While I was in Europe, I used the ATM or my credit card for everything. I took no traveller's checks, and I only brought something like E200 with me from the US. My bank charged US$3 for each transaction, so I figured it would be sensible to always do the largest transaction possible.
I never quite sat down and realized the impact of this choice. Tonight, I was talking with someone about ATM fees, and I did some quick calculations.
At US$3 per transaction, I spent that much for E200. If I had taken money out in E20 increments, like some of the other students in my program, I would have spent US$30 per E200.
It gets better.
I spent roughly US$6,000 in Europe. Granted, some of this was on my credit card. For the sake of argument, let's say I withdrew US$4600 from ATMs. This adds up to US$69 in fees. If I had withdrawn the same amount in E20 increments, I would have spent US$690 dollars! I saved US$621 in fees by just being diligent and disciplined.
To put this in further perspective, I spent less than US$621 on any of my individual trips. I spent about US$600 on a 10-day trip to Spain. I spent way less than that on visiting Ireland, France, Germany, and Belgium. If I had spent that US$621 in fees, I probably would have had to forego at least one trip and possibly two.
Absolutely amazing. Money management has such a huge potential to impact one's cash flow, yet so many people focus on making money rather than managing it.