Holidays are just not worth the money

Nothing to add in respect of you being financially comfortable with spending money on holidays. I will add my memories of childhood holidays and my children's
often spoken about holiday memories two or three times a year are amongst the most precious things we as a family own. I don't regret a single penny. I understand not every family can afford holidays. In the early days when we didn't have much we bought a nearly new frame tent & camping gear & off we went with our car roof piled high. Our memories of those fun days are just as good as our expensive foreign beach holidays. There's always a way.

There were 6 of us when I was a child, so we went camping a lot as it was very cheap. We had great adventures. One year after reading Swallows and Amazons we went camping and sailing in an old rowing boat!! No pirates though!!! 🤣

Totally agree but a 3k holiday outright wouldn’t be my budget with 3 kids and a large mortgage and only 8k of savings. I would stay uk based and do self catering. Unless I paid it off in advance out of my salary then it is affordable.

That is an insane price to pay. Go bed and breakfast instead of all inclusive its much cheaper. Or pick a cheaper resort like Salou or Cambrils in Spain or hire a cottage in the UK and do some great days in this country. We did Norwegian Fjords in April, cottage in Cornwall next week, house on Isle of White with daughter and 3 kids in August . Im sure we'll be fine as theres lots to do there. It doesnt have to be some beach resort with a kids club to be enjoyed

I’m struggling with this more and more. I’ve always enjoyed holidays but I also only really like luxury holidays but the price point is getting a bit silly and harder to justify. I don’t really want to be slumming it on holiday and I don’t really like being stuck with annoying people- I’d rather not go and do day trips here instead. The dilemma is real.

What we have really enjoyed though is doing more active breaks like Lapland, city beaks, skiing. But even then, the last time we did skiing, the accommodation was pretty basic and we’d want nicer accommodation going forwards which again adds cost.

then that's a different issue than your thread title...

You are currently saving money back. If it's too early to go somewhere and you prefer to have build back your savings, it's not the same.

You can cancel the holidays this year, go in October or another school holiday, or next year, it's not a big deal.

It doesn't mean holidays are not "worth" the money

I would find it much harder to spend money on a new kitchen than a holiday.

that's a very weird to see it.

When you spend £500 a day on holiday, you don't do housework all week - you are not home!
you ARE going on trips everyday (or should if you wanted to, because it's YOUR holiday and up to you to plan it right)
you ARE eating out every day?

If you do none of these things, then I am not sure what kind of holidays you pick?

Don’t be daft. If everyone waited until they had 6 months wages in the bank before going on holiday they could be decades older, ill or dead. Life is for living, you never know what is around the corner. I think it’s really sad people would put their life (and their children’s childhoods) on hold in that way. If you have a steady income you can reasonably make some risk based decisions to balance responsibility and enjoyment.

Least your grandkids will have great holidays as your own kids will remember what it’s like having a killjoy in the family, when their pals are away more often. The excitement, adventure, memories, laughs, experiences make it all worth it.

Me personally think they are worth it.

when I’m old and my kids see grown I want those memories to look back on.

I know what you mean. We are a family of 5 as well. Are comfortable financially, but then it comes to holidays im always looking for the best value! I love holidays.
One tip for camp sites though, book direct!

Yes, but you seem to struggle with theory of mind. It’s ’worth It’ for the other people on the holiday, your children! Unless you require every single form of expenditure your children require to be ‘worth it’ for you, surely this is just one more item on the list of ‘stuff I wouldn’t be spending money on if I were childfree’?

How old are your kids OP?

You say they enjoy the holidays, and you do too when you’re there. No doubt you all have happy memories of family holidays. In the blink of an eye those family holidays will be over. Your kids will be grown up, with their own lives/friends/partners, and summer holidays together will be a distant memory.

You should make the most of it now. It’s worth every penny, because when the time has gone, it’s well and truly gone.

How would you be paying for a £3k holiday then? Out of your salary that month or savings?

Because if you only have £8k in savings then could that be why you’re not keen on spending £3k?

I wouldn’t be comfortable spending £3k outright if I only had £8k in savings either.

You don’t have to go abroad to make amazing memories. We have never gone mad money wise when it comes to holidays.

You’ve definitely made the right choice in clearing the debt. We were in a similar position with debt a few years back. I’m not sure what level my savings need to be before I can relax on the spending. Although I do still holiday, it’s just intentional and I make it good value. I saw your response of style of trip to where to live, it’s very true. As we are so close to the beach, we don’t tend to always include beaches on holiday. More city breaks as we live more rural. Maybe it’s time to try something a little different though to help break the cycle

I couldn't believe that some holiday cottages for 2 people in the UK were nearly £2K for a week.
We could have a week's half board abroad for that amount.

but its not just about money though. its a break its a week away from the drudgery of evey day life. your kids are happy they are having fun. your relaxed ( hopefully) as you not thinking about the 20 millions things that have to be done. you can sleep in..sit out drinking a glass of wine or coffee or whatever you drink eating lays crips. you come home rested mood better and ready to face life again. look at your kids on the plane home ask them did they enjoy it and see what you see and they answer.
to me all of that is worth it above money
agree you need to set up your saving pot again. I book with an online platform that you can pay a small deposit and then every month on pay day I pay a small bit off it so we'll before we go its all paid for. then pay same amount into a pocket and that's spending money. then I always have something to look forward too. life is too short
edit to add I sell on vinted too all that money goes towards my holiday