How do you afford holidays?

[User46472874637]

Before you all come at me, please hear me out. I totally get how people are struggling to eat etc at the minute and impending winter is scary with energy costs! Totally get it.

I know we all have different budgets and income etc. we have a take home household income of around £35, 000. This includes my partners earnings of £32,000 before tax and others such as DLA for my son, child benefit, me carers and maintenance of his dad. We also get a small amount of tax credits.

many of my friends go on regular holidays when they don't earn anymore than us but how?!

we haven't had a holiday in 8 years. I would love nothing more than going away but it's not achievable financially even more so in current times. It's from paying for the actual holiday, spending money, fuel food and sorting kennels for our dog - or we could take her. We don't even have in date passports to go abroad. We've had a tough few years with lots of stuff going on in our personal life which I won't go into and I'd just like to escape the daily grind!

we don't go out, smoke or drink.

house is mortgaged and cheaper than rent in my area. But we've had to spend out quite a lot on house repairs. Don't have any luxuries.

I know I'm sounding pretty selfish round now complaining I don't get a holiday but where do we go wrong??

before anyone asks, we don't have sky or Netflix or whatever. No expensive phone contracts. We are in very little debt.

we don't eat out apart from an occasional McDonald's.

our utility bills are quite high which doesn't help.

I know we are likely in a better situation than most but I have a friend over the road, her partner and 3 kids, neither work (I'm not judging, just stating facts) and they go away at least twice a year! I just don't how people are affording it!

our food bills seems to be increasing week on week too! We are going over drawn month to month. There is nothing spare.

we are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the country - on the coast which helps somewhat! But my kids had never had a holiday. My mums made me feel guilty saying all kids should go on holiday... my son has been on one in the U.K. as a toddler and my daughter hasn't had any!

Mil has been on 4 holidays this year. Maybe I am just a bit green eyed 😓

Thanks. I have about £10 Clubcard vouchers every few months. I usually triple them up for a trip to the aquarium as there is nothing else around here to use them on but will look into it thank you.

i wish we could manage the cinema 😅 they've never really been as don't get the idea of being quiet 😅

Do you not work at all OP- even something small from home for 8 hours a week or so would be an annual holiday ??

I'm one of those people who have been on benefits and gone on holiday twice a year. Ds is severely disabled so I get his DLA, extra tax credits and we were entitled to £400 holiday voucher from a charity. I used to look out for £9.99 flights (always in school time, I explained to school this was only time we could afford holiday) and book. We couldn't afford to be fussy about location, we've never been to a holiday resort for example. I'd book everything separately and use Tesco club card vouchers to top up (very basic) accommodation if necessary. We've done 10 day holidays for less than £1000, we could never have afforded a package holiday.

We both work so earn significantly more than your family and we are frugal so spend less too (at a guess as we dont have any DC with health issues).

Our income is about £60k before tax, not a chance we can afford a holiday abroad anytime in the next few years. We can't even manage to save with the rising costs so it's now a complete pipe dream.

Are you on a water meter OP? We’re a family of four and even when the girls were having baths every night, lots of washing clothes etc our monthly charge was £45 a month maximum. When it was just 2 of us it was more like £35 for comparison.

It sounds like you are not on a meter to be spending £90 a month, so that’s somewhere that you can probably save.

Bang them on the credit card and then spread payment out - there's only 2 of us now and we don't do any all inclusives etc , and we don't need school holidays which helps- usually one week away in summer and a 3 day city break spring and autumn

All you can do is go through your income and expenditure. No point in comparing with someone on here or irl who may have the same income but may not have the same necessary expenses/ live in a much cheaper or more expensive place etc.

As someone said earlier see if there actually is room to save. You can put your expenditure on a thread here or money saving expert forum etc. or just go through your bank statements yourself.

Just take housing expense alone. In some areas council rents will be far, far lower than private rents for equivalent properties. You could live next door to someone on the same income who is paying a fraction of the rent. Somebody else may have had a massive deposit gift from a relative and have a lower mortgage.

Your income may appear higher than others but you are getting DLA to pay for disability related costs that others may not have to pay. Don't be hard on yourself. Take it one step at a time.

Finding it impossible at the minute but hoping it will come soon . Dp works unsociable hours, I have asd and adhd myself too so struggle with a lot of things. I wouldn't be able to concentrate working from and would need somewhere in the workplace.

I was working prior to covid 2020 but had to give it up as Dp worked without any time off during lockdowns. Then his shift patterns changed.. again.

Despite that they have ehcps they did not go to school during the closures.

My plan was to find a PT job when they went back school after covid school closures last September but it's been a year of hell with DS. School refusal etc, early picks ups, phone calls, meetings etc. I've been needed at the school with a drop of a hat. So working has been pushed back but hoping better days are coming with his new school 🤞

Definitely a meter. We use a lot and it's expensive here in the southwest - I guess it's to keep all the beaches nice yet they let raw sewage flow into the ocean 🤢 We are high users too.

Op i have a " friend" on social media who doesn't work as she has a long term illness. She goes on holiday 2 or 3 times a year with at least 2 of her 4 dc ( shes a single mum) and my mind boggles how she affords it! She also has her nails, hair, eyelashes done every couple of weeks I know this because she literally puts every single aspect of her life all over her sm and takes the kids on expensive days out all the time!

