Quick post for pre travel info: Take along copies of your passport....also keep them separate from your passport. i didn't bother with a money belt while i was in europe, it has a lot of mixed reviews and i don't like them. so my purse had my passport and i had copies of my passport (2) in my backpack. pretty simple.
ALSO. keep copies of your passport with someone who isn't on your trip; a roommate, parent, friend. someone you trust. also make sure they have access to your online banking if they are paying them for you. For that matter, set up automatic payments while you are gone. But i left my info with my parents JUST in case something would happen, it was 3 months after all. They had my online banking info, my credit card/debit card info, and copies of my passport.
It's just good knowing that you have that stuff if something were to happen.
PS. Let your bank know that you are leaving the country. Travelers checks are pointless now. we all have debit cards. But, your bank will try to close your account if it suddenly turns up with charges from a foreign country. ALSO let your bank know because they may have a sister bank where you are going. For example, I have bank of america. Barclay's is a sister bank to BofA so i could go to any Barclay's ATM and withdraw money without a fee. that was AMAZING because bank fees are expensive AND Barclay's are all over Europe (esp UK).
When I studied abroad, we had an account with a separate bank that linked all of us together for money dispersal at different locations. We also had a budget for the week. I used that account for the budget only, things related to the student side of my trip. A lot of people i traveled with put all of their money into these accounts for use on the entire trip. This might have worked out well except the bank we worked with made an error with a bunch of the account (like 12 out of the 30 people traveling) which caused their money to go away. all of the money they brought with them. so while we were traveling through a bunch of countries for 1-2 weeks, our bank was trying to catch up with them. Needless to say they were very frustrated. Eventually it worked itself out but i felt much better about having money in 2 separate accounts so i wasn't stranded without, and that i hadn't put all of my money with that bank!
Finally, go with a little local money if you can. i mean, it's not a requirement, but for tipping or buying a bus pass it makes things easier. Or find an ATM at the airport but you can find the same rate or better if you go into your local bank before you leave.
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