Bonus Post - Finance/Budget

We're still alive...

Just running a little behind on our blog posts on Sri Lanka. They'll be up when we get the chance, but rather than just updating the blog with the fact that we're actually still surviving, I thought it might be a good idea to give a few tips on how we've tried to make our money stretch as far as possible while travelling. I say I, as it is Stuart posting alone this time (hi!).
This blog is mainly for us to keep a diary to look back on, keep people updated on our whereabouts, and hopefully also to help people get an idea of what travelling entails - so hopefully this post may help people if they're contemplating jetting off themselves. Not always nice to have to worry about money, but small savings on a trip this big can add up, meaning getting to spend an extra week on the road - or just being able to afford a flight home.
Boring intro over, now on to the boring tips - this will be very much focused on what was available to us (based in Dublin), and is not exhaustive, but just the things we're using to save some cash:

Multi-Currency Travel Debit Cards
Exchanging money can be very expensive, as you'll often get a poor exchange rate or commission charged - and carrying around large amounts of cash isn't ideal either. Same fees mentioned can also be applied to using your regular bank cards, which can charge huge amounts per withdrawal at an ATM while also giving a poor exchange rate.
We've set ourselves up with a number of cards that don't charge a commission, and give the current inter-bank exchange rate, giving you the cheapest way of spending money in whatever country you're in. They're also free (for a basic account - which is all we're using), so that helps, and easy to set up via smartphone app. Here's what we have, listed in order of usefulness:

1. Revolut
Revolut is a mobile financial tech company, meaning your account is linked to your smartphone. After an account has been opened, you can apply for for a pre-paid Visa debit card - meaning you top it up with cash in the app using your regular bank card. This cash can then be spent anywhere that takes Visa, or can be used to withdraw cash at an ATM. They have a monthly max allowance of the equivalent of €200 that can be withdrawn at an ATM, before a small % fee is applied to any further ATM withdrawals (i.e. you can take out $225 at a US ATM before a fee would be applied).
What is also quite handy is you can apply for more than one card, so can have backup cards kept safely in your bag. This is handy, as if a card is lost, or stolen/skimmed, it can be cancelled immediately in the app, and you can then begin to use one of the cards you have in reserve (all cards are linked to same account). You can also apply for a replacement card, which can be sent anywhere in the world (for a fee).
*Note - they give a slightly lower exchange rate on weekends, so if possible it's best to withdraw Monday-Friday (during UK office hours).

TL;DR - it's just a handy multi-currency card, can pay anywhere that accepts Visa, and allows you to withdraw a max of €200 per calendar month at an ATM.

Get it here: https://revolut.com/r/stuartzp

2. Curve
Curve offers similar perks to Revolut, in that it doesn't charge a commission, nor fees to withdraw money at an ATM. The MasterCard card they offer however works very differently - you have to link it to other cards you have in your wallet in order for it to work. The best thing to do is to link it to your Revolut card (or N26 card, which I will explain next). This means any transaction you make will be charged to your linked card - Curve is basically just a gateway (i.e., if you pay for a $2.50 coffee in the US using your Curve card, €2.20 will be charged to your Revolut card - payment will show as Crv*coffee shop).
What's the point of this? Curve allows you to add a number of cards to your Curve account, so you can choose which card in the app you'd like to be charged before using it. Some people may find this handy, as it allows you to leave a number of cards at home, and only carry your Curve card. I haven't used it for this purpose - what I find best about it is it allows you to withdraw cash at an ATM at a max allowance of the equivalent of £200 per month fee free. This is very handy in countries (such as India and Sri Lanka!!) where cash is king, so doubling your ATM withdrawal allowance with both cards per month is very handy.
Curve is a handy card, however it requires a Revolut or N26 card to work at its best.

TL;DR - Card that must be linked to Revolut or N26, but allows you to withdraw a max of £200 per rolling month (30 days) at an ATM.

