Don't Leave Until You Do This - Everything You Need to Know Before You Travel!

Hey there, travel lovers! 🌍✈️ Ready to hit the road full-time? We will cover everything you need to know Before you pack those bags, let’s chat about travel logistics! From setting up your phone and travel insurance to securing your mail and setting up a VPN for safe browsing, We have all the essential tips you need. Tune in for a fun, easy guide to make your adventures seamless and stress-free!

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👇🏻Our DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT Travel Essentials:
00:00 Introduction
00:38 Mail Service
02:49 Banking
04:50 VPN
06:34 Credit Cards
08:23 Currency
10:33 Phone Service
12:50 Taxes
14:25 Vaccinations
15:41 Health Insurance
16:49 Language
18:28 Budget
19:41 Passport
22:13 Visas

[dennisspackman]

I had that happen in Southern India a few years ago. One evening I withdrew some money from an ATM attached to a bank. It gave me the cash but kept my card. As it was attached to a bank I went there the next morning once the bank was open. Told them what happened and they sent an employee out to the ATM. When he returned he had a handful of probably thirty cards. Showed my passport and they found and returned my card. If it had been a stand alone ATM I have no idea how long it would have taken to get back my card or maybe not at all.

[sydtybil]

This is more for the Expats, but if you open a foreign bank account as a US citizen, you need to submit an FBAR report (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) form every year with the IRS/Treasury Department in the US if you have more than USD 10, 000 equivalent in the account. The penalties are steep for non-compliance.

[jameshall]

I was on a transatlantic cruise to Europe when, within a week of each other, I had fraudulent charges on my debit card and 1 of my credit cards. No issue other than they canceled those cards and mailed me new ones but I was going to be traveling for 6 months and luckily my wife was home and was joining me in a month so she brought me those new cards.

[dianeortiz]

I’ll be turning 60 in a couple weeks and I am very interested in slow travel your videos are so helpful thank you so much❤

[thomasdeansfineart]

Thank you, as always, for the great, helpful information. So much appreciated! ❤

[jodiehebert]

Great info Carrie and Brian! You really are an inspiration for budget travelers. I keep trying to solidify my budget or rather knowing my retirement benefit, find a town that fits the budget (preferably in France) after taxes -need to stay under 4k/month and will have my cushion for emergencies. Thinking of hiring expert consultant but gathering as much free info as possible. Any insider local or experienced traveler recommendations are welcome. 🙏

[mississippiapple]

Superb! Laser focus to the point! Didn't know about the 6 months before expired passport issue

[TexasDoug]

First again; I'm getting up too early on Saturday mornings! 😀 Lots of good info. I'm saving the video.

[stephanieh]

Another great video Brian and Carrie, thanks!
I’ve made a color copy of my passport and then I laminated it. I leave my actual passport in the safe or locked up in my suitcase in my accommodations and carry the laminated version with me when out and about. Never had any issues using it for ID even when exchanging money!
btw-Thanks for the chapters😀

[tootietatum]

Absolutely love you guys. Always such great practical information. I hope I cross paths with you both and can buy you a beer at some point.

[erickarnell]

Great presentation.

The book Digital Nomads for Dummies by Kristin M Wilson goes over a lot of these same points.

[jameshall]

Another reason to get a travel debit card that reimburses you for atm fees is for example, in Türkiye, you can only take out 2000 Turkish lira which is about $55 usd so if your making a bunch of atm withdrawals, you’ll end up with a bunch of atm fees on both ends. I know in Thailand it’s about $7 to withdraw from an atm each time.

[livingworkingoutsidebox]

Thanks for covering this stuff.

Especially the visas and passports information. Would love to learn some "work arounds".

I did hear those mini "repositioning" boat rides are becoming very popular. You know those that leave one country and bring you to a secluded beach at night in another country. 😮😉 Sounds romantic.😊

[bss-rppl]

As for verifying passport/visa requirements, I would suggest to go straight to the source, the countries site, or at least the US State Dept. website. I use Albania as the standard test since they are not the usual 90 day stay for US passports like most countries, and haven't been for a while. Any site that has Albania as 90 days for US passports is not up to date, there are quite a few (Sherpa still shows 90 days). And your passport only needs 3 months left after your intended stay in Albania. Maybe a place to stop if your passport is running out? 🤔 Nah, they're busy enough, stay away...at least when I'm there. 🤭

As for the stamps and pages, if the EU ever gets ETIAS going, that will slow down the stamps and used pages.

[lesliereynolds]

I couldn’t do the traveling like you, I’d rather just go 2-3 weeks a few times a year.. I love my house, and will pay it off in 3 years. That will make it easy to do 2 or 3 nice vacations a year. I am watching all your videos to get ideas on different countries to visit. You do a great job and love your style of videos. Those wackos with the gimmicks get old to me in just a few minutes.

[bss-rppl]

In the currency section, surprised you didn't mention the purchase a gift card trick (you've shared before) IF you have extra cash when leaving the country. 🤷‍♂

[croberts]

Excellent! I really like that the two of you talk as individuals rather then a couple. My husband and I have been married 34 years, we have separate credit cards, debit cards, insurance the works. Couples aren't one person!

I have a question, please explain the 90/180 shengren (sp?) rule to me like I'm a 5 year old. If we spend 90 days in France for example, then leave and spend 90 days in a non treaty country, can we then come back and spend another 90 days in France. Is that what the 'rolling' 180 days is about?

[oldtownlife]

Thanks! Question: where do you secure your passport when traveling? Safe? Hide it in the room? Same thing for cash or valuables? How do to secure? Some places we go to do not have safes? Any suggestions?

[Paxevo]

I’m not sure you are correct about Fidelity ATM not charging a Foreign Transaction Fee on its debit card?

ATM fee yes, Foreign Transaction Fee, No?

I know the Fidelity CC doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Schwab reimburses ATM fees and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

[elliealfers]

Hey Brian,

This is a bit off topic, but I’ve been meaning to ask for some time and just keep forgetting. How do you manage to watch your teams play football when you’re abroad? (What subscription service or platform do you use?) With football season coming up and our travels set to start in September, we are trying to find a better solution than YouTube TV, which is what we used while in France for 3 months (via a VPN).

Thanks so much!

Ellie