What the Cash Actually Costs
Japan runs on cash more than people expect. Carry ¥30,000–50,000, which is $200–330. That covers the small stuff: the noodle counter, the shrine entry, the bus that doesn’t take cards. The 7-Eleven ATMs are the reliable ones for withdrawing. For everything else, a Wise or Revolut debit card gets the best exchange rate at the places that do accept cards. Those two cards charge no FX fees and no ATM fees, which saves 3-5% on everything you spend. That percentage is the whole game. On a $2,000 month, 4% is $80 you either keep or hand to a bank for the privilege of converting your own money.
Choose the Local Currency. Always.
When a terminal or an ATM asks whether you want to pay in US dollars instead of the local currency, pick the local currency. The “convenient” conversion adds another 3-7% to each transaction. Same logic with travel credit cards: use ones without a 3% foreign transaction fee, and always select the local currency at a foreign ATM. Two habits, both free, both worth real money over a long trip.
Daily Numbers in Southeast Asia
In Bali, budget IDR 200,000–500,000 per day, roughly $12–31, for street food, small shops and transport. Mixing cash, cards and mobile payments keeps the total manageable. Thailand is its own case: take at least $500 in banknotes with you and exchange them there. It’s cheaper than using an ATM. That sounds like a small thing until you’re paying withdrawal fees every three days for a month.
When the Machine Won’t Cooperate
Argentina is the cautionary tale. Prices for foreigners have essentially halved since the economy went sideways again, which sounds like good news until you try to get money out of the already tightly limited ATMs. More hassle, not less. A cash buffer matters more in exactly the places where you can least predict the machine working.
The Costs Nobody Plans For
The most common unexpected expenses are medical visits, lost or broken gear, and last-minute transport. Those can add $200–500 to a trip fast. Keeping $500–1,000 set aside in accessible funds is sensible, and it means not falling back on a high-interest credit card in a pinch. A policy covering medical treatment, evacuation and trip cancellation typically runs $30–60 per month as of March 2026. Evacuation from a remote area is extremely expensive on its own. Some covered Visa cards will get you to the nearest medical facility for treatment if you’re sick or injured, up to $10,000, when you use that card to purchase travel tickets. That’s a benefit most people never read about.
Cheap and Expensive Are Choices
A year-long trip can cost almost nothing or a great deal. There are people who travel extremely frugally and spend barely anything at all, and there are travellers who spend whale-shark levels of cash on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Both are real. One documented stretch of spending was mostly four-hour spa treatments at $107 each for a birthday. Another traveller’s note is blunter: house and pet sitting in a remote place means being at the home every single day, and garden work can exceed the pet sitting itself. Digital nomads, the note adds, are not available five hours a day, seven days a week. The trade is time and location for money. That trade is the actual budget question, not the ATM fee.
Read the numbers, pick your currency, carry a cushion. The rest is preference.
Leave a Reply