Why Travel Wallets Are The Worst: Part 2

Alright, I’ve ranted, I’ve raved, I’ve told you why having a travel wallet is terribly ill conceived. Not only because it ensures that if said wallet is lost you are completely and utterly up a creek without a paddle, but because it’s needlessly expensive. These physical manifestations of bad ideas range from $15 to well over $40.

I’m here to tell you that you can have a safer solution using items that you already have, plus maybe an extra $10 dollars if you don’t already have a decent money belt with a zipper. Mine is very simple, it’s a single zippered pouch and a belt. That’s it. It was $5 bucks and it was probably the best money I ever spent.

The first step in all this is to reject the notion that everything of value should be in one spot. To restate my last post’s point; what if you lose it? Putting all of your eggs in one basket is the antithesis of what you want to be doing here. You want to spread your money and ID out so that you’re not left stranded if one ‘basket’ gets knicked or lost.

So what goes where? It’s ultimately up to you. As you travel more you’ll find the spaces which best suit your needs, but here are my recommendation.

When you’re in the airport you’re a bit limited as to where you can hide stuff due to security, but you’re also pretty safe in most airports I’ve been to. Everything goes into your backpack or purse, but it goes into different internal pockets. If you have both a purse and a backpack split your cash between the two.

When you’re out and about for the day put on your money belt. It should be beneath your shirt and high on your person, as in right below where your rib cage stops. You don’t want it hanging off your shoulder, hips, or through belt loops. Some people like the secure pouches that hang around your neck but personally I don’t like the feel of them and I think they’re all too easy to grab and give a swift tug to, even if they’re beneath clothing.

Into your money belt goes a solid chunk of emergency cash ($100-200), one or two credit or debit cards, and your passport. Do not leave your passport at the hotel. I learned that lesson the hard way when my hotel caught fire and with dawning horror I realised I had left my passport in my room. It was not fun. Sometimes in European countries you won’t have a choice but to give your hotel your passport because they take it as collateral if you haven’t paid for your stay, but if you can help it, don’t let them. Offer something like cash instead.

The second place you’re going to put some stuff is, naturally, your actual wallet. I would recommend you put your lower limit credit card in here, with the higher limit one in your money belt. You can always scoot into a washroom to switch them out if you max it. Put some ID there, your drivers license and a health card will do, and half of whatever cash you think you’re going to need for the day.

The rest of the daily cash goes into a pocket in your backpack, preferably one that takes considerable effort to access and can’t be sliced into.

Finally, all the money you won’t need for the day stays in the hotel/hostel in a secure location. If there isn’t a secure location put it with the rest of your emergency cash in your money belt.

This of course goes well for solo travelers, and for couples or group travel I suggest having copies of everyone’s driver’s license and emergency contacts to leave in the room. If you and your partner are travelling with more than one child I’d suggest splitting up the passports between the adults of the group as evenly as possible.

And there you have it! It really is that simple! With this method you don’t have to pay exorbitant amounts for a silly wallet that will only get you in trouble, and you can rest assured that should anything get lost or stolen, you always have a bit of something to fall back on!

Wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay safe, gentle readers!