MONEY SAFETY

Travelers checks cost money too! I've had no problem using American Express traveler's checks in Mexico, but they will always insist on seeing a passport before they cash them.

Thieves and pickpockets aren't a big problem, but that doesn't mean you will be immune. Mexicans (and gringo tourists) will steal things just to be stealing them, just like anywhere else. And you could get mugged too, just like anywhere else. I keep my travelers checks and any big bills in an envelope along with my passport in a waterproof diver's bag tied around my neck (note: it's not REALLY watertight), and I have several copies of my passport stuffed just about everywhere.

I eyeball the person at the hotel desk for a day or two before trusting them to keep my stuff, just in case I have to cause trouble. So far, they've been very lucky.

Personally I think an ATM card with a bit of cash and a few travellers cheques are the way to go. Each form has both advantages and disadvantages. Keep each in a different pocket/location, so that if you are robbed you have a backup.

Interesting topic. Curious to hear any novel ideas.

My "trip money," or money for the entire trip, I almost always carry on me in the form of cash / traveler's checks (TC's) / credit cards, in a money belt under my clothes. I have on rare occaision hidden TC's in my luggage at the hotel, since they are insured, but never cash, and never my credit card (which is easy to carry anyway). If I am on a short, weekend visit, I don't bother with TC's and bring all cash (and a credit card "just in case"). I imagine many just skip the TC's and withdraw of the credit card -- curious to see if I am behind the times in that regard.

My daily spending money is cash and I spread it between 2-3 pockets. When in Mexico I prefer khaki shorts with the extra side pockets with velcro closures. I always keep part of my cash there. I can't imagine an adult pickpocket getting into those pockets without me knowing.

As a side note, my Mexico experiences with theft of cash / pickpocketing are as follows. 1) When homestaying with a family in Cuernavaca to study Spanish, I would sometimes hide cash with my things in the home. The maid slipped a note a few times before I figured out what was happening (I confronted her but didn't tell the family -- she wasn't a bad person, and probably needed the money more than I did). 2) My friend caught someone trying to reach into his jeans pocket on the D.F. subway while it was packed and he was trying to watch all his luggage as he headed to airport. He karate-chopped their fingers while they were in his pocket and the thief didn't get any money. The coach was so crowded my friend couldn't even tell who had made the attempt. 3) I ran into an apparently very uninformed weekend visitor to D.F. who had showed up carrying a wallet in his back pocket. It was gone within a few hours of arrival, taken, he believed, by a girl or her accomplice at a bar. 4) A married couple I knew was held up at gunpoint at Chapultepec Park.

I use the ATMS frequently. The charge here is very reasonable--regulated by the government at about 7.5 pesos per transaction. Of course, if your bank charges a high fee, that pushes it up. My US bank charges one dollar so I make large withdrawals making it really inexpensive.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr> ... skip the TC's and withdraw of the credit card -- curious to see if I am behind the times in that regard.<hr></blockquote>

As far as I know, banks in Mexico will not provide cash advances on credit cards.

We spend the winters in Playa del Carmen and use the ATMs all the time. The only time I was relieved of my money was the first year, when the streets were crowded with carnaval crowds. I had all kinds of stuff in an embroidered cloth bag that I had slung around my neck - even credit cards, driver's license, lots of cash. All that was required was a blade to cut the strap and the bag fell into the thief's hand.

The crowds included lots of people from all over Mexico and other countries, so who knows who it was, but it was almost certainly someone who was there just for that purpose. I realized afterwards how completely silly I'd been.

Otoh, we have maid service from a group under one local woman, so they're in every week. We don't leave anything out, but sometimes there is change in a cup by the door to pay the water man. And other small objects with some value. There has never been anything missing and sometimes the maids check before leaving to make sure the money I've left out is for them.

If you have a Bank of America account in the US you can use your ATM card at any Santander Serfin bank in Mexico and there is no ATM fee and you´ll get an exchange rate almost equal to the yahoo finance exchange rate. This is the best option. B of A owns a part of the bank in Mexico so there are no fees. Citibank owns a part of Banamex but they screw you on the exchange rate.

Strictly cash, all the way!...... Just kidding.

As most everyone knows, I went on a strictly cash basis on my last trip in August. I put most in my money belt, with a couple of hundred in my wallet. Then a fifty in my shoe.

It worked fine, but I agree with most others, ATMs are the way to go. I'd just suggest keeping a couple hundred USD (or whatever is your currency) in hiding on your person just in case......Thats how I intend to do it on my next foray into the lovely land of Mexico this year.

Poster 6 has it right. So easy with Bank of America and Santander Serfin. However you cannot always find a Santander Serfin so I also have American Express Travelersa Checks which I get free from my credit union as B. of A. charges me for the TCs. I also have travel insurance in case something really bad happens. I take credit cards VISA, my ATM card, TCs and cash. Always best with twice the money and half the clothes.. I have watched as an ATM in Merida ate my travel compaions ATM card one time.

This isn't rocket science. On a crowded subway or bus anywhere... a big fat wallet in your back pocket is an invitation to theft. And, for that matter, when a Metro car is very crowded, it could just be bumped out -- inadvertantly or otherwise.

Being sort of absent-minded no matter where I happen to be, I picked up a "bikers wallet" and a belt clip at a dollar-store. I don't keep the wallet in my pocket, but down the front of my pants.

In Mexico, I've done like everyone else, if I had a fairly substantial amount of cash I kept it in three or four places. Travelling, I've usually kept it in my dirty sox... figuring that's the last thing anyone's gonna steal.

If you're travelling... even on the cheap... you'll be withdrawing a 1000 pesos or so at a time and the ATM fees are then reasonable. I use ATMs inside a building (like a Sandborns) or those that require you use card access... and then go somewhere (like the men's room) to divvy up the cash into various pockets and my wallet.

It's cursi to "flash cash" (show off your money, i.e. your status) in Latin America anyway. The kind of places where you're paying a large amount (a hotel desk, a fancy restaurant, the bus station, or, for those living in Mexico ... the electric company, etc.) aside, most of your purchases are fairly modest, and you don't need more than a few hundred pesos at a time, so why pull out a huge roll of money? If you need to dig into two pockets for the extra cash, it's not a big deal, and the Mexicans do it all the time.