IF you’re planning a trip away, act now– if you wait till you go, it’ll be too late – and the costs can rocket.

Here are my ten must-knows if you are heading abroad.

1. Cut the cost of car hire by sorting it out before you leave home

Don’t imagine you’ll get the best deal by leaving it until you arrive at your destination – often that can more than double your costs.

As a simple start point, use comparison sites carrentals.co.uk and kayak.co.uk to find the cheapest deal.

In some locations it’s possible to get a car for under £10 a day. Yet when you try to collect the car, the hire firm will try a hard sell based on additional “excess insurance”.

The problem is, this kind of insurance can be worth it – have a scratch and they’ll be likely to charge the whole lot.

So if you want it, plan ahead and get a standalone excess policy for a fraction of the cost via the comparison site moneymaxim.

co.uk.

2. Get the best deal by getting the right card for the job

Choose the best plastic and the rates are unbeatable.

The cheapest way to spend abroad is to use a specialist overseas credit card that you only use when abroad. Though you must repay it in full each month, preferably by direct debit, so there’s no interest.

Most plastic adds a three per cent ‘load’, so spend £100 of euros and it costs £103. Yet these top cards smash bureaux de change with near-perfect rates, as they are ‘load’ free worldwide.

The cards include Halifax Clarity, Post Office, Saga (over 50s) and, for Nationwide FlexAccount holders ONLY, its Select card. Even poor credit scorers can get them too via the Aqua card. To find the best for you, read moneysavingexpert.com/spendingoverseas

3. Check if your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is valid

These give access to EU state-run hospitals and GPs on the same basis as locals.

If they pay nothing, nor do you. Four million of these cards will expire this year, so check you are not one of them and renew it now.

Don’t leave it at home, as it’s only valid if you show it. If you need to renew it, don’t Google it is as you’ll end up looking at scam sites that charge £15.

You never have to pay to get or renew an EHIC.

Ignore any ‘pay for fast-track scams’ – it’s always free. Go via ehic.org.uk

4. Don’t pay the earth for travel insurance

Getting insurance with your holiday is usually expensive, yet it’s still important to get it at the same time for holiday or you’re not covered for cancellations.

If you go away twice a year, including weekends, even if they’re in pre-booked accommodation in the UK, an annual policy is usually cheapest.

If you just want cheap do-the-job type policies covering medical and lost luggage rather than big compensation in the event of volcanoes, prices can be very cheap – as little as £16 for an individual in Europe up to £42 for a family worldwide.

Full help to find the cheapest, including over 65s, at mse.me/travelinsurance

5. For the cheapest deals, book flights early and package deals late

With flights, early booking is usually cheaper – leave it late and you compete with business folk willing to pay big bucks.

Use sites such as skyscanner.net, travelsupermarket.com and kayak.co.uk to hone down prices.

With packages, booking less than eight weeks before departure will get you the hottest bargains.

6. Don’t wait till the airport to get travel cash

They know you’re a captive customer, so they give a shocking deal.

If you must get it from the airport, at least pre-order for airport pickup.

To show the difference on the day I checked, it cost £270 to get €300 at the airport, but the same company only charged £250 for preordered pick up. For the very hottest rates, use tools likemytravelmoneymax.com

7. Always pre-book airport parking

If you need to drive (public transport’s often cheaper), cut costs by booking early.

There are a range of comparison sites which help such as skyparksecure.com, aph.com and fhr-net.co.uk.

8. Going to the USA? You need an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation)

Most UK citizens holidaying in the US must pay $14 for an ESTA before they go.

Beware applying via spam sites, as you’ll be charged more.

9. Posh hotel rooms at colossal discounts

The start point is comparison sites like Trivago.co.uk and Travelsupermarket.com.

Yet bigger discounts are possible with a raft of tricks such as uncovering top secret Lastminute.com hotels by playing detective with anonymous 3-5 star rooms (cut and paste the description into Google and it’s often revealed).

This is just the start though, for a lesson in cheap hotel tricks go to mse.me/cheaphotels

10. Don’t pay to pay for budget airlines

Some budget airlines charge up to £12 per person return to pay for their flights.

They get away with this by often having one no-cost niche payment system, so all others are ‘added extras’.

So tool up to avoid these. For Ryanair, outrageously, the only option is its prepaid Mastercard. With BMI Baby and Jet2 you need a Visa Electron.

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● £4.50 school uniform Currently both in-store and online (standard delivery is £3.95 or ‘click and collect’ for free), you can get a whole school uniform for £4.50 from Tesco. This includes a polo shirt, sweatshirt and trousers/skirt (ages 3-16).

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● Get Martin’s FREE tips and money-off vouchers e-mailed directly to you each week by signing up to www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips