the inside of a pocket with either a pin or a cord. My biggest problem is how to carry my railpass without it getting so ratty.

If people want to use money belts to carry around small amounts of cash and a credit card, fine. But passports and other hard-to-replace-while-traveling-items of value are not secure in money belts or anywhere on your person.

They should be left locked up in the hotel safe.