How to save $1,000 on your winter holidays

The winter holidays are just around the corner - the kids will soon be off school – making it the ultimate time to jet set out of here.

Whether you're planning a family snow adventure or are flocking to the beautiful beaches of the tropics there's plenty of savings to be made.

The Mozo experts have crunched the numbers and found you (and your family) could be throwing away over $1,000 on trivial holiday expenses, such as airport parking, travel insurance and accessing foreign money.

So take your winter holiday money back with these 5 simple savings tips:

1) Book your airport parking online

Pre-booking your airport parking could save you big time, in fact, over 60% on the cost of your holiday parking.

Let's give you a scenario. You're flying from Sydney to Fiji for 7 days and cruise into Sydney Airport parking on the day of your flight. The total cost of the 7 days will be a staggering $255. But if you book online before you leave, your parking will slide down to $154 for the 7 days. That's a big saving of $101 - think of all the holiday margaritas you could buy!

Total saving = $101

2) Search for top-notch travel insurance deals

Forget hefty travel agent commission fees because the online travel market is full of bustling travel insurance deals!

Let's give you a scenario. You're flying to New Zealand for a long weekend of skiing. The cost of covering a family of four can range from anywhere from $45 to $150 depending on the insurer. Taking a few minutes to compare travel insurance online can instantly identify a potential saving of $105.

Total saving: $105

3) Preload the local currency on a prepaid travel card

Unfortunately, your standard debit or credit card won't do the trick for overseas travel due to expensive overseas ATM fees and steep conversion fees, so search the prepaid travel card market and find the right prepaid card for your trip.

Let's give you a scenario. You're in Bali, the kids are naggin' you for food and you need to withdraw cash for lunch. With the wrong card, overseas ATM visits could cost you $4 per withdrawal and an uncompetitive conversion fee (soaring as high as 5.95%) on a $2,000 currency exchange could cost you a steep $139. However, plastic with no purchase fee, $1.50 ATM charges and a competitive 3% conversion fee would only cost you around $67 to access your foreign cash.

Total saving = $72

4) Enjoy the local cuisine

Big savings can be made by simply venturing out of your hotel or resort for your meals. While it's easy to put minibar snacks and buffet breakfasts on your tab, your check out bill will not be the cherry on your holiday cake.

Let's give you a scenario. You're holidaying in Phuket for 8 days and your buffet brekky is around $25 per head ($100 per day for a family of four). But if you head out for some local cuisine you'll be able to reduce your meal to around $5 per head ($20 per day for a family of four).

Total saving: $640

5) Avoid car hire excess and take advantage of inbuilt insurance

Zooming down the streets of a foreign city may be an exhilarating feeling but if you have a car accident, the steep car hire excess won't be.

Let's give you a scenario. You hire a basic economy car for a week from hertz at around $30 a day and to reduce your standard excess from $3500 to $500 you're charged an additional $25 a day ($175 for the week). If you have a platinum credit card, check if it comes with inbuilt travel insurance that covers rental car excess, so you won't have to pay anything to reduce your excess.

Total saving = $175

And there you have it, with these 5 simple saving tips you have the potential to save $1093. Put it in a high interest savings account for your next family vacay. Christmas isn't long away!