Travelling Abroad

Wanted to provide some tips on how Stefi and I plan our trips abroad.  These will allow you to save some money you might not even know you are losing and help you hit the ground running by knowing the essentials when you land.  

To get these answers, I'd recommend starting off with a google search.  If that doesn't work, go to Tripadvisor forums.  First do a search of the forum to try to find your answer, if that doesn't work, ask the people a new question.  As someone who participates int he Budapest community, I recommend you do the search first as experienced people will not reply to the same question over and over again...as such, you'll find either no one responds or you will get a response from someone who doesn't know what they are talking about.  

The way I will structure this is to start out telling you the things to look for followed by an example from Budapest.  

1) Transportation

a) From the airport - Many countries have public transit routes from the airport to city center.  Some have "official" taxis services with fixed fees.  The only consistency is every city and airport is different.  Is credit card accepted?  Research the best way to get from the airport to downtown and understand the costs. 

In Budapest we have the 100E bus which will take you to the city center with three stops.  This is typically the best way as it costs $4 per person and you can buy your pass using credit card (note that normal transit passes, including unlimited ride passes, do not work on this bus).  But if you arrive late at night and are not staying near one of those stops, while the 100E bus runs, you will need another bus to get you to your hotel.  Much of public transit stops at 11:00-11:30.  

While it is generally advised not to flag a taxi at a taxi stand or on the street, it is absolutely the best option at the airport as there is an official taxi service and the government makes it hard for other taxis (even pre-arranged drivers) to operate.  A ride to the city center is around $30.  

b) Taxi service - How does it work?  In some countries you need to call ahead an in others you flag them on the street.  Does Uber exist?  If not, a similar service probably does.  What are the reliable companies to use?  

In Budapest, you do not use taxis at the train stations nor flag them on the road.  All of these taxi drivers (called freelancers) are ripoffs.  If you use a real taxi service, you will absolutely get an honest driver, but you need to call ahead or flag them through an app.  The two primary services are City Taxi who you can call or use the app, or Bolt, which is similar to Uber.  Due to Budapest law, all taxis (including Bolt) charge the same price.  All of these services must accept credit card.   

c) Public transit - Is it better to buy individual passes or unlimited passes?  How do you validate your ticket (particularly for individual ride passes)?  Does the ticket allow for transfer?  

I love google maps transit mode for routing me.  

In Budapest, you can buy 1, 3 and 7 day passes in purple vending machines (validated at purchase) or via the Budapest Go app (I do not yet trust the mobile app).  You can also buy individual ride passes, which I do not recommend because many tourists do not properly validate them and get fined (if you are intent on taking this route, research how to validate tickets).  Except on a few busses (not normal tourist routes), your pass will not be checked when you board...it is an on your honor system backed by roaming officials who will check for passes periodically asking to see your ticket.  If something is wrong (i.e. your single ticket isn't validated) you get fined 12,000 HUF.  All passes can be bought using credit card.   

2) Currency

This is a tricky and complex subject.  

Research the currency rates so you know when you are being ripped off and not (I have the xe app on my phone).  You will never be able to exchange at the published exchange rate, but at least you know how much you are losing.  You can calculate your loss as follows:

Published exchange rate: 400 HUF

Store Exchange rate: 404 HUF

404-400/400 = 1%

Good rules of thumb:

• Don't exchange at airports, train stations or tourists centers
• Don't change at large chains
• Don't change at banks

Internet sleuthing and tripadvisor can usually provide you with good exchanges

ATM withdrawals at bank ATMs are almost always a great rate...but subject to your own bank fees.  Most European bank ATMs do not charge fees like in the US.  Again, something to research.  

Using credit card is also a great way to get a good rate.  

In both cases of ATMs and credit card transactions at stores, there is a concept of Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).  When you use and ATM or a credit card machine, it will warn you that your bank is going to charge you unknown fees.  To protect you from these fees, the machine can present the charge in US Dollars.  The trick is, while they publish the exchange rate, if you do the math it is a ripoff.  I'll talk about this later in bank fees, but I have never seen the known rate at less than 3% loss. 

Always, always always pay in local currency.  While Mexico will take USD, it will always be at a poor exchange rate.  While Hungary will take Euro in many tourist places, it will typically cost you 30% in poor exchange rate.   

