How common is it to have more than one holiday per year? I've been feeling like one isn't enough

[holidayquandary]

I am mid-40s and have only ever had 1 holiday each year. I normally consider it to be the highlight of the year for me. I enjoy the excitement involved in planning a holiday, as well as the revitalizing effect the trip itself has on my wellbeing. I find that going abroad also provides me with a much-needed respite from the drudgery of day-to-day life in the UK. I normally have holidays in June each year. I have begun to feel as though I could really use a second holiday either in late December or early January. I find that period of the year to be rather depressing and always have. I think it's a combination of the short days, long nights, freezing weather, endless crap on TV, and then the disappointment of having to return to work at the end of it all. DH reckons we can't afford 2 holidays abroad in a year, but I am hopeful I can persuade him that we do (or at least that I myself do). I just really feel as though I need another one. What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are that I would need to see your monthly incomings/outgoings/savings. Do you have any debt beyond mortgage/student loans? If you do, then no, you shouldn’t.

I agree holidays are lovely. Getting some sun in winter is amazing. Maybe work out a budget and talk it through with DH and think outside the box about doing eg short break/ self catering to make it affordable. If you go when you can't really afford it it would probably cause you more stress than relaxation in the long run

If you can swing it, I highly recommend! We went from 1 a year, to multiple and it really improved our quality of life.

It’s all about what you can afford. I cannot afford to go on holiday, not even domestically, so I don’t and just make the most of days out and being in the garden etc. my opinion is that in this country people think a holiday abroad is a right, and it’s not, it’s a privilege.

Really common among people I know - but I live in a wealthy part of the country.

As for you - I'd create a spreadsheet with all your incomings/outgoings on it. Don't forget to budget for unexpected costs relating to your home/vehicles.

What are you left with? Are there any contracts you could renegotiate? Anything you could cancel and not miss? Anything valuable you could sell, such as furniture, unwanted jewellery, unused tech, collectable items of any kind? If all that draws a blank, how about thinking of ways your current holiday budget to stretch to two breaks of a different kind?

I know some people who have multiple foreign holidays per year.

I know people who have 1 foreign and multiple UK holidays.
I know some who have multiple UK
Some who have 1 UK.

Some who can't afford any at all.

Winter sun is lovely. Go for it if you can afford it.

I know quite a few friends who can easily afford it. It has not rubbed off on me though sadly! Some go 4 times a year. High income no kids etc.

If I could only afford one holiday a year, I would take it in February. That is the month of the year I need it most. I like summer in the uk, so I’m less in need of getting away then.

We'll have had 5 holidays by the end of the year, 2 of those abroad. I don't think there's any set normal amount, depends entirely on budget.

I prioritise holidays above pretty much everything else other than my horse and hobbies. I do recognise I am very fortunate to be able to do so. I aim for at least 3 holidays every year and a few smaller trips. This means I don't buy new clothes often, don't buy take aways, do my own nails/ brows etc and monitor my spending across the month closely. I plan holidays around 24 months out and always have 3 booked and being paid for week on week. I have a spreadsheet specifically for it. The upside of all this planning is that you get really good at sourcing cheaper flights/ hotels etc. I love it. Highly recommend it.

We used to just have one a year but since the kids moved out and we paid the mortgage off we now have 4 a year, usually every 3 months. We couldn't have done it before but have a lot more disposable income these days and we tend to have one expensive holiday then the other 3 are usually cheaper.

Some years we have two lower budget holidays instead of one more expensive one, espesily if it's a more active/ sight seeing holiday, where we wouldn't be in the hotel much anyway. Would that be an option, or do you need it to be more luxurious to get that rejuvenated feeling.

Before being diagnosed with cancer last year, I went abroad six times a year. I don’t have children or a mortgage as I inherited a house. This year I managed a city break in July and a week in Madeira in September. I had major surgery four weeks ago and still feel terrible so don’t know when I’ll get away again. If you can afford more than one holiday a year - go for it.

I think it’s the day to day feeling of drudgery you need to address. An additional holiday won’t fix that.

It really depends on your finances. I spent years scrimping and saving to pay my mortgage and my holidays were mainly UK youth hostels with a decent foreign trip every few years (also staying in youth hostels in one case.)

Now I take multiple holidays plus city breaks per year and enjoy them all. I do think there's a balance to be struck, though. With hindsight I would have travelled a bit more when younger and fitter and let the mortgage run for longer, as there are some trips I would like to do which I don't think I'm physically capable of any more.

Never put yourself in debt for holidays, but if it's a priority for you, see where you can economise elsewhere. I remember a friend saying "I wish I could afford a holiday like that" when I was planning a big trip. She had just spent over £30k on a car when mine was £8k. You can get a lot of holidays for the £22k difference. Also phones, TV subscriptions etc all add up to the cost of a holiday over a year.

I have several holidays a year. Usually at Easter, May half term, August and October half term. These are always self catering in the U.K. though.

When we were younger (and poorer) we usually had one week camping, or a static caravan and sometimes a long weekend as well.
Mind you a beach holiday in Mauritius (or similar) sounds lovely…. but in truth I’d probably be bored after one day so I’ll stick to my active U.K. holidays.

This, have some time if at home in the summer, and holiday away during the winter.

We’re going on a winter holiday soon, and it’s the first time we’ve ever done it. I’ve had a very bad time with bereavement and health problems, and I’ve been needing to get away. We’re not going to do Christmas this year - we’re having this holiday instead. I can definitely see why you feel you need more than one escape per year. Life is hard right now, for many of us.

I go on 8-10 foreign holidays a year, I have friends who have one holiday every four years.

Have you priced up how much a second holiday would cost, could you make your June one cheaper, perhaps book it as a late deal?.

Could you go on the second holiday November or early December as it’s much cheaper then (although early Jan is good if not too close to New Year). It would be great if you could make the numbers work.

We have multiple holidays a year. It’s our priority after pension contributions. We can afford it as we have a fully offset mortgage and no car.

Obviously it totally depends what you can afford but most people in my circle of friends go at least twice a year.

We go on holiday very regularly but not abroad all the time, we love the uk coastline and the lakes.

As many as annual leave will allow! Usually 4-5, a mix of abroad and the U.K.
We spent years having 1-2 when kids were young and when we were renovating our house from top to bottom but now those things have passed we prioritise holidays.

We also prioritise holiday and go abroad 3-4 times a year. We chuck as much as we can each month into our SAYE schemes at work and that covers the bulk of it. We earn good salaries and would never get into debt to go away. I shop around and book early. We don’t mind staying in more basic accommodation, taking packed lunches out with us and travelling on budget airlines such as Ryanair. We are going to Florida for the Easter holidays next year and I have managed to book it so that flights, accommodation and 14 day Disney World passes are only costing £1,500 per person.

@User12385359 that's an insane price for Disney 👀 Off to spend the next hour pricing up another trip! 😂