FAMILIES need to set aside £13 a day in order to save up enough for the average summer holiday.

With the school summer vacation due to start on or around July 22 this year, there are approximately 190 days to go until parents can jet off for the annual family trip abroad.

In 2018, Brits spent £2,417 on average on each family trip, according to research from Expedia.

This means parents need to set aside £12.72 each day from now until May to make sure they have their holidays paid for.

Of course, that figure assumes that you'll be going away at the very beginning of the break.

If you're planning to travel in the last week of the holidays you've got until the end of August to save.

CRUNCH THE COST OF YOUR FAMILY HOLIDAY

YOU can work out how much cash to stash for your family trip by following our simple formula.

• First work out when you want to go away and calculate how many days are left in the year until your preferred date.
  There are handy calculators online that can do the hard bit for you, such as this one.
• Next you need to work out how much you're likely to spend on your trip.
  The best thing to do is set a budget of how much you are prepared to spend on the whole trip.
  Use travel comparison sites to work out how much a week away in your ideal location is likely to cost.
  If you want a similar trip to a previous year, you can use this as a guide to how much you might spend
  Don't forget to include spending money that you might need on the trip.
• Finally, divide your budget you have set by the number of days until your ideal travel time – this will give you your daily savings rate.
  For instance, if you were looking to start saving from today (January 15) and you were travelling on the 2nd August, you'd have 200 days to save.
  If your budget for the holiday was £2,000, you'd need to put away £10 each day between now and then
  
• Be realistic about your budget and err on the higher side. If you save more than you need, you can put it towards extra holiday money or towards next year's trip.

Assuming you're travelling from August 24 to September 1 (most schools go back on the 2nd) then you've got 223 days to put some cash aside.

For the average holiday, that means you'll need to squirrel away just £10.84 per day.

How to work out how much you need to save for your summer holiday

Where you go will significantly impact how much you pay for your break.

A family of four can get a 7-night all-inclusive holiday to the Costa Brava in Spain for £348 per person, according to TravelSupermarket.com.

This puts the total cost of the holiday at £1,392, if you jet off in August.

To pay this off in full you'd only need to save £6.41 per day.

The cheapest destination in the research was Majorca, which would set a family back just £1,132 if they jetted off on May 5.

As the holiday is earlier in the year, you'd have 112 days to save, and you'd need to put away £10.11 each day.

If you're not going all inclusive, you need to look at the cost of things like food, drink, toiletries and sun cream in your chosen destination..

How to spread the cost of the summer holidays

Saving £13 a day might seem like a lot, but there are plenty of ways to budget so you have the spare cash available.

There are also plenty of clever strategies for spreading the cost out over the year.

Here's some of our top tips:

Round up your spending

Finding money to set aside each day to put towards your holiday might seem tricky if you're on a budget.
But accounts that round up the cost of your spending to the nearest pound and save the rest can help you save without noticing.

Lots of traditional banks, such as Lloyd's, allow you to do this through your current account.

Challenger bank Monzo also lets you do this, and you can even allocate the pot as holiday savings.
You'll only be saving small amounts, but it soon adds up and you can put it towards the cost of your trip.

Save your cashback

When you’re shopping or signing up to a new broadband or even insurance company, always remember to check for cashback.

The best two websites are TopCashback and Quidco and both have basic accounts that are free to join.
Put all your cashback into a dedicated account to save towards your holiday, so you're not tempted to spend it elsewhere.

Consider an interest-free credit card

A credit card with an interest-free period means that you can spread the cost of your holiday throughout the year.

These cards come with a promotional offer where you won't have to pay interest over a set period, for instance 12 months.

Work out how much you need to pay each month to clear your holiday payment entirely. That way you can split the cost without getting stung with interest at the end of the offer.

Make sure you always make at least the minimum payment or you could lose your interest-free offer.

Choose a holiday that lets you pay in installments

Plenty of holiday companies, including TUI, First Choice and LoveHolidays.com all let customers book a holiday and pay it off monthly.

Some companies will asked you to pay an initial deposit, and then you can set up a monthly payment plan.

Usually you'll have to book your holiday at least ten weeks in advance to take advantage, though some operators require you to book even earlier than that.

You won't get your tickets until you've paid everything off and you'll have a deadline to finish paying. For instance Tui asks for your final payment eight weeks before departure.

MORE ON MONEY NEWS

Slash the cost of bills

Cutting down your grocery bill is a great way to find the £13 savings you need each day to afford a typical family holiday.

From finding the best coupons and vouchers to using cash back and even the best time to find yellow stickers, our guide reveals how you can seriously slash your food shopping bills.

Try and see if you can get a better deal on your utility bills too, and you'll soon find you have extra cash to save.

This is easiest with mobile, TV, broadband or landline contracts. Use comparison sites to make sure you're getting the cheapest deals.

If you're booking your dream holiday, make sure you're fully protected by getting a holiday that is Atol-protected.

This means that you'll be covered if your holiday operator goes bust.

It's awarded to package holidays where flights and hotels are booked together.

Keep an eye out for ABTA protection too. While Atol protects flight-based packages, Abta protects everything else such as cruise or self-drive trip.

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