Travel Money Savvy

Take expensive items with you. In this day and age with baggage allowances getting smaller, and airlines charging extras for every piece of luggage it can feel easier to travel light and leave many holiday essentials at home. However, once in a resort, you may find that many items are much more expensive abroad, for example sun tan lotion, insect repellent, first-aid medications, baby items etc.

Many of you will no doubt be jetting off for some fun in the sun during August. But with Brexit raging on, our Great British Pounds are not buying as much in the holiday currency market as they used to. So, how can you make sure you get the best bang for your buck!

Budget

• Make a budget and stick to it. Holidays should be a time of feeling carefree and doing what you want, but there is no point coming back to a money hangover. Don’t let the local Sangria let you get carried away with spending beyond your means… Try to work out what money you will need whilst you are away – food, drink, transport, tickets, souvenirs etc. Work out a daily budget and then stick with it.

Cash

• If you need cash in the local currency, then it pays to sort ahead of time. You will get terrible exchange rates if you swap money at the airport! Often these days a better rate is offered if you pre-book foreign currency online and collect it a day or two later or have it delivered. As opposed to just going to a bureau de change on the high street.

Cards

• Review your wallet – if you are intending on taking credit or debit cards with you, it pays to view the terms & conditions associated with any cards you have. Very often they will charge a fee each time you use it as well as converting the currency, with a not particularly good exchange rate. Debit cards are usually your worse option for using abroad. Pre-Paid cards are very often a much better bet, they limit your risk in the event of theft, they allow you to budget and give near perfect inter-bank rates. Many come with apps allowing you track as you go.

Charges

• As with above, it is also worth checking what charges your cards will make if you use them to take out cash from a cashpoint machine. You may be charged by the local bank, your own bank and suffer a low exchange rate. Cash withdrawals on credit cards are usually very high in charges.

Local Currency

• Sometimes establishments abroad may try to charge you in GBP, as opposed to the local currency like Euros. This may even be presented to you as an option on a card terminal. Always choose to pay in local currency, to avoid hidden charges.

Mobile Charges

• One other area where it is easy to rack up extra bills, that you have to face on return is mobile use charges. Make sure you contact your phone provider and ensure you know what will and will not be included as part of your usual bill. There are many handy guides online that show you how to turn off things like mobile data and data roaming on any given handset. It also pays to educate children travelling with you that they may not be able to use their devices in the same way as at home.

Happy and safe travels…

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