By Sheryl Smolkin

Whether you plan to spend Christmas holidays in the snow or on the beach, looking for the best deals can lighten the load on your budget, and observing some basic safety rules can minimize the risk of theft of both your property and your identity.

RewardsCardsCanada and RewardsCanada are two sites to bookmark if you want to stay abreast of the latest travel card deals.

For competitive prices on hotel rooms, take a look at Trivago and Priceline. Trivago’s hotel search allows you to compare hotel prices in just a few clicks from more than 200 booking sites for over 700,000 hotels throughout the world. On Priceline you can search for express deals or for deeper discounts by naming your own price and bidding on hotel rooms.

If you are planning a road trip, the pamphlet “How to Go on Ice and Snow” from Car Care Tips | CAA Saskatchewan presents well-illustrated, easy-to-read information that will aid you in becoming a safer and more efficient driver despite winter’s adverse weather conditions.

Independenttraveller.com offers 10 trips for holiday travel including flying in and out of smaller airports if possible to minimize wait time and have a more hassle-free arrival and departure. 

And last but not least, the Canada Safety Council offers The 12 Travel Tips of Christmas. Two of my favourites are:

• Check to make sure your passports, visas and vaccinations are all up-to-date.  Leave copies of your passports, driver’s licence, credit cards and other important documents with family members in case of theft).
• Inform your bank and credit card companies where you are going and for how long. This way your account won’t be flagged for suspicious activity when you make purchases in a foreign destination.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.