One of my biggest travelling nightmares is losing all my money. What do people do if they lose it all and don’t even have enough money to use the internet or make a phone call to ask for help? How do they eat? Get home?
I am hoping I never have to find out what I would do in this scenario. I have a healthy paranoia of thieves and I am very careful to always separate out my cash and cards so that I am not leaving myself exposed to having everything taken at once.
It is also important to have money in a variety of forms. While it’s always good to have a little cash, I always recommend a credit card as well with a decent limit (in case things go wrong and you need to fly home immediately) or better still, a Qantas cash or prepaid travel card. The latter is one of the best ways to carry multiple currencies overseas offering easy access to your money. The card is chip and PIN secured and isn’t linked to a bank account so you don’t have to worry about someone stealing your card and racking up a big debt. In fact, the only racking up you’ll need to concern yourself with is Qantas Points!
For these reasons, I find the best way to travel with money overseas is to keep some on my person, some in my bags, some in the hotel safe (where this exists) and some in more unusual places. I don’t just hide my cash but my cards too. The main thing is to diversify!
I thought it would be fun to discuss some of the more unusual places you can store cash while travelling, when a room safe or safety deposit box are not available. I also asked my readers. Here’s ten unusual places to hide your money when travelling…
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1. Secret pockets inside clothing
Some special travel clothes actually come with pockets that are designed to make it as difficult as possible for people to pickpocket you. I have had a travel shirt with a pocket in the inside and in the chest area – no one is pick pocketing me there without me noticing! An example is pictured below.
2. In shoes or socks
A very easy place to hide money is in shoes or socks, either while you are wearing them or back in your hotel room. I have often put a house key in the side of my socks while jogging at home so this is another alternative.
3. In a bag of nappies in the hotel room
I love this contribution from Suzanne from Simple Sewing mainly because it is something we could easily implement. Who is going to go through a bag of nappies looking for money?
4. Under the television
If you are staying in a hotel which still has old school televisions on a table rather than on the wall, then this can work well. Simply put some cash or cards under the television. It is unlikely someone is going to be moving this.
Max recommends finding a nook or a cranny in hotel lounge chairs. They often have fold where you can stash away some cash.
5. In a Pacsafe bag in your hotel room or car
Sheralyn recommends using a Pacsafe bag. You can use these to lock your valuables to the underside of a bed, to plumbing, inside your car, anything that would be hard for thieves to destroy to detach your items. This also is a great solution for people (like us) who travel with lots of electronics that they want to secure.
6. In an empty potato chip bag
For something different, Raijin recommends hiding money in an empty potato chip bag or milk carton. I suggest not doing this when you room is about to be cleaned however. This could also work well when walking around.
7. In a hat
Steve recommends putting a spare fifty in a hat. There are many hats that you can buy which actually come complete with a zippered pocket so this can be a great way to hide emergency funds, although I would not recommend putting much in one of these. If it is obvious that you are carrying around money, then it is easy for someone to grab a hat.
8. In a bible
Luciano recommends putting some cash in the hotel room bible that can be found in many rooms around the world. Some discrete notes laid flat inside can work very well.
9. Under the bottom drawer
This is one that works quite well and is usually where I hide my jewellery. If you have a chest of drawers in your room with a solid base (sometimes they have an open one which does not work so well), this is a great place to hide some cash, cards or other small goods.
10. Taped under a desk
Finally, Sarah recommends taping an envelope with notes or cards under a desk, table or any other furniture in the room. Put it in an out of the way spot where someone won’t see it easily.
So there you have it, 10 unusual places to store money when travelling. However, the best way to carry money while traveling is to ensure you don’t have it in the same place, have a mixture of cash, cards and prepaid money cards and you should be fine!
You can also read our full buying guide to the best fanny packs! Money cards can also make it easier – read about travel money cards here.
What is the most unusual place you have hidden money?
