ONE savvy saver has revealed how she pocketed £100 just by trading in leftover holiday money she found around the house.
Maria wrote in to Martin Lewis‘s latest MoneySavingExpert newsletter to share her win.
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She said: “I had leftover currency from countries I was unlikely to return to, so I went to the sites I found on MSE and managed to exchange ALL my currencies, including coins, and got over £100.”
It’s an easy trick for anyone who’s back from holiday and has leftover currency such as dollars or euros.
The MoneySavingExpert team has put together a guide on how to make the most of your cash.
It’s easy to just chuck leftover coins in a drawer when you get home from holiday, thinking you’ll dig them out to use next time you go away.
But how often do you actually remember to do this – or do you have foreign currency lying around from years ago?
Rather than let your cash get forgotten and go to waste, it makes sense to trade it in and get your money back – in a currency you’ll actually use.
If your trip was fairly recent, check for a receipt from when you exchanged your currency – it might have a rate guarantee on it, which promises the Bureau de Change you used will buy it back at a certain exchange rate.
If you don’t have a guarantee, use a comparison tool such as TravelMoneyMax to find the best exchange rates near you.
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Remember, you’ll be looking at the “buy” rate rather than the “sell” rate, and it’s usually not as generous.
When we looked, you could get £85.51 back if you had €100 to exchange.
Once you find the best rate, you can head to location to exchange your cash for sterling, or whichever currency you want.
There are options to post back your currency but this usually comes with an extra charge, so do check.
What if I have older currency?
If you’ve had a clear out and found old French francs, Spanish Pesetas or any other currency that no longer exists, don’t despair.
Sites like Leftovercurrency.com lets you trade in older coins and notes.
Don’t expect to get a great exchange rate though – after all, you’re asking for cash for something that’s no longer legal tender.
When we checked, you could get 12p for a 20 French Franc banknote, and trading in a 50,000 Italian Lire banknote would get you £1.50.
Leftovercurrency says it sends most of the notes and coins it receives back to their country of origin where they’re exchanged at the central bank – while some are kept for collectors.
What if I have old UK banknotes and coins?
UK banknotes have undergone a revamp in recent years, but if you find an old paper note in a coat pocket you can trade it in.
Some banks and Post Office branches will exchange banknotes that are no longer used.
If yours doesn’t, you can trade them in at the Bank of England itself.
This can be done either in by person or by post. You’ll need to provide proof of identity to do so, and you can get the money paid directly into your bank account if you prefer.
While old paper £10 and £5 notes have already been withdrawn, there is still time to use paper £20 and £50 banknotes – but not for long.
The deadline for using these notes is September 30, and after then they’ll no longer be legal tender.
The Bank is replacing old-style paper notes with polymer versions, which are more durable and difficult to counterfeit.
But it’s estimated there are still around £14billion of old-style notes still floating around.
