Planning your dream holiday doesn’t have to break the bank!
It’s August and the holiday season is in full swing with the sun shining in the sky, bottles of wine chilling in the fridge and burgers simmering away on the BBQ.
People are excitedly counting down to their vacations – that’s if they aren’t already basking on a sunbed abroad. We asked Stephen Sumner, Director of Explore Wealth Management based in Cramlington, to give his top ten tips for people planning their summer holidays (there’s actually eleven but we won’t argue amongst friends!).
Top Ten Tips:
1). For cheaper holidays book early especially if you work in a small office and want to choose the best and cheapest dates first!
2). Organise your travel insurance cover as soon as possible. There’s nothing worse than having no cover if you have to cancel your holiday through illness and find you can’t get your money back as you didn’t get cover.
3). Always shop around for bargain holidays especially cruises and last-minute holidays.
4). Try and save up for your holiday eg choose an Instant Access Cash ISA account rather than add the costs to your credit card.
5). When abroad try and pay in local currency as you will get a better exchange rate than paying on your credit card.
6). Invest in luggage suitcase scales and weigh your cases before you travel. If you go over the baggage allowance then put some holiday items in another case or consider reducing what you are taking.
7). For additional protection just in case your travel agent goes bust, pay for your holiday by credit card.
8). Book hire cars on-line well before your holiday as often you pay much more if you hire a car at the airport upon arrival.
9). If you have fairly frequent holidays it’s usually much cheaper to arrange an annual accidental damage cover on your hire car rather than arrange this via the car hire company.
10). When planning a night out on the town only take out enough money to cover the cost of the night out. This saves you blowing all of your holiday money in one go!
11). If your holiday accommodation has a safe then use it to store your cash and valuables. Another tip would be to take photocopies of your passport should yours become lost or stolen.
Stephen Sumner, Director of Explore Wealth Management, said: “Everyone loves a good holiday whether it’s fun in the sun or whale watching in Alaska. But to reduce the risk of it making a massive dent in your savings or even worse causing you major financial difficulties, always plan ahead.
“Life is for living but luxury items should never encroach into your day-to-day finances. By all means have a great time but make a decision if you can actually afford the item in the first place. This goes for everything from pensions to investments. If you’re worried or in any doubt about something then seek professional advice.”
For more information about Explore Wealth Management please visit their website www.explorewealth.co.uk, call 0191 285 1555 or email enquiries@explorewealth.co.uk.