Cross Country Trip: Money, What To Do?

[staehpj1]

Also, i plan on having my parents mail things to me along the way, including valuables like money or whatever else. How exactly would I go about it. Would I simply have to know where I will be in, say, a week, tell them the city and have them mail it to the post office? How does that work to have them mail things to me along the way?

It is easy and works well.  Pick a town down the road a bit.  Ideally pick one big enough to have a real post office, but only one post office.  Try to also pick a town you will pass through on a day that the PO will be open.

If you screw up and they aren't open just stop at any post office and let them know that you need to forward it down the road a bit.  Repeat until you manage to get the package.

Address the package something like:
    Joe Blow
    General Delivery
    Smalltown, MT 12345

If using ACA maps the zip codes are in text part of the maps.

[csykes]

Most Credit Union are members of the Co-op ATM network which has about 25,000 no-fee machines in the U.S. and Canada.  A lot of 7-11 stores also have a machine with that logo.  My credit union also has a lower "foreign ATM" fee than my big bank charges.  Another way to get cash with no fee is to use your debit card at a grocery store that lets you get cash back with the purchase.

[staehpj1]

Most Credit Union are members of the Co-op ATM network which has about 25,000 no-fee machines in the U.S. and Canada.  A lot of 7-11 stores also have a machine with that logo.  My credit union also has a lower "foreign ATM" fee than my big bank charges.  Another way to get cash with no fee is to use your debit card at a grocery store that lets you get cash back with the purchase.

Yes,  I found I could avoid fees most of the time and never paid an double fee.

[JHamelman]

Also, i plan on having my parents mail things to me along the way, including valuables like money or whatever else. How exactly would I go about it. Would I simply have to know where I will be in, say, a week, tell them the city and have them mail it to the post office? How does that work to have them mail things to me along the way?

For more on the Adventure Cycling perspective on General Delivery, check out the blog post I wrote:

http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2009/12/zip-codes-in-service-directory.html

.Jennifer.

[tonythomson]

Hi do you guys have access to something like a Caxton card, which is basically a debit card through Visa but it is one which you "load" with whatever amount of $ you want.  You can then use it most places and if ever lost/hacked then any losses are contained.
The card can be topped up whenever you get to an internet access providing you bank on line.  Very safe way for extended touring.

As for cash I keep a $100 bill rolled up small in plastic and cello-tape and this I keep hidden in my waste band on my shorts, always with me.
Only for use in extreme emergency, had it now for many years and never needed it thank goodness.  Word of warning just rememberit's there when you wash you clothes 

[staehpj1]

Hi do you guys have access to something like a Caxton card, which is basically a debit card through Visa but it is one which you "load" with whatever amount of $ you want.  You can then use it most places and if ever lost/hacked then any losses are contained.
The card can be topped up whenever you get to an internet access providing you bank on line.  Very safe way for extended touring.

We have the Visa Prepaid Debit card, but they tend to hit you with too many fees.  Monthly fee, ATM fees, etc. can be pretty bad.  It may depend on which one you get but I checked a couple and balked at the fees.

[John Nelson]

I took a few hundred bucks and a credit card. I used the credit card whenever allowed and the cash lasted me for my whole 10-week trip.

[o2tour]

I stopped at the local post office today to get a couple of packages ready (stamps) for general delivery. She told me that I should inform the post master, by letter or phone, where the packages are to be sent telling him/her my name and approximate date of package pickup. She also told me she sent something back after 2 weeks.
Has anyone else done this? Had problems?

[cara2u]

   On our most recent cross country trip we tried travelers checks instead of the ATM card. The rationale was we could better discipline ourselves to stay inside of our budget and know when we were exceeding it. It pretty much worked
most of the time as long as we planned a little ahead and got cash when it was available. The only real headache using travelers checks was getting through the learning curve with younger cashiers about this archaic means of payment, more times than not a manager had to be called over to determine whether they could be accepted.
     Unless you free camp and eat Ramen and oatmeal everyday then you'll need more than 10 to 15$ a day. We noticed a big spike in food prices from our '08 and '10 tours, and they are still on the increase. On our '10 Trans Am tour we budgeted $40 a day for the two of us and that was almost exclusively using grocery stores and mini marts. If we were going this summer I'm afraid we would have raise it to $45 or more.
James

     

     

[EnduroDoug]

Another option for hiding money, more specifically for overseas long term travel where you may not find ATM access for a while...

Put some cash in a ziploc bag, find black duct-tape (or color that matches the interior of your bag) and tape the ziploc flush against the rear wall of your pannier. Virtually undetectable. Sure, if someone steals the pannier, then you're screwed, but it's a nice out of sight and out of mind way to stash some extra cash.

Other than that, I always wear mtb style baggy shorts with a couple zippered pockets. The day's money for incidentals goes in one pocket in the morning, debit/credit card, a couple checks, and half my cash is in the handlebar bag. The rest of the cash in the pannier hiding spot.

[Stevenp]

Put some cash in a ziploc bag, find black duct-tape (or color that matches the interior of your bag) and tape the ziploc flush against the rear wall of your pannier. Virtually undetectable. Sure, if someone steals the pannier, then you're screwed, but it's a nice out of sight and out of mind way to stash some extra cash.

I like that, good suggestion, thanks!

[Westinghouse]

Take plastic and have cash on hand or TCs just in case. Never carry substantial amounts of cash. It's just too risky, and these other card and such were invented so you would not have to do that in the first place.

[DaveB]

A credit card protects you and limits your losses to a maximum of $50 if your card is lost or the account number stolen.  A debit card can be used until you realize it's been lost or hacked and what's gone is gone for good.   A credit card also lets you contest a purchased item that isn't as advertised or isn't delivered while a debt card won't.

You could pre-pay a credit card account so you have credit built up as charges accumulate and don't have to worry about bills or you can set up auto-pay through your bank account and not have to have anyone else worry about it.

$10/day for food?  That's absurd.

[Westinghouse]

I know I cannot tour on only ten dollars a day. You need calories and carbs. Just my outlay for Cytomax or some other energy powdered drink can amount to something. Cooking your own food may help to keep costs down. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be fairly inexpensive. Use a protein drink supplement at the end of every day of riding. The stuff you get for about $14.00 for a good sized jug in Wal Mart works quite well. Take it out of the jug and put it in one-gallon zip lock plastic bags. It will take up a lot less space that way, and bagged it is still easy to get into a scoop out.

Figure about $20.00---$25.00 a day if you are free camping; maybe less than that, but look at that and figure up or down from there. Motels up the cost quite a bit, but stealth camping mixed with motels the way I do it keeps the costs within a reasonable range. Some days you will spend only ten dollars, and other days you might spent twenty, twenty-five, thirty.

Within certain limits you can spend about as much or as little as you want.

[DaveB]

Motels up the cost quite a bit, but stealth camping mixed with motels the way I do it keeps the costs within a reasonable range. Some days you will spend only ten dollars, and other days you might spent twenty, twenty-five, thirty.

There is a bit of a financial off-set if you stay in a motel.  Most of them offer a breakfast of some sort as part of your room charge.  It can be a simple as cold cereal, juice, bagels, donuts and coffee or quite elaborate but it does keep you from having to buy breakfast and, if you take and extra bagel or muffin with you, it can be your mid-morning snack too.