Would you get a loan for an amazing holiday?

I do prioritise holidays over material things but wouldn't get a loan to go on one.

When our children were younger we went on 2 really expensive holidays, one to Florida which was paid for from my redundancy money, and one on safari in Kenya paid for from some money I was left when my Nan passed away. We didn't borrow money to go, but could have used the money to clear some debts we had at the time. I don't regret it because I wanted to have the experience as a family and debt we did have was managable.

I often book holidays before having the money to pay for them, but book them well in advance so I know I can save the money before the final payment is due.

Never, holidays are something you save for not borrow for. If you wonder how people on good incomes get into debt, this is how. What happens the following year when you have no money because you are still paying for last year’s

No if rather save than borrow and end up paying more in interest. We are going to Australia in 5 years and are already saving for it. I'd rather do that than get in debt.

The OP has not actually given any details of their finances.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was one of those common situations where the DH claims they 'can't afford' things the OP wants to do but he's not interested in but they mysteriously have plenty of money available for his cars, hobbies, pension or personal savings.

no, if you could afford the repayments then why not save that amount a month & pay for it instead?

Yes

Nope never. I have friends who did this. Both were in very good jobs and they decided to take some bucket list trips before having kids. They were both lost their jobs in the space of a few months. I know how stressed they were about the loans and the toil it has taken on their marriage.

No, never.

Bluey 🌹

@Florally only in this sort of situation, otherwise no. You just don't know what's around the corner.

I was perfectly fine one day, stroke overnight, now cannot work.... imagine if I had a huge debt for a holiday to worry about as well. 😩

Never.

If it takes 2 years to pay it back, why not save for 2 years. Interest saved can be put towards spends or next holiday.

It also gives flexibility to plan and take advantage of any deals that might drop in during that period.

Yes, I would probably consider this. Maybe a loan, or holiday repayment scheme. I'd love to take our children to Disney, I went a lot as a child as have such wonderful memories but there are 8 of us and our eldest is coming up to 16 so I don't think I could save enough to go before she's too old to enjoy it. Having said that, if you're a big Disney fan, I don't think there is a 'too old'!

Yes definitely, life is too short, kids grow up while you're trying to save up if you're on a low income. I did this last year so we could go on our first family holiday abroad which coincided with a big anniversary for us. It was definitely worth it. I try saving for holidays but always end up finding something else more deserving of the money and there's never any in the pot. I realised when my eldest DS hit his teens and complained he'd never been abroad. I'd been hopelessly trying to save for a 'one day' holiday that never came. So I paid for the holiday with a loan of several thousand and paid it off in monthly installments for a year in advance of going. It worked out completely fine. I'd definitely do it again.

believe you should save 90% of your earnings ' just in case' , and put the other 10% in your ' pension pot'.
Op is not just not saving for a rainy day, she’s contemplating buying a holiday she can’t afford on credit.
Slightly different scenario?

This is probably the wrong forum to ask, OP, as Mumsnet is full of people who believe you should save 90% of your earnings ' just in case' , and put the other 10% in your ' pension pot'.

Quite frankly I would do it (general abroad holiday, nothing hugely outrageous) , and we have done with a credit card and paid it back over the following year.

Life is too short to miss out on deserved holidays, you never know what is round the corner, and kids get older and become surly and disinterested in being on holiday with you.

How long is the loan for? Presumably not that long, it's not a mortgage. If you think that it would be affordable to take a loan, then it's affordable to save up, and you'd only be delaying the trip by a couple of years. And you earn interest rather than paying it.

Only in very specific circumstances. Maybe if I was having a break from work, so it was a good opportunity to travel, but had a guaranteed job lined up from afterwards that would comfortably pay for it. Under normal circumstances, no.

Boring because he won't support taking out a loan of thousands of pounds for a holiday? I doubt he would support her getting into lots of debt for a holiday whether he goes on it or not.

It’s taken you twelve years to pay for a holiday?

It’s horses for courses, but committing to a payment plan for a huge sum that @Freshstartyear25 described to pay for a holiday more than a year away would make me very nervous because of the possibility of cancelling, which would mean a chunk - perhaps all - of the holiday payment being non-refundable, depending on when you cancel.

Living your life on the basis that you might die tomorrow sounds great in motivational memes but doesn't work in practice.

We did this in our early 30s as we wanted one amazing holiday before we started trying for children. We were on an average income, saved hard for 2.5 years, needed another couple of thousand which went on credit card and took us another 2 years to repay. Dream holiday in a campervan around Scandinavia.

Our children have SEND and that kind of holiday is out of reach financially and practically now so I'm glad we have the memories, absolutely no regrets.

OP I have just booked a rail trip and safari in Africa.
i understand the dream but I saved and paid half myself and half with a very unexpected inheritance.
i am 60 though… dream since childhood to go to Africa but I wouldn’t have borrowed.. depending on your age you have plenty of time.

I think putting an holiday on a credit card and paying it off ‘before’ the holiday is different from what the OP is describing as here, one is taking credit and going on the holiday and then will still be paying for it for a long time after. I can’t do the later at all.
I’ve just booked our 2026 all inclusive holiday with Jet2 yesterday because I could get a good deal now and I have 9 payments to make which will be complete in March and the holiday is months after in August 2026.
It’s the same as saving money because I can save the same amount I’m paying now till march and then book the holiday, the only difference is that next year, the holiday will be much more expensive so I’ll have to take some more from my saving for the same holiday.
However, I can’t book one on credit and then go for the holiday and then still be paying for it. It’s not a necessity so I’ll only go on one that I’ve paid for conveniently

I was brought up to believe that if you want something you save for it. But when I started work I was very tempted to get a credit card and have a spending splurge on a fab holiday and some nice clothes. However a guy I worked with had parents who took the family away on holiday abroad, put it on the credit card and then spent a year paying it back, ready to start again the next year. Even at 18 I could see that I personally wouldn’t be so dedicated to pay for something I’d already had that had been and gone a year ago plus taking into account fees as well. So I adopted my parents approach.
When my husband and I decided to have a trip of a life time to Australia, we didn’t have a holiday for 3 years to save enough money because we decided to do and see exactly what we wanted to there so it definitely wasn’t a budget type holiday and we looked forward to it so much that we didn’t mind not going away whilst saving.
However a close friend of mine was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had a couple of fabulous holidays whacked on a credit card so she could go whilst she was still able and I think I’d have done the same in her case.

No. I've never taken a loan out for anything except for the mortgage and I would only do so for something essential.