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MoneyWi$e: Travel Smart and Protect Your Money · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Whether you are planning a weekend getaway, a family vacation,
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  or an international adventure, travel should be about making memories,
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  not dealing with financial headaches.
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  Unfortunately, travelers are often targeted for scammers, thieves,
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  and identity theft because they are away from home and out of their normal routines.
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  Hello and welcome to MoneyWi$e on Talking FACS, where we share practical research-based
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  information to help you and your family thrive financially.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.
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  My guest today is Dr. Monica Mundy, Extension Specialist for community and family health.
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  And she is here to talk about simple steps you can take before and during your
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  trip to protect your money, your personal information, and your peace of mind. Welcome, Monica.
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  Thank you so much for having me. I am excited for this discussion because I
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  know that we're going to focus
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  on smart travel planning, safe payment practices, avoiding scams,
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  and how a little preparation can help you enjoy your trip with confidence.
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  So let's grab our suitcases or maybe just a little travel checklist as we explore
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  how to travel smart and protect yourself and your money.
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  So, Monica, as we get ready for travel, what's the first step we should take?
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  Best thing to do is do a little bit of planning before you leave.
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  First, make sure you notify your bank and the credit card companies that you're
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  going to be traveling with whatever payment methods that you may be using.
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  But one of the best tips to protect your cards is to have one multiple ways to pay.
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  So no matter what happens, you may want to have cash and a credit card or a
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  credit card and a debit card.
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  That way, if something happens to one of your payment methods,
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  you will have a second payment method that you can use.
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  And make sure that you keep those two payment methods separate.
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  So that if you were to, say, lose your purse or your wallet,
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  maybe you have another payment method stored in your luggage.
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  That's just so they can use that as well. Well, that's a great, great tip.
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  You know, what if you're traveling and all of a sudden your credit card method
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  is declined? What do you do to handle that situation?
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  Yeah, so you want to make sure first you notify your bank before you go.
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  But if you do have that decline, you want to give your credit card or your bank
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  a call to let them know that you're traveling and that you've tried to use these
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  methods of payment and that they're currently not working as well.
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  One thing to keep in mind is that depending on what method that you're using,
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  there could be additional charges for using your credit card or debit card abroad.
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  So, in case it gets declined because you've maybe reached your limit,
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  it's a good thing to check out before you leave as well, just to see if there's
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  any extra charges or anything to have, too.
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  Well, and if you don't notify them in advance, they're probably going to reach
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  out to you. I know I've had people call me and say, are you in Florida? And I'm like, no.
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  Well, somebody's trying to use your card there, so we will decline that.
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  Yeah, me too, me too.
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  We saw many travelers use free Wi-Fi at the airports or at coffee shops.
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  What are some simple ways that people can protect their personal and financial
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  information when they're on the go?
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  Yeah, so one thing that you want to do is make sure that if you're making any
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  transactions or even if you're just working or browsing that you're doing, So on a secure network,
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  if not using public methods of public connections of Wi-Fi, that's one way that
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  schemers can get in and get your information, saved information,
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  information that you may be putting in as well.
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  So you'll want to make sure that you're thinking about that piece.
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  Also, if you do have bank cards or credit cards, you'll want to make sure that
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  you're placing it in a wallet or in a safe method that can't be scanned.
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  Yes, you'll want to make sure that that wallet also contains an RFID as well.
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  And also, if you are traveling and going to be using the internet for work or
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  things of that nature or even for yourself and you are on a public network,
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  but you can't get to a private one, you can use a VPN.
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  So you can purchase a VPN online, check with your work. They may offer a VPN
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  for free for you to use while you're traveling for work so that you're protected,
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  even if you're on public network.
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  So what's the most surprising scam or travel-related fraud story you've heard
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  about and what can we learn from it?
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  Yeah, and you know, I think,
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  One of the most surprising ones actually happened to us when we,
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  my husband and I took our first trip to New York,
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  and we were walking downtown and he was holding, just holding a bag and we literally
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  went through a crowd, got out the,
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  got out of the crowd and the bag was gone.
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  It was me talking in his hand. He thought he was holding it,
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  but he wasn't. And so one of the things just to kind of think about,
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  too, is just keeping your items, your wallet, your purse, your things safe.
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  So thinking about how you're going to secure those.
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  Need it be making sure that your wallet or your purse or things are.
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  In a method. Maybe it's like a bag, a crossbody bag, maybe not something with
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  a strap that can be cut that you can't, that you might not notice is gone.
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  So just thinking about protecting the items that you have as you're traveling
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  and things of that nature. But yeah, one minute the bag was in his hand,
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  the next minute it was gone. And it was a good wake-up call for us to make sure
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  that we're keeping our things, all our things safe.
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  Definitely, definitely. And, you know, maybe it was a memento that you wanted
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  to bring home, but at least it wasn't your wallet and all those good things, right?
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  So true. So if you could give one piece of financial advice to someone taking
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  their first big trip, what would it be?
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  But I think that make sure that you do a little preparation before you go,
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  but that will go a long way.
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  You so need that be, like we mentioned before, calling your credit card companies,
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  having two methods of payment, making sure that you have customer service numbers saved.
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  If you're going to do a big trip abroad because you don't know if you're going to.
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  If your phone plan may allow you to, you know, text or do those things.
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  And sometimes when you do use your card and they're trying to verify if it's
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  your expense or not, it comes in the form of a text instead of a phone call as well.
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  So making sure you have that number saved in all copies of important documents.
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  So making sure that you've got a copy if you're traveling, you've got a copy
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  of your passport in case you lose that and they're not kept in the same place.
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  But then once you get to where you're going, like at your during your trip,
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  making sure that you like keep your phone wallet purse secure,
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  because a lot of times I know I'm a big fan of electronic payment methods now.
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  And so my phone is pretty darn important. If I lose my phone,
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  I'm not going to be able to do much of anything.
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  So keeping those secure and even when you're doing basic things like putting
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  your pin number in your debit card pin number when you purchase something making
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  sure that you're covering that so that other people don't see as well,
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  check your bank account on a regular basis so even if you're out,
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  if you're in the hotel in the afternoon maybe just hitting that app or logging
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  in to make sure where nothing,
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  is happening that maybe you didn't get notified about, and then if something
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  does turn up lost or stolen, just making sure you report that immediately. Ah, love it.
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  So as we wrap up today's episode, just remember that protecting your finances
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  while traveling doesn't have to be complicated.
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  Taking a few simple precautions, such as notifying your bank of your travel
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  plans, carrying more than one payment message, monitoring your accounts,
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  avoiding unsecured public Wi-Fi, and staying alert,
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  to your surroundings can go a long way towards reducing financial stress in
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  helping you enjoy your trip.
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  Monica, thanks so much for joining us. Oh, thanks for having me. It's always fun.
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  Travel is such an opportunity to learn, connect, and create lasting memories.
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  So we just hope that people are going to do a little planning and be aware of
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  all that's going on around them as they focus on making memories and having
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  fabulous experiences together.
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  Thank you for joining us for this episode of MoneyWi$e on Talking FACS.
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  For more information and resources from the University of Kentucky Cooperative
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  Extension Service, reach out to your local Extension office.
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  Until next time, remember that
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  small, informed decisions today can help build a more secure tomorrow.
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  Subscribe to Talking FACS from your favorite podcast platform so that you can
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