How much savings/emergency fund would you have before contemplating a family break?

[Lovinglife45]

We barely have £1500 in our savings and emergency fund. We transfer a particular amount every month and dip into it for one thing or another so it does not grow. I am stringent with our budget, yet we are struggling to keep our head above water. My dc are complaining about another year of no holidays and my h is keen on a UK family break which I do not support as it would near enough wipe the little savings we have.

We cut back in many areas; shop at Lidl, hwve cut back on meat, food and snacks from home only, no coffees on the run, no magazines or newspapers, I dye my hair and polish my nails at home, I do my own waxing.

What is your minimum savings before you would consider life's luxuries?

This is a difficult post to answer . We only ever had minimal savings - and our savings were mainly for holidays rather than a future rainy day - but given the prospect of higher bills for just about everything this autumn I can see why you would want to keep your savings buffer .

I was also a bit surprised that you were struggling to manage on your high earnings but the fact that you are supporting two other households makes a huge difference - and the poster who has linked to your previous has been helpful in helping understanding of why you are struggling to save or have a holiday on what to most people is a huge salary .

Well then you have to make a choice. You either go on holiday or you fulfil societal norms.

You could all die tomorrow, I’d go on a cheap ish holiday. We don’t usually have much/any savings and we still go on cheap long weekend or uk caravan holiday for a week.

Camping is only cheap if you have the gear.
I'd second the YHA suggestion. Pick 2-3 nights and an area and just check on booking.com what's available.

Houseswap if you have friends anywhere else in the country. Did you say you live in/near London? That would make you pretty attractive for a house swap if you were my friend!

I don’t think as another poster said it’s necessarily about the amount you have saved it’s more about your ability to replenish your savings, we spent all our savings on our wedding last week, but we both have the ability to earn extra money each money from my wife’s business and my bank shifts so I feel comfortable booking a holiday with no savings as I know we can replenish them very quickly.

If you have no way of earning extra money and your savings are building up very slowly I wouldn’t spend them all on a holiday.

Houseswaps are great, but do take a bit of time and effort to plan.
I do think it's worth doing something cheap and cheerful this year, but plan in advance for next year. Either join a house swap site or start savings purely for holidays and book something in advance Premier Inns will be very cheap this far in advance and go for a cancellable option, or even price up foreign trips - Jet 2 are £60 pp deposit.

@Lovinglife45 there's a very big difference between helping parents out and supporting two extra households.

I would obviously help our parents in the short term if they needed it but there is absolutely no way I would prioritise supporting other adults in the long term over my own children.

With your huge income and lack of disposable cash i'm assuming you are responsible for everything. Where does their income go?

And whilst maybe the previous poster shouldn't have linked to an old thread, but until that point I was absolutely baffled how you had an income like you do but couldn't afford a holiday.

I am reporting this thread as I feel uncomfortable posting now that a poster has made reference to one of my former posts. Unsure why this is a thing - why posters need to do a background check on you.

If I were you I’d definitely allocate at least half to as good a summer as possible.

Its priceless to have these childhood memories,

I’d spend £1000 and go on a holiday.

Loving if mnhq want this to remain an annymous site where people can post from the bizzare to the unimaginable they need to stamp this out.

I don’t know if this helps for the future or if it’s even still a thing but a friend of mine swore by houseswaps. She, husband and children simply swapped houses with another family in an area they wanted to visit. Long after her children left home and her husband passed away she still house swapped around the world.

Bang out of order referencing OP's previous threads about a different topic. As is using that to criticize her cultural norms.

I hope you've got enough from the useful ideas to have a night away somewhere.

The exact amount we needed in savings bas varied over the years relative to earnings. I would never spend my last 1.5k on a luxury, even at my absolute tightest budget times.

i would sit down with your partner and work the budget. See if you can set aside a bit of money each month into a family fun savings pot by cutting back on something else. It won’t solve the problem for this summer, but if you build up a bit of money you can plan something for later.

Lovinglife45 'background checks' feel horribly intrusive. I've experienced the same. I name change every time i post now which is an absolute faff but necessary. I dont know why posters do it, maybe trying to trip you up, catch you out or just dig for dirt. It's horrible though.

Do you like animals? Haven't done it, but something like this to explore a different part of the UK? www.trustedhousesitters.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn4qWBhCvARIsAFNAMigCBWCQ-yBpblU4mkW2g5DTU1xN6Fx_0PIjcY9ccCIVeB5FmKF_IY4aAj86EALw_wcB