Don’t come home from holiday in the red.

Travelling should be enjoyable, not something that leaves you dealing with expensive card debt, poor exchange rates or avoidable fees for months afterwards.

With a little preparation, you can protect your wallet, reduce the risk of fraud and make more room for future trips.

Payments

When you pay by card abroad, choose to pay in the local currency.

If the card terminal asks whether you want to pay in Icelandic krónur or the currency of the country you’re visiting, the local currency is usually the better choice. The exchange rate will often be more favourable.

Be careful with ATMs.

Try to use ATMs located inside or directly outside branches of large banks. Independent ATMs in tourist areas can be expensive, and the fees can add up quickly.

Before you travel, check what your payment card actually costs you abroad.

Look at foreign transaction fees, exchange rate mark-ups and other charges. You may find that another card is better suited to travel.

If something looks wrong, freeze the card immediately.

In most banking apps, you can do this in seconds. Don’t wait until you’re certain. If the card turns up again or the suspicious activity turns out to be harmless, you can usually unfreeze it just as quickly.

Using your phone or a digital wallet may also be safer than handing over the physical card.

Safety while travelling

Before you go, spend some time learning about common scams and crimes at your destination.

Every popular tourist place has its own little traps. Knowing about them in advance can save you money, stress and embarrassment.

Always ask for the price before accepting a service.

This applies to taxis, guides, tours and other services where the price is not completely clear from the start.

Find out whether tipping is expected, and how much is normal.

Tipping habits vary a lot between countries. A few minutes of research can help you avoid both overpaying and awkward misunderstandings.

Avoid free Wi-Fi in tourist areas.

Public networks can be risky, especially if you’re using banking apps, email or other sensitive services. Use mobile data instead when it matters.

Make sure two-factor authentication is active on your most important accounts.

That includes email, banking, social media and anything else that could cause real trouble if someone else gained access.

Also check what travel insurance comes with your payment card.

Many people don’t know what protection they already have. Before you travel, read the terms and make sure you understand what is covered and what isn’t.

Spending

Save for the trip before you go.

Please don’t pay for your holiday by spreading the card bill after you come home. That kind of borrowing can be extremely expensive and can turn a good trip into a long financial hangover.

Plan well in advance.

Look for good deals on flights, accommodation, transport and activities. Good preparation doesn’t ruin the fun. It often makes the fun more affordable.

Give yourself a daily spending allowance.

Decide how much you can spend each day on food, activities, transport and extras. Then try to stay within that amount.

Cash can be useful for daily spending.

It can make the budget more visible and help you avoid drifting into careless spending. You don’t need to use cash for everything, but it can be a helpful tool in some places.

Food and drink can make a huge difference to the cost of a trip.

Lunch is often much cheaper than dinner at restaurants. Look for lunch offers, happy hour prices, local bakeries, supermarkets and simple places where locals eat. Small choices like that can free up money for the things you’ll remember more.

Make the most of every króna

Prepare carefully so you can get more for your money, enjoy the trip with less worry and have more room for future holidays.

And let’s repeat the main rule: don’t treat it as an option to spread out card payments after you get home.

We should have a firm rule that we don’t go on trips we can’t pay for in full.

If you can’t pay for the trip now, skip it and go later. The cost of spreading payments can be extremely high, and those debts can take a long time to clear. If we make that kind of borrowing a habit, we may reduce our quality of life for years.

When travelling with children and teenagers, it’s also important to set a good example.

If children see their parents handling money carelessly and without respect, they may come to see that as normal and become more likely to repeat the same mistakes later.

So if you’re going abroad, there are no excuses.

Skip that rather dull Netflix episode tonight and start planning. It doesn’t matter if the planning feels boring. You can have fun on the holiday.

Let’s build better travel habits. Reduce the risk of accidents, scams, overspending, ridiculous fees, unexpected costs and poor exchange rates.

Just think of all the better things we could do with that money instead.

Have a great trip.