Importance of Saving Money while Studying Abroad

By: Tawfiq Rawnak

The Importance of Knowledgeable Spending

Expenses are something that aren’t new when being abroad. In fact, many students actually tend to overspend when being in an abroad country, from many essential items that aren’t necessary (i.e. Uber’s instead of public transportation, expensive hotels instead of hostels, or high-priced restaurants). For most student’s circumstances, having a high budget on a consistent basis will make travelling to new countries and locations limited based on funds. 

Saving money does not need to be difficult, but utilizing key behaviors can prove helpful.

Credit Cards Vs. Debit Cards

One of the first aspects to understand is that many standard American bank-issued debit cards actually contain a foreign transaction fee (FTF), which is a slight fee for any foreign transactions made on the card. This can be combined with other extraneous fees, which can make a simple transaction expensive. 

Image of Common Fees Associated with FTF Cards

A key solution is to invest in a No-FTF debit card or a No-FTF credit card. Out of these two, a No-FTF credit card is the better option, for its numerous advantages. One of them being earning cash back (up to 5%) and travel-specific benefits when traveling. As a study abroad student this is extremely advantageous. An additional benefit is this is able to allow many students to build their credit and learn how to manage their money at a young age, which will bring an early edge to one’s financial future. When deciding, make sure to use a Visa or Mastercard card supporter, as this is the main form of payment in majority of the world.

List of Top No-FTF Credit Cards Available

Alternate Forms of Transportation/Lodging

One of the key parts of studying abroad is the “abroad” experience, which incentivizes you to travel either locally from your home country or internationally. However, to do such things, one doesn’t always need to fly to every location, but is able to take alternate forms of travel (i.e. trains, buses, rideshare) to different places. As an example, instead of spending $150+ on a flight from Barcelona to Madrid, take a $60-70 train instead. 

Image of Omio.com to Find Options of Travelling

There exists many apps (i.e. Omio.com) that helps with comparing different options. Hostels are also important when traveling abroad, as one does not need to have too much baggage and can live in a well-put hostel to save money per night.

 Image of a Hostel in Berlin, Germany 

Monetarily, each trip that you save money can be re-invested to travel to new locations; a win-win! I hope this advice helps in the long-run, as it is a great way to save and spend money logistically.