Sun, sea and savings: expert shares how to save money on your household bills when travelling abroad

• Savings expert shares quick tips for cutting household costs while on holiday
• Switching to a SIM only mobile plan with roaming included could save more than £17 over a two-week getaway^[4]
• Households could save up to £15 over two weeks simply by turning off the hot water before heading abroad^[11]
• For those with a longer trip planned, cancelling or pausing streaming subscriptions could save between £5.99 to £18.99^[7]

With an estimated 10.6 million^[1] Brits planning to head abroad during the May half-term or summer holidays, now is the perfect time to find ways to cut back on household bills while away - helping save money even while you're soaking up the sun.

Simrat Sharma, savings expert at comparison and switching service Uswitch, shares some simple ways to cut costs on mobile, streaming, and energy bills while on holiday.

Tips for saving money on your home and phone bills while you’re on holiday

1) Consider switching to a SIM only plan with international roaming included: Roaming charges can add up quickly when abroad. For instance, if you’re with EE, you’ll have to pay £2.50 a day to use your data in the EU or £10 for a seven-day roaming pass, which could add up to £20 over two weeks^[2]. Vodafone charges £2.57 per day to use your plan in the EU or you can buy an eight-day roaming pass for £15 or a 15-day pass for £20^[3]. 

Some providers, such as Lebara or O2, offer free EU roaming as part of their plans. You can currently get a contract-free Lebara SIM only deal for £2.39 per month with 30GB of data (rising to £7.95 after three months), which includes roaming in 37 locations. Depending on your destination and data usage, this could save you £17.61 over a two-week holiday^[4]. 

2) Try a travel eSIM to avoid roaming charges: Travel eSIMs offer a cheaper way to access data with an instant connection to local mobile networks abroad without the need to sign up for a physical SIM card in the destination country.

Travel eSIMs are an especially good option if you’re travelling outside of the EU. Popular destinations such as Turkey and Morocco can result in very expensive roaming charges. If you’re travelling to Morocco you could save as much as £37 for just a seven-day holiday using a travel eSIM compared to roaming passes^[5] and as much as £40 if you’re travelling to Turkey^[6].

3) Cancel or pause streaming subscriptions: If you’re going on a longer trip and are unlikely to use all your usual streaming services while abroad, it could be worth cancelling some and re-subscribing when you return, especially if you’re signed up to more than one service. Some services will even let you pause your subscription on certain plans and payment methods. With Netflix costing anything from £5.99 to £18.99 a month and Amazon costing £8.99 per month^[7], you could make a significant saving. 

4) Download content before you travel to dodge roaming surprises: Even if your mobile plan includes free EU roaming, most networks have fair usage policies that limit how much data you can use abroad. For instance, exceeding your data cap can result in charges of £3.50 per GB on certain networks^[8]. Streaming shows on Netflix can use 1 GB per 20 minutes or more, depending on your device and network speed^[9]. This means that you could be charged up to £21 for watching a two-hour movie if you’ve already gone over your data allowance for the day. Avoid these unexpected charges by downloading your favourite shows, maps, and playlists over Wi-Fi before you head off.

5) Make the most of free Wi-Fi: Whenever possible, connect to free Wi-Fi in hotels, cafes, and public spaces to avoid using up your data allowance. Just remember to be cautious with public Wi-Fi networks and consider using a VPN for added security.

6) Unplug unused devices to save energy: Households can also save money on their energy bills by not leaving their electrical devices on standby when going on holiday. For example, unplugging a TV can save up to 23p a week in energy. When you consider the cumulative impact of devices like gaming consoles (24p per week) and computers (4p per week)^[10], the savings quickly add up. So make sure to turn off all the switches before you leave.

The only exception is your broadband router, which should stay on to prevent connection issues. Frequent power-offs can delay important updates from your provider, affecting speed and stability.

7) Switch off your hot water: Most households will have turned their heating off during the summer months, but make sure your hot water is also switched off before heading on holiday. Letting a 2KW water heater fire up for two hours a day of a 14-day holiday could cost you more than £15^[11].

8) Submit a meter reading if you don’t have a smart meter: Before you head off, it’s a good idea to submit a meter reading if you don’t have a smart meter. This ensures your energy account balance will more accurately reflect your lower energy usage while you are away.

ENDS