hi there it's Ernest from true pursuit
today we'll be talking about how to
carry money while traveling one of the
questions I often get asked is how do I
carry money while traveling now there's
no right or wrong answer to this
question but it's certainly a lot of
options from money belts to wallets
there's a whole slew of ways to carry
money while traveling when I first
traveled on my own in the late 90s I
were one of these things a money belt at
the time it seemed like the most logical
thing to wear I read about them in
travel books and online and many people
were talking about how it was the most
discreet way to carry money and to use
money while traveling abroad of course
because I never traveled before I was
worried about pickpockets and having my
money stolen and my passport stolen
while traveling though when I look back
I have to say that I think it was a
pretty uncomfortable experience to wear
a money belt I remember it being hot and
humid and just really uncomfortable to
have this money belt in between my
waistband what I didn't realize at the
time was that I didn't actually know how
to use a money belt correctly at the
time I was using the money belt like a
normal wallet what I was doing was I'd
walk into a store I'd go to pay for
something and I would actually pull
money from the money belt from the
inside of my waistband that is
definitely not the best way to use your
money belt a better way is to keep it
hidden at all times I've always treated
my money belt like a personal safe it's
basically a place where I keep my
passport and cash when I don't want to
leave it in the hotel room rather than
using it like a wallet I basically will
pull money from it ahead of time and
leave it in my front pocket or in
another wallet that way the money belt
is always kind of discreet and hidden I
don't like to show that I have it I just
worried that someone might come up and
try to steal it or mug me now as a
disclaimer that this is just how I use
it a friend of mine uses her money belt
every time she travels and she seems to
have a lot of success with it she argues
that it's harder for women when they
don't have pockets or other ways of
carrying things for me I much prefer to
keep my passport and the bulk of my cash
in a hotel safe I prefer to just load up
my front pocket
wallet with the cash that I need for
that day and while we're on the topic
never keep your wallet in your back
pocket when traveling that just begs get
pickpocketed generally speaking if I'm
going to a country where electronic
payments are pretty prevalent then I'll
use my normal wallet which is a bellroy
card pocket wallet this is a great
wallet especially for folks like me who
tend to carry a lot of credit cards as
you know I like to maximize every
purchase with my points so I tend to
carry a lot more credit cards in the
normal person the wallet is super small
high-quality durable I really love it
in fact I'm a huge fan of bellroad
products in general I'll include some
links below in case you're interested
when I travel the countries where cash
is more prevalent I actually carry a
more traditional wallet the one I carry
is the Mitchell money clip wallet
what makes this wallet really special is
that there's actually a money clip built
into the wall itself so it kind of has
the benefits of both a money clip and a
more traditional wallet I used to carry
this wallet as my normal daily wallet
but since I've started to use less cash
in my daily life I decided to use the
wall as a primary travel wallet what I
love about this wallet is I can pull
cash from anywhere in the note stack
like if I want to pull the second bill
from the stack I can do so without
having to pull out the entire wad in
this case its function is even better
than a normal money clip it's an awesome
wallet for cash as it makes everything
so accessible while also keeping a
relatively slim profile it also helps
it's made from premium leather which
smells and feels amazing lastly I've
read about people using binder clips as
wallets when traveling it's definitely a
minimalist idea and I like the concept
behind it but I have to say I much
prefer to have a more traditional and
formal wallet when traveling especially
my money clip wallet I feel like it
gives me the benefits of a normal money
clip but also is discreet like a normal
wallet as well so in summary if you plan
to use a money belt I highly suggest
treating it like a person
all safe if you do plan to use it like a
actual wallet then I suggest using a lot
of discretion and just being careful of
your surroundings you definitely don't
want to advertise that you have one on
you I think a lot of thieves are known
to target folks and tourists who use
money belts and who show signs of
wearing one and if you're looking for a
really good travel wallet I highly
suggest these two wallets this again is
the Mitchell money clip wallet available
at Mitchell leather and I'll include a
link below as well as the bellroy card
pocket wallet actually I recommend all
of bellroy products they make a wide
range of wallets and I think all more
fantastic lastly and probably most
importantly always be careful and be
aware of your surroundings when
traveling fortunately I've never been
pickpocketed or mugged but I have a lot
of friends who have and it's absolutely
no fun losing your passport or your cash
is a sure way to ruin your day when
traveling that's it for this episode
until next time travel safe and travel
smart