Work Out How Much Cash to Actually Carry Abroad
The usual advice — 'carry some cash, use your card' — leaves out the only two numbers that matter: how much cash per day, and what each route costs you in fees. This takes your trip budget and length, splits it into a daily cash envelope and a card share, then prices the ATM route against the card foreign-exchange route so you can see which is cheaper and how many withdrawals the trip needs. Local only; nothing leaves the tab.
- Split
- Budget divided into daily cash and card shares
- local
- What it replaces
- A guess at the airport exchange desk
- $0.00
- Input
- Budget, days, and two fee rates
- no card
- Output
- A daily envelope, a fee comparison, a withdrawal count
- recomputed
What you pay otherwise
| Route | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Airport exchange desk | The worst rate you will be offered all trip | 3–6% spread |
| One big ATM withdrawal | Cheap, but a lot of cash to lose or have stolen | real risk |
| Running out on day two | An emergency withdrawal at the worst moment | $8+ fee |
| This page | A daily envelope and the cheaper fee route | $0 |
The workflow
Enter the total you'll spend, not the total you have
Accommodation already paid? Leave it out. The tool splits what you'll actually spend on the ground, and including a prepaid hotel just inflates every daily figure.
Set the cash share to how you'll really pay
Thirty to forty percent is typical for places where markets, taxis and small restaurants are cash-first. In a card-heavy city, ten percent is plenty — the envelope is only useful if it matches reality.
Compare the two fee routes before you decide
The ATM route costs a fixed fee per withdrawal; the card route costs a percentage of everything you spend. Below a certain spend, the flat ATM fee wins. The docket prints both totals so the choice is arithmetic, not habit.
Take the withdrawal count as a plan, not a rule
Three withdrawals of a round amount beats seven small ones on fees, and beats one huge one on risk. Withdraw in multiples that fit the envelope rather than emptying the account on arrival.
Worked example
Sample: 1,400 total, 7 days, 35% cash Daily spend 200.00 Cash envelope 70.00/day (490.00 total) Card share 130.00/day (910.00 total) ATM route 3 withdrawals × 3.50 = 10.50 Card FX route 910.00 × 2.5% = 22.75 Uploaded nothing — split in the tab
Numbers above are sample data produced by the tool's own pre-loaded example, run in the browser — not averages or measured benchmarks.
What breaks this
Including prepaid accommodation inflates every daily figure — enter only what you'll spend on the ground. Setting the cash share from habit rather than destination gives you an envelope you'll never use or one that runs dry. Ignoring the withdrawal size — many ATMs cap a single withdrawal, so a large envelope may need more trips than the count suggests.
Try it now
A 1,400 budget over seven days with a 35% cash share is loaded. Drop the cash share to 10% and watch the fee comparison flip in favour of the card.
Open the splitter →Go deeper: the printable docket
The split is free forever. The $4 one-time tier adds:
- Printable docket — the daily envelope and withdrawal plan on one slip — estimate: ~6 min saved re-checking each morning.
- Saved trips shelf — keep up to 8 trip budgets in this browser — estimate: ~8 min saved per trip of re-entering.
- Running day log — tick off each day's envelope as you go — estimate: ~10 min saved on the end-of-trip reckoning.