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 😓

@User46472874637 Yes that makes it really difficult- if you can get something from home it may be a bit easier possibly

OP with your children’s needs, have you considered applying for Family Fund? It looks like you’d meet their eligibility criteria and you can ask for a UK holiday so it may be worth applying.

www.familyfund.org.uk/FAQs/how-do-we-apply

Check out haven/parkdean sites or whatever chain is accessible to you. You can scroll through dates and find the cheapest date that suits you. I'm not sure if it's still the case but we used to be able to choose a cheaper option if you were happy to take your own bedding. Easter and October holidays are usually more affordable than summer, although school holidays are always priced above term time. Check as far in advance as the site allows, it'll give you longer to pay up gradually if that's something that might work for you.

Depending on what interests you, it might be worth getting a pass for something like English heritage etc to give you some cheap days out while away.

Depending on your situation with family, could you ask for vouchers for a site you would like from family instead of gifts for birthdays/Christmas? Would you and your partner be happy to put the money you would usually spend on gifts for each other into a holiday fund? That's me making the assumption that gift swapping is something you do though.

My sister and I have always gone to cheap eurocamp for the first week in May . You can get easy jet/ryanair flights super cheap the day they are released ( early September) for £50-75 each. You can get a caravan for 8 for £200-250 if you really shop around. If you can book Saturday or Sunday for 7 days including the mayday bank holiday then kids aren't funded for being out of school ( providing you don't have any other unauthorised absences). We have never paid more than £110 ish including transfers. Pools are free and we self cater on a tight budget.

My income is a lot less than yours and I manage holidays. Only in this country and only for a few days. Look for cheap accommodation options or stay in youth hostel where you can get private or family room. Then I have access to cooking facilities. I book train tickets early and look for cheap tickets and son has disabled rail card so get discounts. I put small amounts of money away .
Sometimes we stay with friends so save on accomodation but do contribute to food and cook and clean etc.
Son is happy sitting on a train station train spotting ( he is an adult) and I find free or cheap activities or find a nice spot to read.
This may change with cost of living increasing and holidays are not given. If you cannot afford it don't be pressurised but could you do special days.with your child. The family fund or look at other charities that might help as you have a disabled child.

Your water bill is higher than most other parts of the uk.

You spend a lot more in food than we do.

You have a pet which we don't.

We are fortunate to both be able to work and don't have the extra costs you presumably incur to do with your DC's disability eg travel to appts, extra heating to keep them healthy, bigger car etc (obvs depends on what disability they have).

We have one child which keeps costs down. We had her when I was onset and had an established career, which meant my warning potential is greater than it was in my twenties and I've been able to negotiate a working pattern that eliminated the need to pay for childcare since she's been at school. Mind you, we were paying £1K+ pet month pre-school 😳

And no, it's not selfish to ask this question or wish you could afford a holiday. Not selfish at all. But maybe unrealistic depending on your household costs. I hope you find a way to treat your family to a break at some point.

@User46472874637

I think you're getting a hard time on here. You don't have a large income & it's not fair for people to imply it is. However we are in the south west and 4 of us in the house. Water is £45/month. You need to cut back on water. I think you can also reduce your food bill. I have in the past sold things on Ebay or Facebook to get some extra funds in when needed.

You should look at getting some work as you would still get DLA I think? Even if you earned £250/month doing a few shifts behind a bar.

You need to rethink your idea of a holiday. Your Mum mentioning Disney isn't helpful. It sounds like you had only one holiday yourself (which was Disney) which I think is making you aspire to this. You have had plenty of ideas for a cheap break & need to get your head round caravan or hostelling as a holiday. For the price of a package or a Disney holiday you could have lots of mini breaks.

You mentioned Butlins - I think if you went say Feb half term or during school term you would get a good deal.

We used to go to Brittany in May Half Term for around £500 for the week including the ferry. But that was in one of those ready put up tents.

I just searched Butlins for Feb half term and you can do 4 days for £223 (admittedly you would be squashed in) but that should be affordable.

www.butlins.com/booking/search?guests[adults]=2&guests[children]=2&guests[toddlers]=0&guests[infants]=0&guests[units]=1&guests[cots]=0&resort=MH&startDate=2023-02-20&endDate=2023-02-24&duration=4

It's crazy the differences in regions
We are north east
Income together £3,000 month
Rent £400
Ct £120
Water £40 monthly
Netflix /now tv £40
Food £300
Car £200
Rest disposable

Look on places like sun holidays and haven etc. you can spread the cost, book months/year in advance and it’ll cost you £20/£30 a month. When you get there, don’t eat out, make the same food that you’d cook at home. Do all the free stuff they offer, go swimming, go to the beach, to the play areas. Google before you go and find the free local sites. Look to see if you can use Tescos vouchers to pay for trips to places

My income is less than £15000/pa. I spend thé absolute minimum on food, don't go out much at all. I'm going away for 2 weeks to a gîte with private pool next month. It costs 1000€ which is a bit dear, but it sleeps 6. I haven't been away for 2 years, and my car is 12 years old.