One way to afford holidays is to get a great job that pays well and offers great benefits including good number of days to be taken as holiday.

Another way is not to have a family.

Both together and you are laughing.

Neither, well ...

@bloodyplanes

Your friend who posts everything on social medial may be getting those services for free on condition she promotes them endlessly ...

I'm a single parent of one teen. Income is £2100pm after tax and pension.

I live in a council property, rent is £470. Council tax band A single person discount is £90. Water is £30. TV and internet is £70. Phone bills for both of us are £60. That leaves £1380. I don't own a car or childcare costs as DC is older.

Currently paying £170 for energy. If it rises to £400 max then I'll still have the best part of £1000 left a month. I don't particularly want to pay that! Food shop comes to around £300 a month maximum so that would still leave £700. I don't go on holiday often as teen doesn't want to any more (boring spending time with me instead of their friends) and I wouldn't leave them to go on holiday. But if I wanted one I could afford it.

Time of year and deals etc make a big difference.
I know somebody who went to Antalya with her husband for a few nights, it cost £400 for flights and accommodation in February. Also choose a cheaper destination. I am unsure where you are looking at, but I find a UK holiday can be more pricey than Turkey for sure.

I manage to go away a few times in the year and that is due to booking £10 flights on ryanair sales, or booking way in advance for flights for example flights to Dubai or Istanbul. I use cashback like quidco and amex platinum discount and book accommodation on websites that give good cashback rates. One upcoming holiday I will not be paying for accommodation through my own pocket, it will be paid for with money I have accumulated on Quidco. So yeah, use quidco, credit cards like Amex have great cashback schemes, and booking off peak seasons.

Maybe she could be but I highly doubt it.

Never taken my kids abroad but I do a haven caravan in the summer for a week for about £300. Same in October.

You can get weekends for under £100. We go a couple of hours away and travel back Sunday night for school if need be.

Also do camping trips in the summe and the odd cheap premier Inn. My kids will get 30 nights away this year but my total budget is £1000.

I can't stretch to a trip abroad and we are a long way from an airport (and need passports) so not worth it just yet as the kids are mega excited for any kind of trip away

I think I'm looking at the wrong times for haven!

we are miles away from an airport too. But I'm not fussed on abroad!

We have a cheap UK holiday - a week in a static - outside of school holiday period. Including cattery fees and fuel, we probably spend about £500. We don't spend a lot when we're there - perhaps one evening meal out and a couple of take-away lunches, the rest of our food we self-cater so it costs no more than being at home, and we like a quiet/outdoorsy time so we don't pay for any entertainment or activities. I always defrost the fridge/freezer before we go so I can unplug it while we are away and save on electric.

@User46472874637 I must admit it can be quite restrictive taking a dog we've only took him once but my mother came with us and would mind the dog if we wanted to go swimming etc. It depends on what you are planning on doing your holiday if it's just walks and to the beach etc then it's fine to have them but if you plan on activities with the kids theme parks, farms, zoos attractions like that that are often nearby then it's probably best to leave dog at home with a friend or relative if possible unless someone is going on with you that doesn't mind missing out and staying in the accommodation with the dog. This year we decided against taking our dog as we thought it'd be too restrictive we went to an outdoor pool etc where no dogs were allowed luckily we had a relative to mind him for the week. Infact most places we went to on our holiday apart from the pool were dog friendly so it would have been OK if he'd have been with us.

@User46472874637 It wasn't a dig by the way- I was just thinking something small would make quite a difference , if it's that tight. It's not easy I know if you have a child with special needs, especially if you have specific needs yourself too

I'm not sure why you can't afford a little holiday to be honest. Sounds like you have minimal debt and nothing really soaking up disposable income.

I think you really need to maybe sit down and look at your incomings and outgoings on paper, you may find unexpected expenditure.

I'm a lone parent on £24k per annum, I receive no child maintenance, rent is low, I also get a little UC top up.

We go on holiday twice a year 😳 one UK holiday (we went to centre parcs this summer) and then one little abroad winter city break somewhere to see like Christmas lights or something. (This year I think we will go to Lithuania)

I just have my income, where life is basic day to day, food shops are kept low, utilities are kept low, drive a cheap 11 year old car that I own outright, insurance is low. Sports/youth clubs are cheap so £50 a season/year for rugby, then boys brigade is £20 a term 4 terms a year. I don't clothes shop except for DS school uniform brand new, but most of his clothes come from the charity shop, because he trashes the knees. Most of my clothes are older than DS, and I buy cheap makeup when what I have runs out. Like Rimmel which is £10 for foundation.

I just save up, every spare penny before payday gets transferred to savings taking the account to £0 and then my pay goes in.

Some months like £300 goes in other months £50 goes in.

But this then means we get 2 little breaks a year, and Christmas money.

This is MN where most posters can apparently afford to take several exotic holidays a year, and clutch their pearls in horror at the thought of not being able to.

I didn't think you were but I'm an over explainer by nature 😅 I'm hoping this will be a better year. I really want to be able to find a little job soon! Dp's shifts leone changing which isn't helping at all!

I worked 4 days a week until last year. I’ve taken on an extra day since then and every penny goes into a holiday fund as the role isn’t guaranteed to continue and could stop at any time. I do t want to get used to the extra so I save it. Just had a wonderful holiday in South America on the funds. However, future cash is earmarked for the electricity bill 😢