Spending money on vacation

[corie161]

This may have been addressed before, if so I apologize.

How do you handle your spending money for food, gas, etc while on a vacation? We are taking a trip in June (non disney). I don't really know if Iwant to use cash for all of these items but don't want to necessarily use a debit card either for various reasons. (holds placed on by gas stations, possiblity of identity theft from restaurants, etc.)

Are prepaid cards a big pain? I read the other thread about partial use of a prepaid, but wondered otherwise. Is there a fee per transaction? I've never used one before.

Any other thoughts or considerations or ideas?

 

[Darcy03231]

I carry a minimal amount of cash and then put everything on a credit card. When I get home I pay off the credit card.

 

[corie161]

I carry a minimal amount of cash and then put everything on a credit card. When I get home I pay off the credit card.

That's an option, I just don't want to get too carried away and have a bigger bill than expected!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

We use a single credit card only for the purpose of the given holiday/vacation. We have some cash, as it's needed for any number of things.

The key is that we go with a budget and keep to that budget. If we have $500 budgeted for dining, then we stick to it and don't go over just because we are using a credit card.

We do not use prepaid cards. We have used traveler's cheques (especially when traveling out of the country).

 

[wall*e2008]

I carry a minimal amount of cash and then put everything on a credit card. When I get home I pay off the credit card.

This is how we always do it.

 

[wall*e2008]

That's an option, I just don't want to get too carried away and have a bigger bill than expected!

I bring along a small notebook and envelopes to put the receipts in. I keep a running tally in the notebook, so I can see my burn rate.

Keep a list of any gifts I bought, who they were for, the occassion and the cost. This way I might spend more than I expected on the trip but some of it was not really trip related.