How to Estimate Money to Exchange Before Traveling Abroad

Traveller traveling abroad
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If you are planning to travel abroad, you might ask to yourself “how much do I need to exchange?” It is a simple question, but the answer is way more complicated than you think since there are several factors to be considered before doing so.

In this article, we are going to breakdown the related factors for you to consider before deciding how much should you spend on exchanging money on your next journey.


Understanding Your Purpose of Your Trip to Estimate Money to Exchange

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Not everyone is traveling abroad for personal leisure. As a result, you need to consider the purpose of your journey before deciding how much you need to exchange the money since this is the primary factor to estimate your budget.

The budget is the primary factor for dictating how much you need to exchange to foreign currency, and each purpose of the trip is different in their own way.

For example, if you are planning to travel for leisure purposes, you might consider the budget for purchasing souvenirs before traveling back to your home country. Business travel is another great example, since you need to factor in the travel expenditure (i.e., ride hailing, public transportation) for your budget, especially the city where cashless payment is not widely adopted.


Budgeting Your Daily Expenditure Before You Exchange

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At this point, you might be able to estimate the overall budget that you need to prepare. But, if you want to plan your budget precisely, we strongly recommend estimating daily expenses during your trip. There are several ways to estimate those numbers, including transit fares, food costs, or ticket prices in each location.

From my experience, I stayed in Taiwan for 4 days. I estimated the daily expenses for NT$ 1,000 a day, which I can ensure that you can stay in Taiwan without worrying about not having enough money on the final day.

It is worth mentioning that you might or might not factor in the cost of your flight or hotel, since it is based on your bookings, and we assume that you already booked those in advance.


Spare the Money for Emergency Situations

เงินสดเมื่อแลกเงินเป็นที่เรียบร้อยแล้ว Money that exchange from the center.

There might be several situations where you need to spend those money for emergency purposes, and having cash reserves is crucial for those situations since you cannot predict whether the trip goes as planned or not.

Sure, you cannot estimate that since it is out of your control, but if you are well prepared for any emergency situation, the reserves can create a peace of mind for your journey. This is even more true when you consider that there are several places where cash is only the option for you to spend.

As a result, we strongly suggest to budget those things as well.


Still Unsure How Much to Exchange?

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We know that budgeting before traveling is challenging, but it is also a crucial step for you to decide how much you need to exchange the money for your trip. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide how much you really need to exchange.

To make it simpler for you, these are general rules of thumb for budgeting on your next adventure. First, considering the purpose of travel. Then, estimating your daily expenditure, along with related expenses. Finally, factoring in the cash reserves, which we recommend to prepare around 20% of overall budget.

Just in case of you who want to use a formula to calculate, we provided the formula just for you. Please do keep in mind that your milage may be wary.

(Daily Expenses x The Number of Travel Days) + Other Projected Expenses + Cash Reserve

At this point, you might get some ideas how much you really need to exchange. But if you do not have time to go to the currency exchange center, we have a solution for you, which is X-One Delivery!

X-One Delivery is the service that make your life easier by delivering the exchanged money right at the door step with the best currency exchange rate anywhere in the market. Simply adding our LINE Official Account, @x-one.exchange, to your friend list, and start exchanging.

For more information about our service, be sure to contact us via phone: (+66) 2-166-8888. Do not forget to download our X-ONE mobile application today at the App Store or Play Store.


For those of you who interested in exchange currency at the great rate, with our money delivery service, for the best value and the most convenience, be sure to check out our exchange rate at X-One Currency Exchange Center.

  • For more information, please contact us at:
    • Tel: (+66) 2-166-8888
  • Reserve the money at the best rate, with delivery service, with ease via LINE Official Account
    • LINE: @x-one.exchange
  • Check the currency exchange rate at real-time
  • X-One Currency Exchange Center
    • Currency Exchange Center on Surawong road, Bang Rak, Bangkok.

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