Reducing Those Pesky Transactions Costs

Between travel, some necessary purchases, and some other activities, I have been incurring a lot of those pesky transactions costs.  You know, like service fees, ATM charges for a bank that isn’t yours, roaming charges on the cell phone, and so on.  In total, the amounts are not that high, but it’s more irritating than anything else.  I thought I would try to catalogue some of the ways in which I plan to avoid these charges next time:

–When traveling (especially to Europe), buy a local sim card — mobile phone charges are generally much cheaper overseas compared to the US, and a sim card with reasonable minutes can be had for just $10-$20.  You need to have a cellphone that is unlocked, but if you have that, it makes it very easy to avoid roaming charges which can really, really add up.

--Find out what sources of funds have the lowest transactions costs.  Keep in mind that taking out money from an ATM may incur charges once from the machine you visit and then again from your bank for using an out of network ATM.  Before traveling, be very clear about the charges your bank will levy on you.  Several of the charges were particularly irritating since I was not expecting them.  Check the exchange rates as well.

–Be aware that a number of shops and services charge explicit fees for using credit cards, or certain kinds of credit cards.  In addition to a transaction fee, there may be a foreign exchange fee.  There are some cards that don’t do this however.

–Group your purchases together to lower any one-time charges or volume discounts

–Be sure services are clear — are various items (or tax) included or excluded — do you qualify for a rebate?

–Don’t forget to enjoy yourself — with relatively high costs and surprising fees, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to avoid fees and navigating everything.  Keep in mind that you need to enjoy yourself to make it worthwhile.

shared at Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Friday