Holidays are just not worth the money

That is a holiday that's a proper staycation.

We never flew on summer holidays with children. Always drove - France, Italy Spain, Germany and surrounding places - staying in a mix of hotels, farms, apartments and so on. Often with swimming pools, lakes, streams and occasionally the sea. Plus the opportunity to go walking. Definitely a "change" rather than a "rest", but everyone has happy memories of them. We would've felt that a fortnight in one place by a beach or pool wasn't really a holiday - you can sit and read in the garden at home!

Looking at your first thread, I just thought you’d not found the sort of holiday you enjoy - there’s something for everyone.

However it seems that you do enjoy your holiday. You seem to have guilt over the cost. As long as you’ve cleared those debts now and have savings to avoid future debt, then start budgeting. Have an emergency pot, a holiday pot and a days out pot, as well as a bills/food/monthly costs pot.

Which is exactly why I said that advising people to take a cottage in the country IF THEY ALREADY LIVE THERE is pointless.

People go on holiday for a change of scenery not just to enjoy the pleasure of the countryside so a blanket advice to 'just get a self catering cottage in the UK to save money' isn't always going to work.

is it just the "holidays" you have a problem with, or the cost of anything in general?

Genuine question, because kids are bloody expensive 😂 and when you add up everything, is it just not staying home that you dislike or spending money? No sarcasm at all.

I just have this overwhelming feeling that we’re not going to have this time for long, mine are 16 and 13 soon, I could potentially only have 2 more summers with my eldest and our family as a whole (as it goes I have no doubt he will be wanting to holiday with us well into adulthood 🤣 but it’s still different).

We’ve booked an extra, short uk mini break this October and I’m stretching our budget for next year, we would be much more wise to have more savings behind us, but life is short, family life is even shorter. I don’t want to be sat there on piles of money and regret in my 50s and 60s.

Well lucky you. We don’t all live in idyllic touristy surroundings.

I think some people have got so used to being fleeced by organisations that they can no longer see that this does happen in relation to travel and holidays.

Fuel of course can be dependant on global issues. But most airlines ( not all) make their money from transporting freight rather than people.

YABU because a "holiday" is whatever you make it, in so many different countries doing so many different things. If you overspend on something a bit "meh" for you, that sounds a bit of a waste.

Now if you can't afford holidays, that's fine, Saying that you have a limited budget of x, and you can only afford a couples of days out or even a cheap staycation in the country, nothing wrong with that.

But holidays ARE absolutely worth it. Life's too short to be stuck at home, you just need to pick the one that match your interests the best.

I'd be on holiday at least 6 months a year if the kids didn't have to go to school 😂

😊 you can do ittt 🤣

So what’s your issue? Your children think a holiday is worth the cost. You don’t. Either suck it up, see it as one of the things we do for children, go on holiday and try to enjoy it, or alternatively sit at home telling your children you’ve saved a whopping £500 a day.

But for the 'just take a cottage in the country and do self catering' brigade - remember that it depends where you live! I actually LIVE in an isolated cottage in beautiful countryside with lovely walks everywhere and I don't want to go somewhere else and do exactly the same only when I don't know where the plates and spare sheets are!

God if all holidays were like that then it wouldn't be a huge global economy boost with so many relying in tourists to provide income jobs etc to places 🤷‍♀️
there are many types of holidays that's are not what you described

I work purely to pay for holidays

This.

I have lovely memories of holidays in the UK as a child. I spent a week with my family in Devon, staying in a cottage that had a bookcase in the bathroom!!! We had never seen this before!!! There were a lot of Agatha Christie books on the shelves so my sister and I both read our first one!!!

Well I'm torn. If it makes them happy and they feel they've had a "proper" summer, then yes. It can bring you together as a family. But when my kids were small I thought holidays were more knackering and stressful than going to work and managing the normal day to day. Plus I'd already been to every single place on earth I would want to go to before I had them and already thought it was mostly a waste of time given you can watch David Attenborough showing you gorillas from the comfort of your home.

OP how about you book the flights one month, then the accommodation the next month (a cheapish Airbnb for you all perhaps) then when you're there get around by public transport, breakfast and a snacky meal at the airbnb and eat out once a day somewhere that's not tourist prices.