Page 6 | AIBU to spend £15k-£20k yearly on holidays with £150k income?

hangak · 2026-08-12T08:49:56+00:00

If your combined take home is around £150k a year, is it unreasonable to spend around £15k-£20k on holidays for a year. This would be a few UK and EU city breaks, plus 2-3 long haul trips.

Boreded · 12/08/2026 10:40

I spend 20k on holidays every year and me and DH take in 55-60k each (pretax) - if you can afford it then do it

Rewis · 12/08/2026 10:39

I mean, if you are crippled with debt and live in poverty then it is unreasonable. If you can afford it, then use your money however you see fit.

KaleidoscopeSmile · 12/08/2026 10:32

hangak · 12/08/2026 10:12

Is that pre or post tax though? 5k if post tax is very restrained - envious!

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I assumed that "envious" is what YOU were aiming for with your OP?

notacooldad · 12/08/2026 10:22

This is a pointless question because everyone has different priorities, needs and wants.
You do what is right for you.
Why do you have you ask the Internet how to spend your money?

Thunderdcc · 12/08/2026 10:21

Ponoka7 · 12/08/2026 09:57

You'll mostly be told to hoard it on here. Over pay your mortgage, put excess into pension etc, but as a pp said, as long as you are housed and bills paid, with some level of savings, holidays are worth spending on.
The myth on here is that you can keep yourself healthy and at 65 you'll have the energy you have now, but it's a matter of luck. A lot of people are sorry they didn't travel more when they were younger.

It does not take much health wise to make it really difficult to get travel insurance as well. So even if you're fine day to day you could be in a position at 65 where pre existing conditions and travel insurance make it impossible to go abroad.

AmberLime · 12/08/2026 10:19

Our income is £120k but we are cash poor. 4 children living at home, big mortgage, high bills on a large home, high travel costs because my job involves a big commute.

As a result, we have a £3-4k holiday every 2-3 years. I'd love more, but we can't afford it. If we had a £120k income with a small mortgage, had only 2 kids (so holiday cost are naturally lower) and so on, we might go more.

titchy · 12/08/2026 10:16

For how many people? Two - yep it’s an ok budget - though personally I’d do one expensive long haul rather than two budget ones. Family of four - very tight budget.

PatioDwellers · 12/08/2026 10:14

We'll be spending a similar percentage of our take home from this year onwards on holidays - up to now we've had house improvements and the mortgage to pay off.

We do a big holiday a year, several city breaks, and a shorter UK holiday a year.

If your bills are paid - spend your money how you like!

Original poster

hangak · 12/08/2026 10:12

SixAndJuliet · 12/08/2026 10:11

Our annual income is about £110k and we spend an average of 5k per year on hols (we alternate UK and foreign holidays each year so I’ve worked out an average over 2 years). Our mortgage is big tho.

It all depends on what outgoings you have and how much or a priority holidays are to you. I work with someone obsessed with holidays, has about 4 per year but hates spending on home improvements. Whereas we’re happy with one holiday (uk/europe) per year and one uk weekend away but we do spend on home improvements, furniture upgrades etc.

Is that pre or post tax though? 5k if post tax is very restrained - envious!

OP posts:

SixAndJuliet · 12/08/2026 10:11

Our annual income is about £110k and we spend an average of 5k per year on hols (we alternate UK and foreign holidays each year so I’ve worked out an average over 2 years). Our mortgage is big tho.

It all depends on what outgoings you have and how much or a priority holidays are to you. I work with someone obsessed with holidays, has about 4 per year but hates spending on home improvements. Whereas we’re happy with one holiday (uk/europe) per year and one uk weekend away but we do spend on home improvements, furniture upgrades etc.

JetFlight · 12/08/2026 10:11

Of course it’s fine. Do whatever you want.

Seawolves · 12/08/2026 10:05

No one knows because no one here knows what your outgoings are.

Mrscharlieeeee · 12/08/2026 09:59

We spend similar on a combined income of £100k. We do an annual Florida trip and do all the theme parks which is a big chunk of that. Our mortgage is £1k a month, we don’t have car finance so other than bills and savings that’s our big expense. We love our Florida trips so it’s money well spent in my opinion!

Dunnocantthinkofone · 12/08/2026 09:59

What a weird question! Spend your money how you like 🤷‍♀️

ShanghaiDiva · 12/08/2026 09:57

Your money, your choice.

Ponoka7 · 12/08/2026 09:57

You'll mostly be told to hoard it on here. Over pay your mortgage, put excess into pension etc, but as a pp said, as long as you are housed and bills paid, with some level of savings, holidays are worth spending on.
The myth on here is that you can keep yourself healthy and at 65 you'll have the energy you have now, but it's a matter of luck. A lot of people are sorry they didn't travel more when they were younger.

BoldBeans · 12/08/2026 09:56

Whether it's a good idea really depends on your other expenses, assets and what the money would otherwise go on. But it's your money so up to you.

LizandDerekGoals · 12/08/2026 09:53

Who is saying you can’t? It doesn't seem a lot when you consider the cost of one family holiday.

AirborneElephant · 12/08/2026 09:52

You can spend your own money on anything you like. I also value travel a lot so would spend on that rather than designer stuff, gadgets, beauty ect. As long as you’re putting away enough for savings and pensions use the rest to enjoy life - it’s short and precious.

WineCharm · 12/08/2026 09:51

Absolutely not. I'd up it to £100k. Why take budget holidays at that income level? Treat yourself, OP!

Tunnocks34 · 12/08/2026 09:51

If you have the money and your bills are paid you can spend your surplus on whatever you want.

We have a similar income and probably spend around £12,000 (one big family holiday and then two smaller UK holidays)