Today’s post was written by guest blogger Niclas Aarestrup from Denmark. He is a travel writer and he uses his Net+ card everywhere. Follow him on Twitter today (http://twitter.com/niclasaa) and keep up with his latest travels.

Travelling on a budget makes a lot of sense. Back when I had just turned 18 and was going out on a holiday without my parents I managed to spend around 5,300 USD on a 2 week vacation in France (and that doesn’t include flight and hotel). I had a great time during the vacation and a slightly less great time when I got back home.

So why did this happen? Well, first of all I had been given just about any kind of plastic card imaginable by my bank, plus a stack of EuroCheques. And what was even worse, I had made absolutely no attempt at making a budget for the trip even though I had been to France before and thus had a pretty good idea what expenses I should expect.

Once I was back from my holiday I managed to get my debt settled and returned all of my plastic cards and cheques. I have avoided getting any new credit cards since then, not wanting to tempt fate.

Limiting your spending

So making a budget makes a lot of sense, and not only for young or first time travellers, but for all of us. And having a credit card, or even a debit card connected directly to your bank account, might mean you are more likely to spend money you’ll later wish you hadn’t. Having a prepaid card can alleviate a lot of those dangers, and you might still be able to increase your holiday budget if you find the need, after taking a moment to consider whether that extra purchase is really necessary.

If you are a full-time student or under 26 years old (or in some cases 30), you should also make sure to get a student ID and possibly an international student ID as this will offer discounts or even free entry in many places. If you don’t know if a place offers student discounts, just ask, you might get a discount anyway.

Making a travel plan

When you decide to go on a holiday you probably have some place in mind, as well as how you wish to travel and what kind of accommodation you want to use. These choices will usually also give you an idea of how much you want to spend during your holiday.

It might be you choose to stay at a hostel so you have more funds to spend at your destination or to keep your trip’s price tag down. Another choice is to splurge on a top notch hotel and maybe some gourmet dining. Whatever your choice, I would recommend you do a little research and check the cost of meals at your destination as well as local transport and fees to get into any museums, parks, tours or discos. This will give you an idea about how much money you should set aside for your travel budget on top of the price of the trip itself. As with all budgets, you should always remember to have a little extra money available for those unforeseen costs. Also check if there is some kind of city pass available. These usually include free local transport as well as free or discounted entry to museums, galleries and other places of interest.

How Net+ can help

Using a prepaid card such as Net+ from NETELLER will allow you to set aside money and help keep you from overspending during your holiday. This card has reasonable fees and exchange rates sometimes lower than those offered by banks and exchange agencies. If you want extra security for yourself, set up some post-dated money transfers from your bank account to your NETELLER account before you leave home. That way you will keep the money available to you to a reasonable amount, basically recharging your finances at set intervals. Transfers from your bank account to NETELLER are usually processed quite fast. Check with your bank and the NETELLER website beforehand to get an idea of how many days you should expect for the transfer to clear into your account.

If you use your Net+ card at hotels that are not a part of a package or charter tour, you will usually have to provide your card at check-in as well as giving your card details when making your booking. Also, you will notice that many hotels will reserve a set amount of money to cover any charges you might incur during your stay, such as room service or things from the mini bar. These funds are only reserved, but this means they will not be available for you to use until somewhere from 3-6 days after you’ve checked out. It is usually a nice round figure that is reserved in local currency, such as 100 USD, 100 EUR, 100 GBP. If you prefer, some hotels will allow you to leave a cash deposit which they will refund when you check out. Don’t be afraid to ask the check-in desk.

Picking a currency

When you sign up for a NETELLER account and order your Net+ card you should also take a moment to consider what currency you would like to have it in. Usual choices will either be your local currency or the currency that you will most often be using. If the currency you most often use is unstable you might want to keep the card in your local currency. If your local currency is unstable you might consider having it in another currency. I personally use my card to make payments in several currencies and my local currency is fairly stable, so I have chosen to have my card and account in my local currency. NETELLER offers their accounts and cards in more currencies than most, if not all, other solutions.

Besides limiting your available spending to only the money you have set aside for your holiday, the NETELLER account and Net+cards also offer another fantastic tool that not all banks or card issuers offer, namely the ability to instantly view your transactions online and also control your available funds. You can see a transaction literally seconds after you’ve completed it. Trust me; I have tested it a few times already. If the transaction was in another currency than your card the exchange rate of the transaction might change the amount, but unless something crazy happens, these changes will usually be minimal. I have tested this on a Netbook, iPhone, Android Smartphone and even an ordinary budget mobile.

Other tips

Buying travel insurance or checking what is covered by your existing policies is also a very good idea. If you have some of your cash or belongings stolen or get sick abroad you might need additional funds in a hurry. Theft is also a very good reason to make photocopies of the front of all your credit and debit cards, passport, ID cards, driver’s license, insurance card and tickets as well as a list of numbers to call to report your cards or documents stolen. Store these documents in a safe place, like a hotel safe or with someone back home you can always reach by phone.

Speaking of phones, do remember that if you bring your mobile with you, roaming charges are usually insanely high, especially if you have a phone that uses data. Even text messages can become extremely costly. 1 way to reduce those costs would be to buy a local, prepaid card, available to tourists in most countries. I would recommend that you go to a proper phone store and tell them what you would like to use the card for, so you get the most economic solution for your needs. In Denmark Lebara offers cheap call rates to other countries from Denmark. If you’re visiting the UK I would recommend that you check out the Your Country SIM from O2. There are also several services online that offer different kinds of international SIM cards with rates usually more favourable than those offered by your own carrier. If the country you’re visiting has a mobile system that is incompatible with your mobile, you can often buy a prepaid card with a cheap mobile.

For budget travel these websites that might come in handy:

• Cheap flights: www.momondo.com
• Cheap train travel and timetables in Europe: http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml
• Hotels and hostels worldwide: www.hotels.com, www.hrs.com
• Cheap deals on train travel, and bus travel, in the UK, USA and Canada: www.megatrain.co.uk
• Low cost tours all over the world: www.tours4fun.com

Happy travelling!