Holidays provide a much-needed escape from day-to-day life, but they can seriously impact your bank balance. No matter your budget, these easy money-saving tips will help boost your travel kitty.
- Sort out your travel insurance immediately
When insuring your travels, you have two choices to make. The first is whether to pay for an annual travel insurance policy or just a single trip. The second is whether or not you should add medical cover on top.
A simple rule of thumb is that if you’re going to holiday three or more times a year, then an annual policy is usually cheaper. If you’re unlikely to take more than one annual break, single-trip insurance makes more sense.
Crucially, take out travel insurance as soon as you book a holiday to ensure you have cover for things like cancellations and the unforeseen death of a close family member or travelling companion. Staysure insurance gives you this additional peace of mind. If you opt for an annual policy, set the start date of cover to ‘today’ to ensure maximum protection.
- Be card-savvy
When we use a debit or credit card to pay for things at home, we don’t usually pay a fee, but this isn’t the case abroad. ATM and transaction fees, along with foreign currency charges, can be expensive. This is where prepaid currency cards can be really useful.
You simply load them up with funds and use them just like your regular Visa or Mastercard. But the main differences are that foreign-exchange fees are removed and you have access to better exchange rates.
Because you have to keep them topped up, you can set yourself a budget that’s easy to monitor, separate from your everyday bank account. Most prepaid currency cards come with an app for ease of adding cash and keeping track of your spending. The Post Office Travel Money Card is one of the most popular and trusted options on the market.
- Live like a local
One of the joys of a holiday in a new country is undoubtedly the pleasure of eating out at different restaurants and sampling the local cuisine. But if that’s going to stretch the budget a bit too far, you can still be adventurous in your dining endeavours by cooking ‘in’ once in a while.
Source your own produce from local markets. Everything will be fresh and authentic. Plus, if you’re travelling for an extended period, eating out can get quite old, and fast, so make eating out a special treat for certain nights or at the weekend.
Just remember, if you want to bring food from home with you, check out the latest government rules on bringing food to the UK from abroad.