Sun cream, flip flops and camera—check. But in the giddy excitement of preparing for your next trip, have you stopped to plan your finances too?
TO DO AS SOON AS YOU BOOK Get travel insurance
Travel insurance is essential for when you go away. Cover for delayed flights, lost bags and broken cameras are all good to have—just in case. But the most important thing to arrange is medical cover. It can be incredibly expensive for care if you get ill or injured when away, even more so if you need to be flown home.
And don’t wait to arrange it. Buy your medical insurance as soon as you’ve booked your holiday. This means you’re covered for cancellation if you get sick before the trip, so long as that’s part of the policy you buy.
You’ll also usually save money by buying an annual policy if you plan to go away more than once during a 12 month period.
Apply for a travel-friendly credit card or current account
The cheapest way to spend when you’re away is by using a debit or credit card. Though don’t think that means you’re OK to use the one in your wallet. Most of these will cost you a fortune in fees and charges.
Instead, you should apply for a specialist card. These can give you perks like fee-free spending and cash withdrawals, meaning you’re getting close to the actual exchange rate, which is better than what you’d get for currency at a bureau de change.
Among the best credit cards are the Halifax Clarity credit card and Tandem credit card. The latter will even give you 0.5% cashback on your spend at home and abroad. You’ll be charged daily interest on cash withdrawals, but you can avoid these by paying them off straight away.
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest UK dergisinin May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest UK dergisinin May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?