My 2 extravagances are Prime and a monthly Kindle subscription.

Si, it's possible.

T

@sicklyl no gas, electric, mobiles, internet, clothes, insurance, clubs, memberships etc?

That would be unusual

I think many many people use credit cards/loans and are in more debt than they would like to admit.

Agree no gas and electric being unusual but things like clubs/clothes you can spend as much or as little on as you want to. My teen doesn't do any clubs, they did when younger but not now.

We don't. It's too expensive.

Can you work around your partner? Even a few hours a week would bring you in more than carer’s allowance.

Other than that, save, save, save. Start small - £2 coins and 50ps in a jar. Round up your shopping to the nearest £5 and put the extra in a saving’s account. The only clothes I buy full price are shoes (and not if I can help it!), everything else is from the sales/eBay/Vinted/charity shop/car boot. Turn your heating down a degree or two. Make sure you wash with a full load (long term, cheaper to buy more school shirts than wash one or two on their own, for example). And use moneysavingexpert for advice and support. It is really helpful when you need to save.

Also with south east water tho pay think £66

yours seems high

you spend lots on food. Try to spend £100 than £150

you need to claim right amount cms. For your child. Why should dad get away not paying right amount

ready meals are quick but add up. Make extra night before for tea do dh csn take next day

Someone else mentioned fund for sn kids. My friend applies for this. Gets think £500 towards a holiday

she takes kids out of primary school term time

We don’t go often, but when we do, it’s usually self catering, with family we can split the cost with, out of season and during term time. We don’t earn enough to do the two weeks in a hot country type of holiday, but that’s ok because that’s not really our cup of tea.

A friend from work takes her children to Butlins every year using vouchers from The Sun, which works out at well under £50 for the week, and lots of the entertainment there is free.

We rented a spare room out for one year at £420pcm which we used for a holiday …I know it’s not possible for everyone to do this but it’s a nice little earner …

I haven't been abroad since 2014.

Our younger two have never been abroad (youngest has never been on a plane!)

We manage to save for an annual holiday in the UK. We tend to go back to the same functional cottage / seaside town.

We don't drive so travel by train and quite frankly we've found a bit of a hidden gem. Cost equates as roughly £100 per night and this is in the school holidays. We book direct with owner early in the year and save to make payment the month before we go (usually July or August)

We get a small discount as we've been going for years but it's only like £100 off her usual cost.

I have 3 jobs. I earn around 150-200 in my second job and I save 40 per month from my day job so I save that. I'm on 35k in my main job so money is tight but holidays are my sole source of enjoyment in life. I doubt I'll be able to afford one next year but I'll try.

Have you informed tax credits that you have a disabled child?
I didn't know to do this for a year or two and was surprised that top rate DLA entitled us to almost £3k more in tax credits. There is a slightly lower rate for med/low rate DLA

These could be included in your income already but just incase. You are approx similar to us.
I funded a holiday by selling all my DS used clothes/toys on FB, was enough for a week in the sun.

To make clear; it was up to me to tell tax credits my DS was receiving high rate DLA, then we started to get the money. Before this we were not entitled to child tax credits due to income

Some odd comments on these threads. I go on these types of holidays, and

1. we do not get into debt
2. when DC were younger we did not leave them in childcare all day.
3. my children very much enjoy their holidays. that it not to say they would not equally have enjoyed holidays closer to home (they have always loved the penny falls in an arcade and fish and chips on the beach for example).
4. We/they do not find the packing and travel particularly onerous. We have perfected our technique though.
5. my DC are now young adults and have been on holidays with friends on a budget. They really enjoy these holidays too, including staying in hostels when they might have stayed in the 4 seasons (or similar) in the same city with us in the past.
6. there are lots of places they have not visited that they would love to go to and other places they would love to go back to- they have not lost their hunger to explore just because they went on holiday a lot as children. If anything, maybe the opposite.
7. I do have sympathy with OP's point and do not post on social media. The DC do a bit though (not in a gloating way) and people often ask me directly where i have been on holiday and i choose not to lie in answering the question to make them feel better (the wife of one of my cousin's, who I see maybe twice a year at gatherings, has a habit of asking, invariably followed up with "Oh, how the other half live").
8. We are all focusing more on environmental impact. We are going by train this summer for example.