In Budapest, do not exchange at airports or train stations.  Correct Change is a chain of FX shops along trams 4 and 6 with multiple locations.  You can also withdraw money from a bank owned ATM for free.  Just make sure to withdraw at the "unknown" rate from your bank rather than using a known rate the bank ATM will offer you.  Also, avoid Euronet ATMs which have especially horrible "known" rates which they will trick you into accepting (you will lose at least 10%).  99% of places accept credit card, but you will need cash for bathrooms and street food.  

3) Tipping

I don't think any country adopts a 20% tip like the US.  I would say in countries where tipping is customary, the norm is 10%.  

Some examples: 

- In France and Italy, they include a flat euro amount service fee (or bread fee) and you may round up the bill to the nearest euro as a tip.  

- Budapest is moving from a traditional 10% tip model to a service fee of 10-12%.  5-10 years ago, only tourist places charged a service fee, now virtually all restaurants and bars charge it.  

- In Netherlands, it is an insult to offer any tip.  No service fee is charged.  

- I believe the UK uses the traditional 10% tip

Outside of the US, you will often not see a tip line on the receipt, instead you tell the server how much to add as tip.  In many cases, I don't believe the server will get the tip, and as such, I try very hard to tip in cash.  

Also understand tipping for taxis, which may be different for restaurants.  Additionally, bars may be different from table service (i.e. I believe Brits do not tip for drinks at the bar).  

4) Cell Phone

Find out the best cell phone service to get as a pre-paid SIM card.  Be prepared that you may need to show your passport.  

You will need to call your carrier and have them unlock your phone so you can use a temporary SIM card. T-Mobile has an app you can download that allows you to unlock even an in subscription phone for 30 days.   

The EU has free roaming...if you are doing a trip across multiple countries, you can buy a SIM card in your first country and use it in any EU location.  Since the UK has left the EU, it is no longer covered by this practice.  

Alternatively, for short trips, I have a Google Fi subscription.  The service has no commitment and can be enabled and disabled at will (if you leave it disabled for 90 days, it will re-enable...but you can simply turn it off).  Google Fi is $20 or $30 a month plus $10 per gigabyte for global data.  

In Budapest, I recommend getting T-Mobile prepaid service...it is less than $10 for 10 GB of data.  

 5) Credit Card Usage

Understand how widely credit cards are accepted.  Some countries use them so widely that you almost can no longer use cash.  Others are very cash centric and it is very hard to use card.  

Many countries require a chip for your card.  Also, many countries make far better use of contactless payment.  In this case, you can pay with your watch or phone by enrolling your credit card in google pay/wallet or apple pay.  

Some services don't take US cards.  I used to find public transit in Europe would not take my cards, but since the US adopted chip cards, this has not been a problem.  I still do find some online tourist attractions do not accept US cards....the Vatican was a perfect example.  The only solution to this is getting a European issued card.  Likely not worth the effort.  

6) Electronics

There are two things you need to worry about with your electronics when you travel.  1) The voltage - The US is one of the few countries in the world that uses 120 Volt power from the outlet.  Most of the world uses 240 Volt.  2) The shape of the plug - There is no international standard here.  I think there are around 7 plug shapes mostly defined by region.  

For the Voltage, check either the power brick or the place where the power enters your device.  If it says something like 120VAC/240VAC for input, you are good.  If it only says Input 120VAC, you are screwed.  For these, there are converters you can buy, but it isn't worth the hassle.  

I find that nowdays, about the only thing you have issues with are heating devices such as hair dryers and curling irons.  

The other thing is the shape of the plug.  These are easy to buy cheaply either before you leave or on the ground when you land.  Google the shape you need.  

7) International Trains

I remember in college being told how great Eurorails was for buying european train tickets.  Maybe at the time it was great given I'm sure most countries did not have websites.  But nowdays, they just add a surcharge.  

The best way to get train tickets is through the national railway for the country of origin or destination.  You can do this at the train station or, often, online.  This is a great site for european train travel: https://www.seat61.com/

8) Bathroom use

Many cities (particularly in europe) are sticklers on bathroom usage.  For instance, in Budapest you can't even use the McDonalds bathroom without buying something.  There are often many public bathrooms, but they all charge around $1 to use them.  This will require you to have some change at all times.  

Ways around this: 1) buy a coffee to use the bathroom 2) Hotels rarely monitor their bathrooms

We were in Bratislava for a day trip and as such, didn't get local currency...we knew we could use card.  The one thing we forgot: we were in the castle and the only bathrooms available charged 1 euro.  We had no euro.  There were not even restaurants we could buy a coffee at.  Luckily the attendant took pity on the boys, but not on Stefi.  She had to hold it a very long time.  

