It’s pretty rare that my school friends and I ALL get together in one place these days. With my constant jet setting, one of my friends living up north, and busy lives, we’ve got used to our annual Christmas shindig and catching up individually throughout the year.
One of my biggest bugbears about travelling is losing money for no reason. Hidden accommodation fees (Airbnb cleaning costs – I’m talking about you), pesky charges for wanting to sit with your friends on a flight (Ryanair – guilty)… I even remember being charged for a clear plastic bag to go through airport security. I didn’t even want a plastic bag!
They’re the costs you don’t predict when you’re planning your trip. They’re the ones that sneak up on you. They’re either unavoidable, or make for a less enjoyable trip if you don’t pay them.
My biggest gripe of all? ATM and currency fees. Spending money on money. You have zero to show for it. It’s just gone. Bye bye. Auf Wiedersehen. Adios.
When I travelled around Central America and Mexico for three and a half months I tried to be as savvy as possible, using my HSBC card to withdraw large amounts from ATMS every now and then, rather than lots of transactions of smaller amounts. Yet, I was still shocked at the charges. The highest was £9 in fees to get around £200 in cash.
As I travel so frequently now, I often exchange currency in advance, and use a place in Central London with the best conversion rates. It can mean carrying large amounts of currency though, something that I don’t always want to do. Plus, you’ll be charged if you want to convert it back after the trip.
But now the Monzo card has landed into my life and changed the way I spend abroad. I first heard about the magical Monzo card (previously Mondo) just over a year ago. A few of my London-based friends had them. As they’re prepaid, and have a user-friendly app with clever itemised billing, they found them handy for budgeting each month. They raved about the card, but however enthusiastic they were, I couldn’t understand why I’d need yet another piece of plastic in my wallet.
But then I heard about the travel benefits. I was hooked!
Monzo don’t charge any fees for using the card abroad, whether that’s at shops and restaurants or withdrawing money at ATMs. Remember those £9 charges here, £3 there and more on my travels? It was hard to believe they would be no more!
It’s not the only card like this at the moment. The Revolut card has pros with its travel spending, but the cons include just £200 of fee-free ATM withdrawals a month and a £5 delivery fee. There’s Starling Bank, but for their fee free spending you’ll need to open a new current account.
So for me, Monzo seemed like the clear winner. I was excited to road test it while travelling through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. And yes… I was impressed. First things first, here’s how to get your hands on a Monzo bank card, and how to set it up.
Monzo is an online only bank, with everything run via an app. The brand claims to offer banking that’s as smart as your smartphone!
Once the card arrives, you’ll receive the pin for the card via text message, and be able to top it up whenever you choose by using the app.
You top up the prepaid card in pounds, so when you pay in another currency, e.g. Euros, the card uses MasterCard’s exchange rate. This is usually one of the best out of the credit card rates.
Hello. Are you listening? It’s time to get something off my chest.
Probably just like you, I have a to do list. It’s bright yellow, resembles a post-it note, and sits on my desktop. I add to it. I cross things out. Sometimes I sneakily add things to it I’ve already done just to feel like I’ve achieved more. Guilty. Shh, don’t judge!
After months of it seeming like a never-ending, unachievable list of humungous projects, campaigns and reports, I hit the end. The deadlines were reached, everything submitted… hurrah? Hmmm or not. Rather than popping corks and raising a toast to a successful few months (which, when I think back, it has definitely been with a dream gig for Lonely Planet in New Orleans, video projects in Hawaii, adventures in Spain and Austria ) I freaked out. Yes, yes, yes there will always be things to do. SEO I should study to improve blog post rankings (yawn – that’s one thing I’ll never get around to), Pinterest graphics to make, and blogs I’ve never got beyond a catchy-ish title.
Freelancers fear quiet. Quiet is scary. Quiet is an unknown future. And August is notoriously quiet in the travel blogging world. Why? Most people take holidays around now so a) places are booked up, b) travel prices are high and c) destinations don’t need to increase tourism as they’re busy enough!
It’s funny because I have trips to Berlin, Sicily, Mauritius, the Caribbean and Florida coming up. I’m about to show the world why England is amazing with my Visit England Ambassadorship! WOW what a dream role that is.
So what do you do when you run out of things to do? Either a self-starter instinct kicks in, or you have a mini-meltdown.
Usually, being a positive, glass half full kinda girl I choose the former, but this time I went for the latter.
I felt disillusioned by Instagram after it seemed to turn its back on content creators like me, who loved posting inspirational travel pics, only to see followers disappearing and likes limping to an all-time low.
I felt disillusioned by my self-made videos after being fed inspirational, big-budget viral vids on Facebook, feeling like I’d never come close without years of training and a tonne of new tech kit.
I felt disillusioned that I was struggling to scramble together enough money to rent a decent flat in London, while others were living in a rose gold world, decorating their designer flats, complete with an endless supply of Jo Malone candle.
I felt disillusioned by far–flung travel after too many back-to-back long-haul trips across the Atlantic led me to the point of exhaustion.
I felt disillusioned by my body after endless Instagram photos of girls in pretty dresses and bikinis, while I attempted to rid myself of my muffin top… while reaching for a muffin.
I felt disillusioned by my wardrobe, realising I was still wearing dresses from 10 years ago.
I felt disillusioned by my relationship, worrying I’d chosen a career that took me away from someone I cared about, more than it allowed me to be with him.
But, this isn’t a pity blog. It’s a get sh*t sorted and get on blog. I’m usually a positive bean but everyone has off days. And it’s good to share right?
And reassuringly it’s not just me… a heap of my travel blogging pals have talked about similar struggles recently.
It’s been a while since I looked through my prize cupboard and offered you the chance to win some top travel goodies. But, today is your lucky day!
The top prize this time is a stylish Brathwait Watch. It’s a gorgeous simple design, super classy and worth over £140!
Plus I’m adding in a lovely L’Occitane Travel Set which includes a super moisturising hand cream and lip balm. There’s a Sun Bum Coconut Lip Balm which really protects your lips against those powerful rays on holiday. And then, just for fun, as everyone loves colouring these days…there’s a colour in passport holder!
