How do people pay for a holiday? Decent income and can’t afford it?

We have a similar income but our house is only 600 a month and no childcare to pay anymore I think that's the reason we normally can go twice a year and pay it off as quickly as possible each month. When I was paying out childcare sadly we had barely any disposable income but it was important to both go to work and see the bigger picture we would at most in those days do a caravan holiday a year. It won't be like this forever op x

@Honeysuckle19

If you don't have a mortgage or rent to pay, how can you not afford it? Your money must be going somewhere.

I just this minute booked one which came up £2,000. Doable on our salary with one 2 year old. Then came to paying and choosing family room, seat on plane, morning flights added 1k!! Needless to say it went on credit card but definitely will not be able to afford this every 1-2 years!

We earn less but we have a small house and one car. We don't have childcare costs anymore thankfully but when my kids were very small we holidayed camping in the UK during term time.

We use a payment plan for hoildays ( all paid before going) So it comes out of our monthly outgoings and no need for a big one off payment which we couldn't afford

I have no childcare, no car payments, my mortgage is a quarter of yours. Once the childcare years are over it will get a lot easier,

They make sacrifices and save. You've got to decide what's more important regular days out, a fancy car or holidays

What about house swap? That would reduce the housing costs to almost nothing

Forget UK holidays (depressing and expensive) and go all inclusive abroad. You can do Malta is June and September for £400pp

Our income is higher than yours, our mortgage is much less and we only have wrap around and holiday childcare fees now, that’s how we can afford it.

We have similar income but our mortgage is now only 460 a month, don't have childcare anymore, cars 300. The answer is they have lower expenditure. Itl be easier when your children aren't needing childcare.

At those ages I'd stop dropping £60 on a few hours at a farm and book a Monday to Friday Butlins or haven.

They are dead cheap mid week outside of school holidays. Great for little ones and feel like more than just spending £60 for the sake of a bit of entertainment.

Or do Center parcs before school holidays kick in

We used to book a cheap premier inn for the Sunday night so we could extend the holiday and travel while it's quiet rather than having to factor in rush hour on Monday.

I would actually sit down and go through everything to see where your money is going and if you can look at getting things for less cost or if you actually need everything you spend money on

Even down to categorising how much you spend on these days out and what exactly you are spending £58 on.
Have a budget for birthdays etc
Look if there is a cheaper day out through Groupon Wowcher etc Taking a packed lunch etc
Filling up your cars in the cheapest petrol station
Are you paying over the odds for your gas/electric/mobile/insurances etc
Going vegetarian/vegan for a couple of days per week

These suggestions might only save £10 or £20 per week but over a course of a year that is £500-£1000 per year.

If you are saving already £300 per month then you could end up with nearly £5000 savings per year or maybe more.

More than enough to have a nice holiday and have an emergency fund and savings

@biscuitsandbooks a lot of people don’t have a choice because of their jobs. I couldn’t move to a cheaper coastal area and earn the same as I do in a city

You will have to upgrade at some point, esp if DC are a boy and a girl. Meanwhile, good for you.

It really isn’t cheap. Unless you’re paying off a loan over a very short time period - in which case, think about extending it if you need to. You’d pay more interest, but the monthly payments would reduce.

You absolutely can get a holiday for 3 people in the UK for £1k either in or outside of term time.
Your childcare costs are high, your car expenses are high - not everyone has these.
Lots to be grateful for and you've got an opportunity to really budget if you want to.

That's a huge mortgage for your income. We earn very similar but our mortgage is half that. No childcare but with three teenagers, one at uni the cost of going abroad is still a massive stretch.

But if you choose to live somewhere expensive with lots of amenities, you have to accept that that means spending lots of your disposable income on housing.

DH is only just 40 and I'm in my thirties and our mortgage is £360. But we deliberately chose a cheap, coastal northern town in order to have low housing costs and more disposable income for fun.

As ever the first reply nails it. Think what you could be doing with £1,400 a month once DC is/are older.

Very normal sadly. Our mortgage went up £600 a month over night. It's a modest 3 bed nothing extravagant. Coming out of a good 2 year fixed at the time rates were highest.

It is the norm right now

Ops mortgage is totally normal though for someone under 40 and in a city. Most of the mortgage amounts mentioned of under 600 are just totally impossible for younger people

What are you spending the £950 a month surplus on if it's only for days out and birthdays? Most birthdays equal a present (for adults unless it's a special one) and even if you spend £900 each on DC's birthdays that should still leave you a good surplus - unless your £600 doesn't include food?

Growing wealth inequality is making things increasingly difficult, meaning that people on decent income can't have a comfortable life any more. The gap between the very rich and everyone else is getting bigger, which will result in the disappearance of the middle class.

Also I did dread butlins a bit last year but DS (2 at the time) had rhe absolute time of his life. It was cheap cheerful and a week where we all got to be together.