Preparations to travel abroad: 

1) Banking

Call your banks ahead of time and tell them you are travelling.  Many banks block foreign transactions unless you warn them.  They will ask dates of travels and countries you will visit.  

Understand your fees.  Most banks will charge you $5 to withdraw from a foreign ATM and a 3% fee for any transaction (credit card charge or ATM withdrawal) that is done in foreign currency.  I have a Schwab account where my ATM card has zero fees for both and it will reimburse me for ATM charges.  Capital One cards are famous for not charging the foreign transaction fee.  I believe the Costco card has also removed this fee.  

You will need a chip card abroad - mag stripe is dead.  Additionally, I find most countries are far ahead of the US in contactless.  I have enrolled my cards in Google Pay/Wallet and often pay with my phone.  

2) Cell Phone

As I noted before, call your carrier to get your phone unlocked for a temporary SIM.  Make sure you bring the tool so you can pop the SIM card on your phone.  

Most carriers have a plan where you can have internet access abroad.  For even our normal internet fees, they are very high vs. other countries.  The international rates are even far higher than our normal rates.  That makes US carrier fees a complete rip off when you are abroad.  

Install apps on your phone to communicate back home.  I use whatsapp, signal and facebook messenger for most of my domestic and international communication.  

Also, install a phone app that allows you to call US numbers...I've traditionally used skype.  This comes in especially handy if your credit or ATM card gets declined for fraud.  

3) Passport/Visa

If you have less than 6 months left on your passport on your return date, check the countries you are going to make sure that is OK.  

Make sure you don't need a visa to travel...you can typically check on the US Department of State website or the Embassy/Consulate of the country you are looking to travel to.  

4) Phone Apps

Here are some phone apps I rely on.  I am a Google guy so most of my apps will be Google over Apple.  Apple may have a similar, if inferior, product.

1) XE  - great for currency conversion...know rates and be able to convert prices without doing math.  

2) Google Maps - tons of useful stuff here.  

Get directions using walking mode, transit mode or driving mode. 

Find great restaurants using reviews, cuisines, and distance from current location.  

Find banks, atms, grocery stores, hospitals, fast food etc.  

If you have the local rideshare app installed it will provide you rideshare cost estimates. 

3) Google Translate - in addition to typing in words and phrases to get a translation, you can use your camera and it will use character recognition to translate and overlay with English.  You can also use interpreter mode to talk with someone and use Google as an interpreter.  

4) Google Lens - you can point it at an interesting building or monument to find out what it is.  

5) Tripadvisor - use it to find top sites, top/nearby restaurants and use the forums to ask ad hoc questions.  

Ukraine Charities

 Link to local charities helping Ukraine on the ground:

www.supportukraine.co

Direct Deposit to Ukrainian Defense Department: 

https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi

Hungarian Sources Helping Refugees Directly

Migration Aid: https://migrationaid.org/adomanyozas/

Age of Hope: https://aoh.hu/kapcsolat/

Hungarian Reformed Church: https://www.facebook.com/Reformed-Church-in-Hungary-434259159985027/

Charity Grading Sites: 

charitywatch.org

https://www.charitynavigator.org/

You can also use these sites to find well regarded large charities like CARE. direct relief, world vision, doctors without borders, Save the Children

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=9366

https://www.charitywatch.org/charity-donating-articles

AirBnB

My opinion on using airBnB to help Ukrainians?

1. If you are worried about the overhead of charities, understand AirBnB will take a larger cut (18%) plus you will pay taxes on the stay.  A good charity has less than 10% overhead.  

2. You are only helping one person...who may not need help and may be getting help from a number of other "guests".  A charity will spread your donation across many people.

3. Your host is probably already rather wealthy

Payment:

It seems like a number of these charities are now providing credit card options for Americans to use.  However, some of the more local charities do only accept bank transfers. This lowers their fees and makes sure the money gets to those who need it, but is difficult and expensive for Americans to use.  

Three ways to address this: 

1) Just do a swift transfer through your bank.  This will cost you $25 but may also cost the charity a fee plus a currency conversion commission from their bank

2) I can do it for you but you need to send me the money through venmo

3) Get either a "revolut" or "wise" card.  Convert to the currency you will send to (I recommend sending to a euro account) then do the transfer.  If you travel abroad frequently or have family abroad, these are good cards to have...but not worth the effort just for this.

