Here are a few of my holiday money saving tips along with some from Moneyboat (www.moneyboat.co.uk).

Go incognito/search from a different device

Those pesky cookies mean Big Brother knows where you’ve got your sights set for your next holiday as soon as you start browsing. I usually find that flights are a certain price on my first look online and jump up on a subsequent visit. Or sometimes, knowing your preferences from previous times, you’re automatically quoted something more expensive. Going incognito (privacy mode) can shave a lot of money off. This article explains how. This doesn’t just apply to flights and accommodation it’s on lots of things.

Take early and mid-week flights

This is something I’ve been doing for years and it’s saved us £100s at a time. It is amazing what difference a couple of hours makes to the price of a flight. This is definitely something where the pain (getting up super early) gives a lot of gain! Also there’s a lot less traffic on the roads at this time and you get more of your first day at your destination.

Moneyboat says that mid-week flights, especially on Wednesdays, are usually more affordable than weekend departures.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights tend to be the best times to bag the cheapest flights with midnight being the optimum time to get a bargain.

Spread the costs

Look out for options where you can put down a small deposit and then pay on a monthly basis to spread out the costs. Just make sure that you’re not having to pay a large premium to do this.

Book hotels with free cancellation

Locking in rooms where there’s a free cancellation policy ensures you’re covered and won’t have to pay large admin fees if your plans change. This isn’t the only money saving benefit though. You can also monitor the price of your accommodation. If it drops (and this happens a lot) you can cancel your room and re-book.

Book off-peak season trips

People head to well-known sun-drenched destinations at the height of summer. These same destinations, such as the Greek Islands, the Canaries, the Amalfi coast, benefit from warm temperatures and cheaper costs in spring and autumn (think half term) and in some cases even in winter. This can afford huge savings.

Be an early bird

Plan ahead and book your 2025 holiday as soon as possible before the prices begin rising. As well as grabbing a potential bargain you’ll also have the opportunity to spread the costs.

Compare airline prices

If like me, you’re pre-programmed to check the budget airlines first, you could be missing a money-saving trick. Head to the comparison sites to find the best prices and deals. Skyscanner is one of the big ones. I’ve also been recently introduced to Jack’s Flight Club, a site which lets you know when flights to lots of different destinations are going really cheap.

Also take a look at connecting flights as opposed to non-stop as these are often a lot cheaper.

Evaluate your dining options

While all-inclusive might feel like it takes the sting out of eating costs, it hugely impacts the cost of your hotel accommodation. Do your research and see if there are affordable places to eat in the local area and calculate whether it’s more cost-effective to book alternative options such as half-board or self-catering instead.

Vacuum pack clothes

Adding baggage allowance to your flight really racks up the costs. If you’re paying for four people to have hold luggage it becomes a very significant sum. Whilst vacuum packing clothes doesn’t reduce weight, it does create a lot of extra space, which means you can ditch some of the bags.

Save even more money by only taking hand luggage.

Join travel loyalty reward schemes

Certain airlines and ferry companies as well as Eurostar offer loyalty reward schemes for travellers. These rewards/points can often be redeemed off the price of future travel or offer other money saving perks.

The combo holiday

Half-holidays – where you visit one destination for a week and then move on to a nearby location for the remainder of the trip – are a great way to save money and combine a beach holiday with a sightseeing holiday or city break. For example, you can book a pricier resort holiday for a week, then book a much cheaper hotel near historical sites/city centre. This cuts down on the taxis or hire car that you’d otherwise have to fork out for to visit these sights if you did two weeks at a resort.

Don’t pay in pounds

When making purchases abroad pay in the local currency rather than converting to pounds. This can save a significant amount of money. As Moneyboat explains, often vendors and establishments offer less favourable exchange rates when converting your pounds on the spot. By paying in the local currency, you avoid these additional charges and get the best value for your money.

Reduce your airport travel/parking costs

Many airports have started charging for drop-offs even if your car is only there for a minute. There are however free drop-off points, which are a short walk or bus ride away from the terminal. Check the airport’s website for details of where these are and allow extra time.

If you’re driving and parking for the duration of your trip, look at parking zones that are further out as these are cheaper. Again allow extra time to get to the terminal.

Last-minute offers

If you’re not a planner and so miss out on early bird deals then go completely the other way and book last minute. This doesn’t always work, but you can often bag a bargain if hotels or flights have spaces to fill.

