The One Where We Ran Out Of Money Overseas | Life Love and Hiccups: The One Where We Ran Out Of Money Overseas
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Wednesday 3 December 2014

The One Where We Ran Out Of Money Overseas

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***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR ENTERING***

Congratulations to: Cranky Caroline
"My biggest tip is to stress less if things go wrong - because something always does! If you accept the error and relax, take it with a grain of salt and continue having fun, you not only have an awesome holiday you show your kids how to accept problems with grace :)"


Brought to you by Cash Passport™ PrepaidMasterCard®

I am terrible at budgeting when I go on holidays. I tend to let the holiday go to my head and I spend like I am loaded… which for the record, I am SO not.

The first time my hubby and I went overseas together I was 19. We planned ourselves a young lovers type of romantic getaway to a Fiji Island and we didn't put a lot of thought into how much we actually had to spend whilst we were there.

We had a fabulous time and totally lived it up charging everything back to our room including cocktails and massages, extravagant seafood dinners and odd little wood carvings that cost a bomb from the souvenir shop.

Yeah, we were total novices.

On day 10 of our holiday (two days before we were due to leave the island) we decided we should probably go and whack some money on our room bill so that we didn't get any nasty surprises at check out time. What we didn't expect was to get the nasty surprise quite so soon.

It seemed that we had spent pretty much all of our money and had Jack Squat left.


We didn't have credit cards, nor did we have access to our bank accounts. All we had was a pile of travellers cheques that once we fixed up our bill, left us with enough to pay our departure tax and and buy breakfast the next day.

Luckily for us, we didn't had to worry about dinner on the last night as we had been invited by one of the staff to join his family for a traditional Fijian dinner and kava session… which despite the fact that there were feathers still sticking out of the chicken and the feet still attached to the chicken’s legs, it tasted better than anything we had ever eaten. It's funny how the prospect of being stuck in another country with no money can make you suddenly ravishingly hungry.

As we sat in the airport waiting for our flight home, we shared a can of coke because we only had enough money left to buy one can. Talk about a sad state to end such an awesome holiday in.

We have since become much smarter about our money when travelling. We make a budget and we stick to our budget… but we also have a back up plan.


In two week’s I am travelling to Dubai (I know pinch me, I still can’t believe this is really happening) and I have to admit I am a little nervous about being tempted to spend without my hubby there to give me ‘The look’.

You know … ‘The Look’ !

It’s the one he gives me whenever I accidentally buy something when I am browsing the online stores at night.

‘The Look’ that says “do you really need yet another Kaftan or purse or pair of sandals Sonia”.

‘The Look’  that I would most likely choose to ignore but would at least get me thinking about what I am spending.

Anyway I have decided to take the Cash Passport that I told you about a couple of weeks ago with me. Apart from the fact I can set a budget and *ahem* possibly even control my spending, the cash card also has the following added benefits whilst I am travelling

1.    I can use my card to shop online and book ahead for things online as we as to pay in store or over the counter. There is absolutely no need for me to carry large wads of money me with me (bahaha like I even have large wads to take)

2.    I can withdraw foreign currencies from international ATMS without paying an international ATM fee on my withdrawal (note to self: double check that the ATM providers don't charge though)

3.    My Cash Passport is CHIP & PIN protected which means I have more options as far as having my card accepted by merchants.

4.    I can view my transaction history via my online account, and keep a check on where my card has been used and how much I am spending.

5.    My Cash Passport is reloadable meaning if I spend more than I have budgeted for, I can simply top up my funds via my online account / and Bpay.

6.    If I am lucky enough to travel to any other country in the future, I don't need to order another card. It’s just a matter of reloading my Cash Passport with any of the 10 available currencies and I can lock in a foreign exchange rate at a time when it is most competitive.

7.    I can continue to use my Cash Passport when I come home for even more shopping online - both locally or overseas. I hear from some of you guys that the online shopping in the UK is pretty darn good.

For the WIN people!

If you too are interested in getting a Cash Passport for some travel you are planning or to shop online, well you are in luck because it is super doper easy.

Simply head over to the Cash Passport website, fillout the online application form, and your card will arrive within 5 business days.


Now how would you like to win a Cash Passport pre-loaded with $100 USD – all yours to spend how you like? Shopping online, travelling overseas… yours to do what you will.

All you need to do to enter is tell me ;

What's your number 1 travel tip?
It could be to do something before you go or something to remember whilst you are travelling.

Then follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget below to be in with a chance to win.

Competition is open to Australian Residents only and is open now and 
closes 15/12/14 at 7.00pm AEST
The winner will be announced on this post and contacted via email.