How To Save Money For Your Holidays

*This is a collaborative post.

Planning for a holiday is almost as exciting than the holiday itself; days spent poring over beautiful destinations, potential accommodation plans and even the logistics of getting from A to B can be extremely fun. However, many audacious holiday plans are having to be put on hold, as a cost-of-living crisis continues to put the squeeze on expendable incomes across the UK.

But an impending recession shouldn’t preclude you from taking some well-earned time away. Indeed, there are ways you can embark on the holiday travels of your dreams without breaking the bank in the process. Here are some simple ways you can bring the costs of your upcoming travels down, both in planning and when you’re on the road.

Set a Budget

The simplest and most effective way to clamp down on holiday costs is to budget heavily. By giving yourself strict spending limits, both when booking things and in terms of daily spends, you can curtail your costs significantly while still getting to see your favourite places. 

There’ll be more on travel savings shortly, but a handy way to budget yourself while you travel can be to give yourself a pre-paid debit card for daily spending – and set a daily spend limit on it to prevent yourself going overboard.

Sort Transport in Advance

It goes without saying that travel is cheaper if booked in advance as opposed to on the day – but this doesn’t just apply to flights. Even domestic transfers to your international transport should be bought early; trains to London Kings Cross are cheaper if you plan your transport links carefully, a few weeks before you set off.

In terms of flights, though, useful sites like Skyscanner enable you to scour for the best possible deals before you leave. This can help you beat even the best advance ticket prices on major airline websites.

Travel Off-Season

While we’re on the subject of booking travel, there’s a big way to slash your overall holiday costs without compromising on flights or accommodation: travelling off-season. The off-season can differ from place to place, but everywhere has periods of high and low tourism – often dictated by the climate. For example, European cities have their off-season from October to March, or from autumn through winter.

In the off-season, reduced demand for flights and accommodation results in reduced costs in a bid to incentivise travel. As such, sacrificing warmer weather can lead to a cheaper overall holiday!

Eat Out Less

Lastly, this is a relatively small and simple idea that could have a major impact on your daily spending while you travel. Before your holiday, the temptation is to eat out at every opportunity – but you can just cook instead. This could save you dozens of pounds in a restaurant and fast-food costs before you travel, which can then be used to sample local cuisine of your destination.

How do you keep travel costs down?