Travel for the Over 30s

I wrote a few days ago about carrying large amounts of cash when I travel, as an alternative to plastic cards. To do this safely the trick is to not to actually carry the vast majority of your cash in your wallet. In fact I rarely carry more than a day or twos worth of cash in my actual wallet. The rest goes in my money belt. But not just any money belt - and not the type of money belt that most people take: which is something that looks like this:

There are numerous versions of these: they are in silk and cotton even leather, they even come in a deluxe version with place for padlock. They all miss the point - these things are not comfortable to wear and they aren’t even secure! Wearing something close to your body is bloody uncomfortable - if you are wearing anything but the loosest shirt it will be visible. Its also easily pick-pocketable too -unless well below your waistline - which again makes it - bloody uncomfortable. I’ve seen someone loose cash out of money belt which was below the waistline, with a shirt tucked in over the top - the bus was admittedly crowded and the Bolivian woman who did it was good - but it happens because everyone knows that travellers carry their money in a belt around their waist! Except that normally these belts get left in your luggage, or even in your day-pack. Anywhere to avoid the inability to bend over that these belts povide!

There are variations of these belts, the most common is the neck pouch. Try slinging a passport, vaccination card, couple of plastic cards and a wad of cash around your neck all day - you will get a sore neck or worse. The deluxe ones come with piano wire so they can’t be cut - pity the thief won’t know that until they try using their knife on your neck!

A money belt that actually works :I use a shoulder holster money belt. These hang over your shoulder and under an arm. I sometimes connect mine to a bra strap but with the right amount of weight they will stay put. They hang free - not close to the body - which makes them a lot cooler to wear. Because they are under your arm its also a lot more descret. I still wear a reasonably loose fitting top to conceal it but it works - I know I’ve worn it for months at a time.

That said, when I travel alone I don’t carry all my cash and valuables in the one place. I sometimes just fold a $100 into a diary or my laundry bag - but I better solution came along: something that looks like a legit belt - in fact is - but has a narrow zippered compartment which will hold a few notes.

Even if I am not wearing a belt everyday this is useful hiding spot. Another option is small pocket which loops around a regular belt which hangs down inside your clothes: but I think this option is more subtle.

You can also get belts which wrap around your leg to hide a few dollars - wouldn’t be big enough for a passport - but  I wear skirts too much for this to work for me- it would certainly work for many guys.

So there you go there are quite a number of options for money belts - but none of them work unless you wear them - and you won’t wear them unless you find them comfortable!  When I am travelling solo the belt never leaves my side. I don’t trust room safes - they are a pain to use anyway, but I never leave my moneybelt in the room if I am having a shower in the ensuite - the belt comes too - and yes I do sleep with it. Tell you what it works I’ve never lost anything more serious than my wallet!

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