For those who do not know, I'm an air stewardess. I get to spend half of my time in different parts of the world...Europe, USA, South Asia etc.. In this article, I'll share some tips on the dos and don'ts when shopping overseas.
I know shopping out of your country is a strong lure, too much temptation as you might get the items at a relatively cheaper price, eg branded bags in Europe or US, GoPro camera in Australia, UMF honey in New Zealand, groceries in Malaysia JB, clothes you can get for 1/3 of the price in BKK.
Are you aware of the new mobile application "get4x" which allows you to check the best rate and how much the nearest money exchanger offers you?
Photo adapted from Google
It can be used overseas world wide, so you don't have to worry about getting lousy rates, as you can make your way down to the money exchanger that you like! I used it on my BKK trip with my parents this month and found it user-friendly :)
When I'm overseas, and am lazy to use my brain, my phone application "currency convertor" helps me to convert the amount spent in SGD (do take into consideration that theirs is the best rate), also, I would advise not to take out your calculator, and say "wow, it's so cheap! We should buy more" as it will make the people feel inferior, and hate us more, eg in BKK and JB as I personally feel that we Singaporean has invaded their privacy and push up their living standard.
Always, always place your money separately, especially in Paris or those high tourist attraction area. You wouldn't know when you'll be missing your wallet, thus it's good to have spare cash in the other parts of your body or bag. To prevent this from happening, don't flash ur money and keep your bag with you wherever you go, even to the toilet because a colleague of mine lost the whole bag on a train in Italy heading to Venice, thinking that the friend sitting beside will look after it. They forgo the plan and wasted the train ticket (70+euros), and not forgetting the hassle of going to report the loss in police station, losing your passport that the immigration has to step in, why not look after your own bag? It's your responsibility, not others.
I usually keep my money in small pouch or envelop, and not CHANEL or LV wallet. I do have cases my colleagues were targeted by a group that bump into them making them think it's an accident. By the time you realized and manage to catch the person, he would have pass your belongings to his team mate. I witnessed a pickpocket that was so quick in that split seconds or a blink of an eye, the top item (camera) were missing, and the sling bag was unzipped. You can keep the unwanted like small water bottle on top, or one of your hands by the opening of the bag to ensure that no one opens.
To prevent overspending, don't bring your credit card unless u wanna earn the points or have too much money. Amount spent on your credit card will accumulate on your following month's bill, unless you are discipline enough to pay on time, else be prepared to pay the interest. You can bring a debit card in case of emergency.
Photo adapted from Google
Change the money according to your budget, eg $200 sgd to ringgit for a day trip. Think thrice whether you will need the item, spend on the necessity. Don't splurge because of currency conversion very good unless you are very rich or can't put the money to better use.
Limit your shopping, and do more activities like cafe hopping since it's an in thing. Don't us, Singaporeans love to eat? Go for sightseeing where the photo can be kept as memory, I will buy magnet of places I've been to!
I hope this helps you in your next overseas shopping! Cheers!