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Preparing to travel abroad this summer but need to renew your passport first? A money-saving mum has shared some savvy tips to cut down on costs before you jet off
A thrifty mum has shared two simple ways to save money when renewing your passport.
Checking the expiration date on your passport is the first thing you should do before booking a holiday, and post-Brexit rules now insist on passports being valid for more than three months after your intended return date. So, if you’re planning to jet off abroad this summer, you might need to renew your passport pretty soon.
Last year, the Home Office received more passport applications on March 17 than any other day since early 2022. With just two weeks to go until the peak day for submissions, award-winning financial influencer and mum blogger Megan Micklewright shares her clever tips to keep costs low when renewing your passport.
Megan, who runs @thesavvyspenderofficial Instagram account, told The Mirror: “Whether you’re renewing or getting a brand-new passport, you can be saving money on those passport booth photos. Did you know you can take your own passport photo for free at home?” A typical passport photobooth costs £10, but Megan advises taking your own and simply following the advised steps.
She said: “All you need to do is find a well-lit area with a plain, light coloured background (natural daylight helps avoid shadows), use the back camera of your phone and make sure you get in your head, shoulders and upper body in the frame. You can then upload this to the Gov website before submitting and it’ll let you know how likely it is to be accepted.”
To cut down costs again, you can apply online instead of via post. “An adult online passport application is £11.50 cheaper than a postal application, plus it’s more convenient and environmentally friendly,” Megan explained. “All you have to do is complete your application online, submit your digital photo and send your old passport in the post. By taking your own photo and opting for the online application, you can make the passport process more affordable and straightforward.”
Her tips comes as technology expert Nick Drewe advises switching to incognito mode on your browser to stop flight prices going up when searching. He said the nifty trick can prevent travel websites from sneakily increasing the prices when they notice repeat searches for certain flights or hotels. Nick told The Mirror: “Using incognito mode is a savvy trick to avoid the potential for dynamic pricing based on your browsing habits.”
But how do you do it? Nick explained: “Switching to incognito mode is straightforward. If you’re using Google Chrome, just click on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select ‘new incognito window’. On Safari, choose ‘file’ and then ‘new private window’ from the menu. If you’re using Firefox, click the menu button and select ‘new private window’. Each browser generally has a similar setup for this.”
