How much money should you bring?

Published on 8 May 2023 at 23:17

We brought about $1000 AUD cash.

I brought SGD cash too thinking I can just go to the money changer and get it change for emergency purposes. Yup, there was an emergency. The rate to change here wasn't great. I changed SGD$1000 just to get AUD$950 at the money changer here. I was supposed to get more, possibly expecting to get AUD$1100. Singapore currency ain't a demand here. Hence the reason to low rates. 


So if you want to bring cash, perhaps US money is better. Convert them to AU currency in your own country if that's possible, or bring US currency and change it here. 

 

Alternatively, go contactless. Heard of Wise or YouTrip card? They have the best currency rates. You can easily transfer money from Singapore bank to your YouTrip card instantly. Then, you select the currency. This card acts like a debit card with strong currency rates. I believe it's the best mode of payment transaction as you won't need to pay extra for converting currency. Just that these cards have a withdrawal limit per day. Meaning you cannot spend more that the limit. 

Strangely, to transfer money from my SG bank to my AU bank account can take up to 12 hours or 1 working day. My brother in Perth didn't have that problem. His was instant. Is it because Perth is nearer to Singapore? But money is wired electronically so I don't understand why it takes so long for my sg money to be transferred to Melbourne. I told myself to not transfer anything after lunch on Friday. Transaction will only be completed on Monday. Don't bother transferring your money during the weekend. It is closed. No transaction will happen during the weekend.

 

So spend wisely. Spread out your big purchases. Don't spend money on big purchases in one day.

 

Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.