With the recession still ongoing people in the UK are finding it that much more difficult to spare enough money for the smallest of luxuries, let alone holidays. Holidays have always been considered a bit of a luxury and now this is the case more than ever before with more than 19 per cent of young families saying that they will not be going on holiday in 2013 due to financial constraints. Perhaps even more shockingly, 32 per cent of young families have said that they are considering not going abroad on holiday this year. With money being an important issue lately, we have devised a list of different ways that you can save money when booking a holiday for this year. The items in this list can not necessarily all be used together, but there are several ideas that should be able to save almost everyone a fair bit of money on their holiday this year.

1. Be aware of the tricks used by low-cost airlines

Low-cost airlines are businesses just like the other airlines. Therefore they need to make money and of course profit. Offering low-cost flights is a good marketing technique that gets the public interested in  a particular airline. They then have to recuperate their money via other methods in order to maximise profit. This can include charges for using a credit card, paying a premium in order to choose your seat, baggage stow charges and extortionate refreshment prices onboard. Use a debit card to book your holiday if possible, check in early to ensure that you sit with your family, travel light and purchase refreshments from your local supermarket to bring on the plane.

2. Check the voucher code websites

Before you book a holiday online with a travel agent such as Thomson, make sure you check online for voucher codes. Voucher codes can be used during the online checkout and will usually deduct a certain percentage off of the final holiday price. On a holiday for four or more people this can add up to quite a substantial saving. There are several websites on the internet offering Thomson.com discount codes and some of these websites even compare their codes with the others.

3. Save money when exchanging currency

Exchanging currency is particularly expensive if you do it at the airport 30 minutes before you board your flight. Spending money on your debit card when abroad is also expensive, and using a credit card abroad can be financially dangerous. Start planning your holiday spending as soon as you book your trip. Apply for a special credit card to use only when abroad that doesn't charge a fee for cash withdrawals and has no foreign exchange fee.

4.  Plan your parking in advance

As soon as you book your holiday - or as soon as physically possible - begin to plan your parking. Parking at the airport itself costs an absolute fortune and can be totally avoided fairly easily. Consider getting a taxi to and from the airport - you may be surprised. Taking a taxi will also ensure that you know exactly how much it's going to cost and will reduce the pre and post holiday stress levels immensely - especially if you have children.

5. Plan your mobile phone usage

This is almost always overlooked. When on holiday you can run up a huge phone bill simply because you aren't aware of the charges. Most mobile phone providers now offer 'bolt-ons' that you can purchase before you go on holiday, which reduces the cost of you calls dramatically. You have to remember thought that they only offer this service to encourage you to use your phone abroad. The safest bet when abroad is to simply not use your phone. You're on holiday, so relax and switch the phone off and only check it periodically in case of emergencies. For children, ensure that they don't even bring their mobile phones with them or you will regret it.

We hope you found the five tips useful. We appreciate your feedback so please leave a comment if you have the time. We will be back regularly with more holiday money-saving tips as and when we have them.

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