By the time spring springs up, you should hopefully have paid off most of your debts from Christmas and so now it’s time to turn your attentions to the summer. To your summer holiday, specifically. You’ve already done the really tough bit – paying debts down to a reasonable or even non-existent level – so you can start on the fun bits now! If you need help with saving and budgeting (and many of us do…), then visit Creditfix for tips and advice.
Have another dry month
If you did Dry January then you’ll appreciate how good it is for your skin, liver and wallet to have a break from alcohol for a month. It’s so good, in fact, that you should nominate another month to spend on the wagon. Having a dry, or even a slightly damp, month before you go on holiday saves you money and it also means you’re a bit slimmer and healthier for the beach. You don’t need to live in isolation for this month, though; see if you can enlist a friend or two for the journey and arrange a few outings and events to keep you occupied and happy. You can also allow yourself a couple of cheat nights if you really want, just to break up the month.
Pick up items for your holiday wardrobe
Most Brits spend £200-300 on their summer holiday clothes, accessories and make-up. While it’s a great feeling to stride along the beach in a floaty new sarong or to smear expensive highlighter along your newly-tanned cheekbones, you don’t have to break the bank to do so. Get into the habit of checking out charity shops every weekend, as well as the reduced aisle at your favourite cosmetics retailer. Lots of charity shops nowadays have new items for sale – with the tags still attached, so you can find some brilliant bargains that’ll cost a fraction of what you usually pay.
Start your cheap flights campaign now
If you know where you’re going, then you can start looking for cheap accommodation and plane fares. Even if you’re not sure what your destination is just yet, you can still look – you might find an amazing deal to somewhere you never even considered!
When it comes to booking flights, there are some really useful rules. The “sweet spot” for booking early for summer flights is around 45-50 days before departure. It’s also a smart trick to book flights on midweek afternoons, regardless of your planned date of travel, because the prices of flights come down once all the business travellers have booked their journeys in the mornings.
Start transferring money onto a prepaid international bank card
As long as you know which currency you’ll be using while you’re away, then you can start shifting small amounts of Sterling into it. If you get a refund or a discount for something, move the amount into your holiday fund, for example. You can also set up an automatic transfer for each week or month, so that by the time summer comes around, you’ll be more than comfortable. Keep an eye on exchange rates, too, as GBP might make some up and down movements that you could work to your advantage as the Brexit drama unfolds further.