Put these bargains in your suitcase

If you're off on holiday soon, here are some of the top suitcase bargains around - don't miss out!

You’ve snapped up a holiday bargain, got a great currency deal and sorted your travel insurance…..  And now it’s time to hit the high street and stock up on those last minute suitcase essentials.   

Yet this is the bit that can really put a dent in your bank balance. So we’ve done the hard work for you to find this summer’s hottest suitcase bargains.

Toiletries

Mini travel sizes of your favourite toiletries are compact enough to fit into even the smallest suitcase. But they can be a real rip-off when you look at what you get for your money.  

A 10ml travel sachet of the Sanctuary’s ‘Moisture Boost Mask’ costs £1.99 at Boots, or you can get 100ml, ten times as much, for less than double the price at £3.24. 

Travel size toothpaste may be convenient but will it last the full two weeks? At Superdrug you can buy a 25ml size of Colgate’s Total Advanced Clean for £1, yet the 100ml version with four times as much is only a pound more at £1.99.   

The best bet if you can’t afford the extra room is to buy travel sized bottle packs from places such as Poundland and decant your favourite products into them.  

It's also a good idea to stock up on travel adapters; taking more than one is a good idea if need the hairdryer while your partner recharges their mobile phone. You can buy a UK – EU one from besstuff.co.uk for £1.99, including delivery, compared with £3.99 at John Lewis.  

Holiday wardrobe

According to Aviva, 55% of us splash out and treat ourselves to a new holiday wardrobe.

So if you’re looking for some bargains, you’ll be pleased to hear that the summer sales have already started! Head to Dorothy Perkins for up to 30% off summer dresses, and there’s also up to 50% off in the New Look sale.

Related goal

Have a cheap holiday

Find out how to cut the cost of your flights, get discounts, tip correctly, spend wisely, get cashback and most importantly, cut the cost of your holiday.

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For cheap and cheerful beach bargains check out eBffay where over half the items listed are brand new. ‘BNWT’ is the phrase to look for which means ‘brand new with tags’.

Stick with your favourite labels as this way you’ll know which sizes to bid on. I’ve just found a brand new Marks and Spencer bikini and flip flops for £7.75 in total, compared with paying nearly £40 on the high street.  

It’s worth checking the new ebay outlet for brand new high street bargains for a snip; you can get 30% off a pair of Dune brown summer wedges reduced from £60 to £36 or a pink summer dress from House of Fraser for £38 reduced from £55.

Suncare

Don’t shop at the airport unless you have to; sun creams are usually much cheaper in the supermarket.  

Although Boots currently has a ‘buy one get one’ free offer across most brands of sun cream, and Superdrug is giving away a second bottle free, you should still look beyond these offers as you could be paying more than double the supermarket price.  

Ambre Solaire’s Light & Silky (SPF15) in the 200ml size costs £12.99 on a ‘buy one get one free’ deal at Boots, yet it’s only £5 for the same size at Asda, so you can pick up two bottles for a tenner.

You can also save money switching to supermarket own brands – Nivea’s Sun Spray (SPF 30) sells for £11.99 for the 200ml size or you can buy the Asda own brand for £3.50. 

Finally, it’s worth packing your favourite perfume rather than waiting for duty free. Research from mySupermarket shows duty free prices can be as much as double the high street, depending on what you’re buying. 

So make sure you compare prices and check duty free deals before leaving home at worlddutyfree.co.uk

Beach reads

A great beach read is a must so why not borrow your holiday reading and travel guides from the local library? It’s free and they can usually order in any titles that aren’t in stock (for a small fee), plus some books have those plastic waterproof covers so they’re ideal for poolside reading!

Want to buy new? Go online to save around 40% against the high street and use a shopbot such as find-book.co.uk to ensure you’re getting the best deal! Right now, chick lit fans can pick up Jane Green’s ‘Love Verb’ for £8.50 at Amazon, compared with an RRP of £16.99, or get Andy McNab’s ‘War Torn’ for £9.63 at The Book Depository against an cover price of £18.99 - with both sites offering free delivery.

If, on the other hand, you decide to wait until the airport, in most cases you’ll pay the higher RRP price unless there are any special offers going.

Medicines

Look beyond the brand names to save money. For ibuprofen tablets, you can pick up a pack of 16 (200mg size) under the Nurofen brand for £1.99 at Boots or £1.29 for the Boots own brand version. However, the Boots ‘value’ version is just 36p, saving you a whopping £1.63.  

You should also take your own travel sized first aid kit; you can pick one up at Superdrug for £3.91.

If you suffer from hayfever or allergies, it’s also worth taking your own tablets. A pack of 12 Piriteze allergy tablets costs £3 at Asda compared with £4.48 at Tesco, so make sure you shop around. A better option, however, is to check out Chemist Direct. Here you can pick up 30 hayfever and allergy tablets for just £1.49! Read Have a hayfever-free summer for less for more information.

Finally, if you need injections for trips to far flung parts of the globe, ask your local GP as www.nhs.uk say some jabs including cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A will be free, whereas clinics such as Trailfinders charge up to £55 per shot for these. So make sure you double check and don’t get caught out!

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