Tag: Advice

MONEY!

Spending money abroad.

After countless trips over to the continent in recent years having a wonderful time exploring the only thing that left a bad taste in our mouths is the frankly ridiculous fee’s our UK banks charge for the privilege of using their cards abroad to access OUR money.

Knowing we were going to be spending much more time traveling we set about trying to find a way to minimise this!

Some relatively quick googling later we came across the Monza and Starling brands.

Both are internet based banks with super easy application processes that charge you ZERO for using them abroad.

They work like pre pay debit cards. You have to load money onto them to be able to use them.

The application process is so simple and aside from the rather embarrassing video they make you do of yourself reading from a script to prove you are who you say you are its really quick.

We applied to both banks and got a card each which arrived in less than a week and the cards are quite sexy too (if you like your designer looking stuff!).

An extra perk of these online banks is the apps. You can categorise your spending as you go and they do you lovely little graphics (charts) to detail your spend split. Handy if you want to keep track of what you are spending and on what.

The money loading process is really fast – you just use the sort code and account number and transfer direct from your current account.

The only downside (when I was using my husband’s card) if that it sends you instant messages with your spend details so whilst shopping for stuff the other week he knew how much I had spent before I had even gotten back to the car! No more hiding!

Thus far there has only been one place that would not accept them which was the toll bridge over to Ile De Ra. Otherwise it seems to be treated like any other card.

In addition the exchange rates they apply seem really reasonable and move as the markets move.

You can even take out cash although Monza does put a monthly limit on this at €200.

All in all a good find that’s reduced our outgoings via daft bank charges!

River & Canal Holidays in Europe

River & Canal Boating in France.

 

Quite by accident several years ago we stumbled onto an alternative kind of holiday.  A little tired of just getting a drivers tan each summer from road trips I craved something different but similar.

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Winter Sports On A Budget! Part 1 – Getting There

How are you going to get there?

Options from the UK to the Alps: fly, drive (Eurotunnel or ferry) or train (Eurostar).

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Clarke IG950 800w Generator Review

‘Wild camping?’- This is what you need (in our humble opinion)

Generator Review – If you are going to spend considerable amounts of time ‘Wild camping’ your are going to need some way of re-charging your 12v batteries – while solar can be a good solution in the summer we needed something to support winter use in the mountains, where the sun is often too low to reach down into the valleys even on cloudless days!

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New Bukkits!

The ‘2 bucket method’

When winter camping lots of Motorhome travellers prefer to not use the on-board grey water tank, instead going with the ‘2 bucket method’

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Tips on choosing/modifying a Motorhome for the winter

Winter in a Motorhome? 

Many motorhome/camper owners just use their vans when the weather is warm, assuming ‘camping’ is just a fair weather pastime – but they are missing out on one of the best reasons for owning a motorhome – ski season!

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Super Besse Resort Review

Super Besse – A hidden gem and well worth a visit!

Located around 4 hours west of the traditional French alpine reports Super Besse is a hidden gem. Continue reading

How To – Efficiently empty your toilet casette

My tried and tested guide to emptying your porta potty toilet! (Black water)

As a relative newbie to the porta potty world (12 months in and countless “accidents”)

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How to – use the Mont Blanc Tunnel in a Motor Home

Crossing through the Mont Blanc Tunnel in a Motor home should be considered as an adventure in itself!

Italy calling…

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And so the bus adventure begins…

The desire to buy a motor home came mainly from a realisation that we were spending a fortune each year paying off other people’s mortgages during ski season – anything from £300 to £1600 per week to use other people’s homes. Whilst the accommodation provided a nice base for a holiday it did prove a little restrictive as we found out one trip when the snow proved illusive but we were committed to a resort having paid for 2 weeks rental.

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