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Cash advice

The cost of entertaini­ng the kids this summer is averaging around £624 per family, according to the Post Office. But there are things you can do to keep costs low. Here are some top tips to help you save this summer...

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1 STICK TO YOUR LIMIT Set a daily limit and stick to it. Use free budgeting apps, such as Yolt or Money Dashboard, to track your spending. The apps allow you to monitor all your accounts in one place on a handy dashboard, so you can see exactly what is coming in and out. And, if contactles­s spending makes it too easy to go overbudget, try sticking to cash instead. 2 BARGAIN HUNTER Look out for discounts on the packaging of food and home items. Currently, the voucher on your Carex bottle gives you half-price tickets to Alton Towers, Sea Life and Warwick Castle until 31 May 2020. And Kellogg’s cereal can get you a free adult ticket with every child ticket you purchase for a Merlin attraction – saving you up to £60 at Legoland – until June 2020. Eating out? Download the VoucherCod­es app for money off. 3 TRADE IN YOUR LOYALTY POINTS If you have a Tesco Clubcard, you can triple your points’ value if you use them to eat out, or for day trips. But plan ahead – you have to convert your points into a voucher via the Tesco Clubcard site, which can take at least 24 hours to come through. If you have Nectar points, use them to cut the cost of travel – 4,000 points can be traded in for a £20 voucher (10,000 points can get you a £50 voucher) to redeem against travelling costs. 4 ON REPEAT… Annual membership­s for attraction­s can work out cheaper if you plan to visit more than once. National Trust family membership starts at £78 for a year, but that includes entry to more than 500 properties and gardens. Thorpe Park costs £55 per person on the day, yet a season pass is the same price when bought online. Similarly, a ticket to the Chessingto­n World of Adventures will cost you £50.50 on the day, but an annual pass is £65. 5 WHY PAY AT ALL? Your local park can provide hours of free entertainm­ent, and many museums are also free. The Science Museum in London, Newcastle’s Discovery Museum and the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, all run activities for kids over the summer. You don’t even need to book, just turn up! Hobbycraft stores provide regular free craft sessions for kids, and Lego shops also offer free toybuildin­g workshops.

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