Kiwi travellers are blowing more than $700 million a year on unplanned overseas spending, and as such are returning from their trips with a serious financial holiday hangover.
Travel card Wise says it is less about one big blowout, and more about small, day-to-day purchases quietly adding up.
Tristan Dakin, Wise’s country manager ANZ, says people are deliberate before they travel, comparing options to get the best deal, but once they’re overseas, things can feel less tangible. “Different currencies, unfamiliar prices, unexpected fees, and the urge to live in the moment, all make it hard to track what they’re really spending,” he says. “And that’s when ‘travel math’ takes over.”
Wise research found that 77% of New Zealanders report feeling anxious about how much they were spending during their last overseas trip. Some 48% say holiday money doesn’t always feel like ‘real’ money when they’re overseas, while 47% of those Kiwis polled admitted they tend to spend it in the moment and worry about it later.
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Breaking it down further, 59% of Kiwis are splashing out on eating at restaurants and cafés overseas, while 41% of respondents say they are overspending on booking tours and activities and 35% splash out on shopping.
Dakin says that while there’s no harm in giving ourselves licence to spend from time to time, no-one wants to come back home with a financial holiday hangover.
To beat travel math, he urges travellers to know exactly what they’re spending in New Zealand dollars by keeping up to date with exchange rates, and setting specific funds aside for problem spending areas. See more on the product HERE.
