Money belts and wallets

Well, I would not carry a wallet. Why make it obvious where you are carrying cash. We always wear pants and shirts with a couple of secured pockets. Into one pocket goes a credit card and another pocket the days cash. And maybe the passports into another IF we are going to need the passports that day.

You should carry a wallet and money belt. Just keep a days spending money in your wallet and everything else in your money belt/neck pouch. Basically you should be working under the assumption that you will be pick-pocketed, this way your losses are minimal.

Wallet for the morning (or afternoon) cash, one credit card, one bank card, plus tickets or metro pass, phone card, and what have you for the day.

Money belt as "portable safe" to carry most of the cash you get from ATM, second credit card, second bank card, passport, other critical documents.

That way if your wallet is lifted your trip does not come to a great clanking halt.

Everyone needs to adapt their own security system but I see no need for a wallet especially IF you are carrying cash, tickets, credit card, etc. in that wallet. I put one item in one pocket. They may get one pocket but cannot get all three at the same time. This has served us well for many years.

Well as a woman I always carry a purse. Its zipped and buckled, but I carry one, I would feel unnatural if I didn't . Lipstick, sunglasses, brush, these are not going in my pockets, remember womans pants generally do not have the same deep big pockets that mens slacks do.
I always carry days cash in my wallet.
I do not carry my CC with me, it stays in safe at hotel and is used only for train tickets, hotel bills and occaisonal big meal out. If I need it I carry it in money belt.ATM card stays in safe too, only comes out once every 3 or 4 days, gets me money , then it is returned to safe, along with bulk of cash.

I only wear a money belt on travel days, or on days I am taking out ATM or CC cards.
Yes, passport also stays in safe.

When I got to Paris I bought a small coin purse. It has an extra little zipper on the side where I put a couple of small bills. Since all change below 5 Euros is coinage, I found this to be an easy solution for loose money floating around the pocket of my daypack.

hi Karen
I'd like to share my tip. Buy an inexpensive wallet insert - the clear kind that credit cards or small photos fit in. I buy mine at Target in the Men's dept for abt $1.00.

I wear my money belt under my clothes - carrying my passport, a credit card & money stash. I NEVER get into this anywhere in public. Think of it as your safety deposit box at a bank haha. If I do need to get something from it, I would be inside the ladies rm or in my hotel room - away from anyone's view.

The wallet insert has the days worth of paper money folded & tucked inside & one CC. That goes into a zippered pocket in my pants.

If I am carrying a small purse, I may also have a mini zippered coin/change purse inside that.

Oh yeah, I also wore a money belt with all the things I didn't need for the day. Extra credit card, money card and passport.

I use both. The money belt for deep storage and the wallet for a few dollars in spending money, change, a cc and the like. I have never had a problem. One of my pet peeves is people always digging in their money belts.

Thank you to everyone who posted a reply. Your help has been immeasurable. Now I'm not going to be an easy target on the street for thieves! Makes me very happy :)

Both! lots of good advice here--One thing that I have learned is to use a coin purse- you build up an amazing amount of coins -quick- while traveling and I find a coin purse helps me use up those coins. Especially if I have it easily available and use opportunities like early in the morning(other slow time) with a kind cashier at a grocery store-when they are wiloing to let me work through all the small stuff. My wallet has just one card/some kind of ID and the days cash...everything else is in money belt

A wallet would be too big for what I usually carry when I travel. I only take 1 or 2 credit cards and I prefer to keep the money in a different place so when I access it I don't have to pull out the credit cards. last time when I went to Europe I sewed a small pocket a bit larger than a credit card and safety pinned it inside my pants , behind the belt, or the same way inside my front pocket. It worked good.

Hi Karen:

The foregoing comments contain good advice.

I've recently discovered another 'hiding place'. While it might be guy-centric, I offer it to you...

But a couple of packets of T-shirts with pockets - and wear one under a shirt or sweater (as an undershirt).

You'll have easy access (you might have to unbutton a button or two).

I've always felt a little strange opening my trousers to access my moneybelt in a shop - makes the shopkeeper a bit nervous, you see.

"And what is sir intending to buy?"

Happy Trails,
bill

Bill that is funny. Actually its not a bad idea, as long as one is not travelling in hot weather , easy to reach into chest pocket , but concealed enough. .

I do what Michael S does. I keep my actual daily spending cash in my left pocket so I have to think about reaching for it as I'm a righty.

I keep the mugger wallet in my right so I can hand it over with my dominant right hand if need be. It's kind of a silly system but I've been doing it for years just incase.
I keep expired cards in the mugger wallet with holes punched where the personal info should be. I don't think in a mugging they will actually open it in front of me. I put Canadian Tire money in it also. Well, just the 5 cent ones..LoL!

Hi, Karen. I 15th the suggestion of having a wallet with that day's money and 1 credit card/form of ID in one place, and passport/other card/cash wad in another. I learned the hard way NOT to keep the big-cash/passport in my pocket, after leaving my wallet in an Austrian cab my first night traveling Europe. lol $400.00. :(

PS - Make sure your wallet is big enough to fit the slightly larger European Bills. My wallet was waaaay to small the first time!

I don't carry a wallet. Just a fold of smaller bills in a front pocket.

Unless I will need a debit or credit card, it stays in the money belt. Rather than producing it out of my money belt when I need a card. I go to a restroom and make sure I didn't accidentaly drop anything before I leave.

I do things a little differently......My main moneyberlt is a nylon pocket that hangs from my belt inside my pants. You don't even feel it. Inside are most of my credit cards, copy of my passport, credit cards,etc, my insuarnce card, drivers license, extra cash and any other pertinent information I need.

Around my neck tucked into my shirt is a smaller "neck wallet" with my passport, one credit card and one debit card. (Much easier to get to if need be but still under my clothes.)

In my pocket is a small wallet that only has the day's cash.