I can help with any of the above options.  

International Communication

This post will be for all friends and family who want to keep in touch with us while we are abroad.  It provides some tools and services to manage things with us and our kids.

I will not post most of our contact info on the web.  If you need to get these pieces of information, find us on facebook.

Communication
First of all, understand we will be 7 hours ahead.  So when it is 7:00 pm in Chicago, it is 2:00 AM in Budapest.  Please don't call us at 7:00 pm Chicago time. 

We will maintain new US numbers through Voice over IP services on our phones.  They will hopefully support both voice and SMS services.  Message us for the new numbers.

I am going to try to keep our current phone numbers on Google Fi, but they will mostly be turned off when we are abroad...we will turn them on when we are stateside.

The best way to get in touch with us is using the following apps in order of preference:
1. Whattsapp - this is a mobile app available on Android or Apple that allows for SMS, multimedia sharing and phone calls.  It is a reliable service and owned by Facebook.  I think this will be our primary service where you can reach us on the go.  You can find us by our phone numbers. 
2. Facebook Messenger - Also offers messaging, multimedia sharing, and phone calls.  We will also likely be available on the go using this service but it is secondary to Whatsapp.  The messenger app is available for Android, Apple and Windows devices.
3. Viber - Same as Whatsapp...we don't use it now, but may begin to use it more later.  Again, you can look us up by our phone number.  The app is available for Andoid and Apple devices.
4. Skype - Right now we use this for planned calls only as most of the above services aren't available on laptops.  There is an app available for Android, Apple and Windows devices.  We typically do not have the Skype app turned on on our phones.

Payments
Due to difference in banking systems and large expense in sending packages to Hungary ($65 for a envelope), sending a check will not work.

If you want to send us money (holiday gifts etc), there are three primary ways to do it:
1. Venmo - This is a phone app available for Android and Apple.  The service is owned by Paypal, thus very reputable.  You link it to a bank account and it allows you to send money for free.  You can look us up by our email addresses.
2. Paypal - This is primarily more of a web application, though android and apple apps are available.  You can send money as "friends and family" to us this way.  This is a bit more difficult as we will then need to transfer money to our bank account.  You can send money from credit card, but it will deduct a fee.  Tranfers are free if you deduct from a bank account or use your paypal balance.
3. Zelle is a web application that allows you to send money from one bank account to another.  Currently, our bank accounts do not support this, but I understand one of them will very soon.
4. Send a check to one of my parents.  The check should be made out in their name, not ours.

Gifts
Shipping is EXTREMELY expensive unless you go through a specialized shipping service.  It costs roughly $65 to send an envelope via Fedex/UPS and $600 for a 50 lb suitcase.  You do not want to send packages through normal mail as they often get "lost" (ahem stolen) in transition.

Also, no store present in the US is also present in Hungary.  the only gift card you can send would be Amazon, which leads me to my next point.

If you do want to get us or the kids a physical gift, the best way to do so is through Amazon.de (the German Amazon site).  They will ship to us for free, though the price will be adjusted for Hungarian VAT at the end (think of it as sales tax).  Please message us for address.

I will update this if we find other reliable websites to buy gifts.

Holiday Cards or Letters
You can send us cards or letters cheaply.  Do not include anything of value as they are known to disappear (ahem stolen) in transit.   Also, please do not send checks as we cannot cash them in Hungary.

Facebook Privacy

I'm back after a month break due to a 2 week vacation then catching up on all the things I missed while out.

In curating my Facebook feed to open up this blog, I realized the level of freedom and control that Facebook offers in it's privacy settings.  Few people fail to recognize how open their Facebook may be and how locked down you can make it.

You want to do this proactively as you never know when someone will use your profile information against you.  I was once pursued by a lawyer who used my LinkedIn information to begin calling me at work.  Debt Collectors and potential employers check out your social media all the time.

First of all, a few features:

• Look at your page as a public user sees your profile

When looking at your feed, click on your name in the upper right hand corner
On the lower right hand of your cover photo is a "..."
Click on it, then select "View As..."
Note that in the ribbon at the top, you can type int he name of a person and see your profile as they see it.  It's a good way to check to make sure you are blocking things from someone in particular.

You are now seeing your profile as a person who isn't a Friend or Friend of a Friend sees it.  Check for posts you didn't mean to make public.  Check your About section and pictures to see what is visible.