Don’t buy at the airport

You pay a real premium at airports for travel accessories so make sure you buy things like adaptors and neck pillows beforehand. The same goes for snacks.

The other thing that’s extremely expensive to do at the airport is buy foreign currency. I use Martin Lewis’ Travel Money Max tool to find out which local exchange bureaus are offering the best rate.

Book excursions, museums, tours etc in advance

Search what there is to see and do in your destination and plan ahead. Usually you can save a lot of money if you book activities online in advance as opposed to paying on the door. With a bit of research you might even hit upon free events and activities that are happening in the local area.

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Would love to hear your holiday money saving tips. Please comment below

The post 16 Top Money Saving Travel Tips for Your Next Holiday appeared first on The Parent Social.

Ways to counteract food inflation

By changing habits a little, being a bit more adaptable/flexible and knowing some of the pitfalls there are a number of simple ways to regularly save money. So here, in no particular order are 12 tips.

Don’t pay for convenience

Carrot batons, celery sticks, pre-grated cheese, prepared fruit, ready diced meat… they’re all more convenient, but this comes at a hefty price.

For example, 350g of pre-cut celery sticks are £1.10 compared with 70p for 470g (over 350g when cleaned); loose carrots at Sainsbury’s are 80p per kg versus its carrot batons, which are a whopping £2.50 per kg (and they’re pretty flavourless)!

Aldi’s Ashfields British Chicken Breast Fillets 1kg are £5.99 per kilo, the exact same brand’s diced version is £7.48 per kilo.

Ready-meals are a lot more expensive than making the dish yourself. I spotted an M&S Carbonara (for one), which was a staggering £4.75! That’s more than it costs me to make a Carbonara for five of us. Recipe here.

Shop around (literally)

Loyalty doesn’t always pay so mix up your shops. Chopping and changing where you do your supermarket shop often results in the ‘neglected’ supermarket sending you money off vouchers to entice you back.

If you’re trying to save, it’s tempting to only visit the budget supermarkets. However, if you shop at a variety you can access lots more deals, receive far more money off coupons and can also gauge which ones have the best prices on particular products. Also, many of the traditionally more expensive supermarkets now price match the likes of Aldi.

Check your marketing emails

The more supermarkets you’re signed up with, the more marketing emails tailored to your buying habits you’ll receive. I also get inbox notifications each week from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencers about my new vouchers, which are linked to my loyalty card.

I recently received a promotional code straight into my inbox for £10 off my first three shops on Amazon’s same day delivery service of Morrisons groceries. The minimum spend is just £40. You can receive the same by visiting here.

Freezer fodder

If you see a good multi-buy or just a good deal for something that can be frozen, stock up whilst it’s on offer. Yellow stickered items can be so cheap, but that’s often because they have to be eaten that day. If however, they’re freezable you’re onto a winner.

Fill up on frozen veg. It’s a common misconception that frozen veg is far inferior to fresh. In the case of something like peas, they are frozen within a couple of hours of being picked so very few nutrients are lost. The frozen varieties of things like sweetcorn, broccoli and peas are not only cheaper but also save on waste.

Switching brands and making substitutions

Chopped tomatoes is a classic example of where a brand substitution makes a huge difference; just look at the price per 1kg variations above! There’ll probably be differences in quality, but for making a basic tomato sauce/base of a casserole you don’t need the finest. The same applies to tinned beans and lentils.

My kids go bonkers with cheese on their pasta so I often substitute Parmesan for Grana Padana; the former is £15.50 per kg and the latter £10.23 per kg at Tesco. They’re both Italian hard cheeses made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and for the purposes of grating they can’t tell the difference.

Similarly, I was making a quiche that called for Gruyere cheese. It was an eye-watering £26.30 a kg so I opted for Swiss Fior Delle Alpi instead for £21.77 a kg. Again no one noticed.

Also, check out Tesco’s Perfectly Imperfect range, which tackles both food inflation and food waste.

Head to the baking and world food aisles

For nuts and dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas and berries, head to the baking aisle instead of the ‘snacking’ aisle. Often in bigger pack sizes and minus the recognisable branding, they are usually a lot cheaper.

Likewise hit the ‘world foods’ aisle to pick up your herbs, spices, sauces, rice and more on the cheap.

