Travel on College Budget

By Jessica Millis | 45 Shares

Traveling is a great way to keep yourself going during the hard grueling semester’s work. But having the money to finance your travelling desires is truly the only thing in your way from dropping everything and leaving! Here are a list of very helpful, uncommon tips that will help you get away much faster on a college budget.

Credit Cards

Using credit cards to travel overseas can be very risky; especially if you do not have the means and a solid plan to pay back the expenses that you will incur. The good thing about using a credit card to help you travel overseas is that some of them (please do your research before applying to any credit card company) come with currency exchange, so when you arrive in a new country it will exchange your currency for you rather than you having to go through the trouble of doing it yourself. You can also go to a neighboring country that uses the same currency, but has a better exchange rate, so you get more of their money for less of yours (keep that in mind)!

When using a credit card to travel out of the country, make sure that it can be used worldwide (check with the issuer). You could also look into a student credit card, which sometimes have better benefits for college students.

Just keep in mind that being irresponsible with credit cards will put you further into debt than the student loans you might be using for your education.

Being financially literate will help you save money

Check with your bank to see what the ATM fees and debit/credit card usage policies are overseas. This way you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into and won’t feel blindsided if you come home owing a lot more money than you originally anticipated. Look into as many possible avenues as you can in regards to worldwide credit cards, student credit cards (that can be used worldwide), and programs such as the two below that can help you save money.

International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

The ISIC gives you access to student discounts on flights, museums, and attractions. You can save much more money by investing in this card rather than not. It doesn’t make anything free for you, but it does make certain things more affordable with the discounts that it gives you access to. You can visit their website for further information.