As a telecommuter working in Thailand, most of my money is still in the US so I am faced with expensive ATM fees and poor currency exchange rates whenever I try to use a credit card.

I decided to apply for a Charles Schwab bank account which will allow me to avoid any ATM fees I encounter during my travels. Schwab themselves don't charge me ATM fees, and any ATM fees charged by foreign banks are refunded within a month. If they miss one, simply send schwab an email or call them on the phone to get it refunded. In Thailand, I get charged 150 baht ($5) everytime I withdraw money. For the frequency that I withdraw money, I get refunded about $80 a month.

$80 a month of fees may be a lot compared to other people. I'm gathering a lot more ATM fees because I don't worry about how much I withdraw each time. Many people will try to withdraw a larger amount of money than they need so they can cut down on ATM fees they pay. I'll withdraw just the amount I need at the time and this helps me save money as well. When I'm not carrying around a large chunk of change, I don't feel so rich and I end up spending less.

One last point about schwab.. it requires you to sign up for a brokerage account and a checking account together. Neither of the accounts have minimum balance requirements though. I have exactly $5 in my brokerage account right now hehe.

Most travelers I meet hardly ever use credit cards overseas. The idea of crazy foreign exchange fees possibly scares them off. Not only do you miss out on points for your spending, you end up regularly using all your cash for your purchases. Instead, I keep my cash in my bank to pay off my credit card at the end of the month, and also to pad my emergency fund. The credit card I use is a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Most importantly, it has no foreign transaction fees and a competitive foreign exchange rate that is the same as my ATM debit card.

Even though I'm in another country, by choosing the right cards I don't have to change the way I spend and manage my money compared to back home.