All of these permissions can be changed in your Edit Profile section.

• Limit Past Posts

If you want to adjust your privacy settings for all past posts, you can go into Settings then select Privacy then for Limit the Audience... choose Limit Old Posts




Next, the settings you'll want to look at (all of these can be found in the Settings section) and the recommended setting.  This will give you a locked down profile without making it unusable.

Privacy

• Who can send you friend requests: Friends of Friends
• Who can look you up using the email address you provided?  Friends of Friends
• Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?  I allow Everyone, but maybe you want to make this Friends of Friends
• Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?  No (If you've googled your name, you probably see a link to your facebook profile.  This will block that)

Timeline and Tagging

• Who can post to your timeline? Friends
• Review Posts...?  Yes (This will prevent someone from posting inappropriate posts or pictures on your timeline)
• Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?  Friends
• Who can see what others have posted to your timeline? Friends
• How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?  Review all of these

Public Posts

• Who can follow me?  Friends
• Public Post Comments: Friends or Friends of Friends
• Public Profile Info: Friends

Look Yourself Up

Like I said, last night's post was a freebie, but this one will be short.

One of the easiest things you can do for your own personal security is to google yourself.  Google your name with quotes around it and see what you find.  Maybe google some of your usernames. Look for your personal information being exposed.  While you are at it, look at the results in the perspective of what an employer would look at (I google any applicant before I hire them).

Use different search engines...Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, Yahoo.

A couple years ago, I found that a group my son was a part of had accidentally left all their registration records exposed, so when I looked up my name, I saw records that included my name, address, phone, email, and kid names.  In working with the group, I was able to close the exposure for all the kids involved.

You may find forum posts you made when you were more young and stupid that you may want to have deleted or marked as private.

Take a look at your social media profiles as someone who isn't logged in.  Is that political rant against Donald Trump public?  Are those updates to LinkedIn when you are dissatisfied with your job being broadcast to your boss?  Tweak your security and privacy settings so you are only sharing what you want to share.

Tech Support Call

Earlier this week, I had a call from "Tech Support" informing me that my computer was infected and they wanted to help me fix it.  Don't believe them.  

I messed with them and followed their instructions to access a screenshare tool.  When they gave me the access code I used it to report them.

If you think about it, how would anyone be able to connect your computer communication with your phone number?  And especially, how would they know to connect it with your cell phone?  Even worse, these people called my work number.  

If you think they might be valid, go to google and type "What's my IP" then ask the support person what your IP address is (do this before you connect to their remote support tool).  I promise it won't match.  

This lady pressed on after I told her I reported her saying "I'm with the government and you just reported the government to the government."  When I asked what my IP address was, she confidently made one up, but it was way wrong.  

  

Crashplan Backup

This is my first attempt at a blog.  I'm going to start by providing tips for folks to keep themselves safe, whether it be online or otherwise.

My first tip will be to back up your data.  There has been a rash of ransomware going around lately that encrypts all your data.  They ask for a ransom in order to get the password to decrypt it.

I use Crashplan.  It's about $5 a month for one computer to back unlimited data up to the cloud.  Our phones are backed up to Google and all other devices feed into my main computer, so this works for me.  

They have 3 methods of backup:
1) Backup to external hard drive or network share.  This is free.
2) Backup to a friend.  If you have a lot of data, you can backup using step one, then give the external drive to your friend, have them install the software and keep your stuff backed up offsite for free.
3) Backup to the cloud.  This is the only thing you have to pay for, but data is unlimited.  I have 5 TB up there now (it took 4 months to get it up there).

The only downside is if you have over a TB, you'll need to make sure you have a large amount of RAM installed and do a memory tweak.  Since it runs on Java, it can be a memory hog.

Many folks speak very highly of backblaze as well.  It does not offer the option of backing up to a friend.

As for me, since I have so much data and it is very slow to upload, I back everything up to a external hard drive and began backing critical data to the cloud.  Once that completed, I began the 4 month task of letting everything upload to the cloud.

From a security perspective, you don't want anyone snooping in your data, thus Crashplan also allows the option of encrypting your data with a separate personal key.  DO THIS!!!!  Then save the key to a separate cloud service.  If you lose it, you lose your data.  The benefit of this is I no longer really care about the security of the crashplan service.  So long as they use standard algorithms (they do) the only way someone can see my data is to get a hold of my key.