Tips for cross-border shopping

Many parents go south of the border when tackling back-to-school shopping.

They want to take advantage of lower prices and better sales, says CAA South Central Ontario. It offers these 6 tips to thrifty parents making the trek:

• Plan for delays at border crossings. You can check up on wait times at http://travel.gc.ca/.
• Purchase travel insurance for even short trips since unexpected visits to hospitals will be expensive.
• Schedule a vehicle check-up a least one week before your road trip.
• Pack a map along with your GPS. Also consider using route planner tools to reduce travel stress.
• Remember that for 48 hours or more, you can bring back tax and duty-free goods worth up to $800. For 24 hours or more, you can only bring back $200 worth.
• Keep all receipts and have them ready at the border.

Also check out:

Back-to-school spending climbs 4%

Post-secondary students benefit from P&C coverage

Driving tips for vacationing clients

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.