Get it here: https://curve.page.link/VxTE - Use code S2RFQ when signing up

3. N26
N26 is a fully licensed German bank, so this makes it different from the previously mentioned cards, in that you apply for a full current account in a bank. It offers the same commission/exchange/fees perks, however its MasterCard doesn't allow for any free ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies (Curve allows you to get around this! Curve transactions at an ATM show up as an online transaction, rather than an ATM withdrawal). I have had a couple of times while travelling that N26 has proven to be a very handy backup, as Revolut hasn't been accepted at card terminal - N26 was accepted both times (I think it's something to do with it being linked to an actual bank account). I was also able to link it to foreign apps (for taxis etc.), and websites, that wouldn't accept Revolut.
I've also read that it may be better to use N26 on the weekend, when Revolut give you the slightly lower rate than they do Monday-Friday.

TL;DR - Full bank account, handy backup card, only pay at POS terminal (no free ATM withdrawals).

Get it here: https://n26.com/r/stuartd9912 - Use code stuartd9912 when signing up


Cashback Websites/Codes
Does what it says on the tin - using cashback websites or codes when booking accommodation can help soften the blow, especially when splashing out for a treat or staying in an expensive country.

1. TopCashback
TopCashback is a UK based cashback website, where you can search for various websites and see if they offer cashback when using TopCashback's referral link. We're generally staying in hostels and using Hostelworld to book our accommodation. When booking here, if using the TopCashback link (here), you get 42% of your deposit paid back as cashback (usually a month or two after your stay). This is averaging out for us at about 50c per person per night, so we get €1 back per day. Over a year that's €365 back to us, just for a few extra clicks. It's fairly straightforward, and essentially free (they take £5 per year of the cashback you get for your membership fee - if you don't earn you don't pay). Once you've accumulated some cash, you can get it paid out for free to either your Revolut account, or to PayPal.
Note: when using Hostelworld, take advantage of the free cancellation policy if changing your plans.

Get it here: https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/studuffy

2. Booking.com Codes
Booking.com is our secondary booking website, and can often offer some pretty handy cashback codes/referral links. Again, this is paid back to the card used for booking (Revolut again best, as cashback reward can be in various currencies), a month or two after completing your stay. The T&C's are confusing as to the max amount of times a reward can be obtained, but I've used various codes on my account and gotten a reward out of it. Each code can only be used once per account, so get sharing your various codes with your friends (different accounts get different rewards that might be better, depending on the cost of booking) - such as:

https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/s70duf61 - €15 Cashback when using this link/code, minimum spend of €30 (or currency equivalent)

https://www.booking.com/s/11_6/c8dceec2 - 10% Cashback when using this link/code, minimum spend of €10 (or currency equivalent).

You can find other codes online too if required, a Google search of "Booking.com referral codes Reddit" will usually get you what you're looking for. Our most recent booking using this meant our night in a 5* hotel in Chennai cost €33.50, rather than the €50 it was supposed to cost (code was CAD$25 cashback on minimum CAD$50 spend).

Checking Flight Prices
When travelling on a trip this big, it's safe to say flights will be a large part of the total expenditure. Again, savings can be made if booking flights at the right time:

1. Skyscanner
Skyscanner is fairly common knowledge now, and is a general flight price comparison website. Other similar websites include Google Flights, Kayak, Expedia, etc. etc. Best use for Skyscanner is to use the "Whole month" option - this allows you to tweak your travel date slightly if a cheaper option is available close to the time you want to fly. You can also use the "Cheapest month" option, which will allow you to see what the cheapest possible flight that year is (at time of searching), and you can then compare the prices per month and see if you should wait - or if your search is near the cheapest price, you can go ahead and book.
They also offer flight notifications, which will alert you whenever the price of a saved flight increases or decreases via e-mail.

2. Hopper
Hopper is an app we've been using which takes the "flight notifications" aspect of Skyscanner up a level. It uses AI to predict whether the price of a flight is likely to go up, down, or stay the same. So if you've a flight search saved with them, the app will tell you whether you should wait, or book now. Handy to have, and takes some of the guesswork out of booking a cheap flight.


Think that's just about it. Would also give a shout-out to the way myself and Dani have conducted our budget - we saved together beforehand, and have a "pay-day" each month, which allows us to see how much money under (or over)-budget we are. All money is joint, so no arguments whatsoever. Imagine!

So there's my first attempt at earning some incentive/reward/money for blogging, click my links and give me money please.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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