/* eslint-disable */ // Money Abroad — first-trip L3 hub. // Same editorial language as the Three Day exemplar (cream/teal/tan, Playfair + DM Sans/Mono, // numbered sections, hero masthead). 8-section format: hero / 12 cards / field-notes essay / // 8 situations / matrix / 8 reads / desk / 6Q FAQ / sticky CTA. const { useState: useMAState, useEffect: useMAEffect } = React; /* ---------- HERO ---------- */ const MAHero = () => (
); /* ---------- I · TWELVE TOPICS ---------- */ const MATopics = () => { const [cat, setCat] = useMAState("All"); const cats = ["All", "Card setup", "ATMs", "Exchange", "Cards", "Spend"]; const filtered = MA_TOPICS.filter(p => cat === "All" || p.category === cat); return (
I

Twelve money topics,one trip.

What every first-time international traveler should set up, look up, or carry. Each card opens a hand-built guide — verified URLs, no placeholders. Filter by what you're worried about right now.

{cats.map(r => ( ))}
{filtered.map((p, i) => (
No. {String(p.rank).padStart(2, "0")} {p.tag && {p.tag}}
{p.title} {p.sub}

{p.why}

{p.kind} · {p.category}
{p.best.map(b => {b})}
{p.coord}
 ))}
Showing {filtered.length} of {MA_TOPICS.length} All first-trip topics
); }; /* ---------- II · FIELD NOTES (essay quote, dark band) ---------- */ const MAField = () => (
II

Field notes.The friend who lived abroad tells you the honest math.

The opening pages of the Money desk's house essay on the first international trip — what the banks don't tell you, what the airport counters bet on, and the small system that beats both.

Read the full essay
"The travel money industry is not designed to rob you. It is designed to charge you a small, polite fee at every step, in a currency you don't quite understand, in a setting where you are tired and a little hungry. The fees compound. A 1% Visa surcharge on top of a 3% dynamic-currency-conversion fee on top of a 7% airport-counter spread is most of a flight. The system isn't crooked — it's bored, and it's expensive. The only edge is to set up the right cards before you fly, say no to one specific screen at every terminal, and use bank ATMs only. That's the whole game."

Most first-trip money problems are not exotic. They are the same three or four leaks, repeating: the airport currency counter on landing, the dynamic-currency-conversion screen at every restaurant, the standalone ATM in the pretty square, the home-currency option at the hotel checkout. Each one is a 3–10% tax on not knowing. Stack them and a two-week trip can lose a flight's worth of fees before the trip starts paying for the things you actually came to see.

What you protect, in those first two weeks of international travel, is the discipline that keeps the system small. Two cards, set up before you fly. One backup cash stash in a separate pocket. Bank ATMs, never standalone. Local currency at every terminal, no exceptions. Done in that order, the trip stops bleeding. The plan isn't the trip; the plan is what makes room for the trip.

— Iris Mendoza, Money desk · House essay Nº 04

); /* ---------- III · SITUATIONS ---------- */ const MASituations = () => (
III

Eight situationsyou'll meet.

The actual moments where money on a first international trip goes sideways — at the market, at the ATM, at the airport snack bar, at the pretty restaurant whose card terminal asks if you'd like to be charged in dollars. Each is one short, opinionated read.

All money guides
{MA_SITUATIONS.map(it => (
{it.ref} {it.price.split(" ")[0]}{(it.price.split(" ").slice(1).join(" ")) || "ref"}

{it.title} {it.em}

{it.desc}

{it.tags.map(t => {t})}
By {it.author} {it.price}
))}
); /* ---------- IV · BY SITUATION (matrix) ---------- */ const MAMatrix = () => (
IV

The moneymatrix.

Six rows by where the money actually moves. Pre-trip is the highest-leverage row. Defense is the smallest dollar value but the biggest peace-of-mind one. Pick the row that matches what you're worried about today.

All money guides
Situation
When
Guides
Examples
Cost
{MA_BY_SITUATION.map(l => (
{l.len}
{l.days}
{l.count} guides
{l.examples}
{l.price}
 ))}
); /* ---------- V · READING LIST ---------- */ const MAReading = () => (
V

Eight reads,by depth.

The pieces sitting one click below this page. The first is the seed primer; the rest are how-tos that earn the click. Read in order, or skip to the one situation you're already worried about.

All Money essays
{MA_READING.map((r, i) => (
{String(i + 1).padStart(2, "0")}
{r.tag}
{r.title}{r.em}
{r.author}
{r.duration}
 ))}
); /* ---------- VI · DESK / VOICES ---------- */ const MAVoices = () => (
VI

The Money desk.Three editors on the math.

The Money desk is the desk that doesn't want to be sentimental. Spreads, fees, partner networks, lost-card protocols. These are the people writing it.

Desk masthead
{MA_VOICES.map(v => ( ))}
); /* ---------- VII · THE BRIEF ---------- */ const MAPractical = () => (
VII

The brief.Six tips, in order of money saved.

Ranked by how many dollars each tip is actually worth across a two-week trip. Setup is the highest leverage. Backup is the cheapest insurance. Everything in between is the daily discipline.

Full money guide
{MA_PRACTICAL.map((p, i) => (
{String(i + 1).padStart(2, "0")}
{p.k}

{p.h}

{p.b}

))}
); /* ---------- VIII · FAQ ---------- */ const MAFAQ = () => { const [open, setOpen] = useMAState(0); return (
VIII

The questionsreaders send in.

Lightly edited reader letters about money on a first international trip. If yours isn't here, the Money desk reads every email.

Ask the desk →
{MA_FAQS.map((f, i) => (
setOpen(open === i ? -1 : i)}>
{f.q} +
{f.a}
))}
); }; /* ---------- CTA ---------- */ const MACTA = () => (
TWO CARDS · BANK ATMs ONLY · LOCAL CURRENCY EVERY TIME

Set up the systembefore you fly.

Read the primer, apply for the cards six weeks out, screenshot the steps. Twenty minutes of pre-trip work is worth a flight in saved fees over a two-week trip.

Read the primer → ↑ Back to First Trip Abroad
MONEY · FORM Nº 04 · UPDATED 06.05.2026
DESK — MONEY & NUMBERS
); /* ---------- COMPOSE ---------- */ const MAApp = () => (
); ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById("root")).render();