Swap to less popular/cheaper cuts of meat

I now use turkey thigh mince as opposed to breast mince to make turkey burgers. It’s much cheaper and actually more flavoursome. Check out the recipe here.

The same goes for beef/lamb mince that has more fat (5% versus 10/15%). It takes seconds to drain excess fat when you’re cooking and the saving is significant.

Pork shoulder steaks are really cheap. They require a lot of cooking time to become tender, but its completely worth it. I use them for a pork, cannellini and chorizo stew.

Buy seasonal

Obviously, you can’t do this for everything, but buying fruit and veg that’s in season is a major way to fight food inflation. Products also taste so much better if they’re in season and haven’t had to be picked early so they can be flown 1000s of miles; you’ll also be reducing your carbon footprint.

Of course you can always visit a pick your own farm too.

Yellow stickers

Different supermarkets reduce the price of items (aka yellow stickers) at different points in the day. Find out what that time is and then go grab yourself some bargains. I follow a great Facebook group called Feed Your Family on a Budget – much kudos to member Tori Drinkwater who bagged everything in the picture above for an amazing £10.90.

Buy in bigger sizes

For your non-perishables, buy in bigger sizes/larger numbers as it works out substantially cheaper. For example, we buy three litres of olive oil and then decant into a Kilner bottle.

Check the deal is as good as it sounds

Watch out on 3-for-2 offers or buy two for x amount deals. Whilst some are great, others are simply a way for supermarkets to get rid of surplus stock. Check how the unit price or price per 100g/100ml compares to similar items and evaluate how good the deal actually is.

Then sometimes you just need to step away from the offer. There was a two for £3 on lemons, which I was about to take up. Did I really need 12 lemons? The answer was no. An offer is only good if you actually need the product!

Visit supermarket websites for ideas to tackle food inflation

Sainsbury’s has brought back its Feed Your Family for a Fiver . They provide the recipes; the prices for the ingredients required are valid for three weeks.

Aldi also has meal suggestions in its Feed the Family for £5 section: https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/recipes/feed-the-family-for-a-fiver-recipes

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Costs of running cooking appliances

Another thing to bear in mind is how you’re cooking your food as some methods are more expensive than others. Hometree has done some great number crunching to reveal the costs of running your cooking appliances.

Here are the findings:

Slow Cooker

Slow cookers are one of the most energy-efficient ways to cook. Even left on all day it will use about the same amount of energy as a lightbulb. They have low wattage, so even cooking something for 8 hours will use less energy than an oven or hob.

On average, slow cookers usually use about 1.2kW over the course of eight hours. This works out at just 5 pence per hour. 

Microwaves

Microwaves aren’t as versatile as conventional ovens. However, they’re very useful for reheating, defrosting, melting/softening etc. They’re also great for cutting the cooking time of baked potatoes! As microwaves can cook or heat food more quickly, they use up to 80 per cent less energy than conventional ovens.

An average 700w microwave will use about 0.058kWh of energy. Five minutes of usage will cost around 1.98p.

Air Fryers

Air fryers are all the rage and much more energy-efficient than most convection ovens because they cook food much faster (though they do use electricity, which is typically more expensive than gas). Research shows that cooking in an air fryer costs about half the price of cooking in an oven.

Using one of average wattage (1kW) for around 10 minutes would cost an average of 5p.

Hobs (Gas/Electric/Induction)

An induction hob uses energy more efficiently than a gas or electric ceramic hob because no energy is wasted heating the space around the pan. 

Electric hobs are the next best bet in terms of efficiency because when you’re cooking with gas, a significant amount of heat is lost. However, electricity is more expensive than gas, so a gas hob may save you a few pounds a year. 

An average electric hob (2kW) run for 15 minutes will cost 17p.  

Ovens (Gas/Electric)

The same applies to ovens and hobs: gas is cheaper than electricity, but electricity is more efficient. In either case, if you’re reheating food, the Energy Saving Trust recommends using a microwave.

If you have to use an oven, there are ways to maximise your energy efficiency. For example, refrain from storing baking trays inside the oven when cooking, as they block the airflow. Also, cleaning your oven regularly helps maintain more effective heat distribution.

The average oven (c.3kW) run for around 20 minutes costs approximately 34p.

The post Food inflation: 12 top tips to fight it appeared first on The Parent Social.