Haemorrhaging money during school holidays anyone else?

[StressedOutPeanut]

This august has been very expensive for us.
I had to pay £600 in car repairs so that took a big chunk of money I had put aside, We went away for a week so more expense and done a few days out along with the usual school uniform etc.

Now a week & a half left of school holidays and I just have enough to buy food. 🙈
Anyone else in the same situation? I'm feeling very crap about it all, I get paid again just before they go back to school but feeling a bit down I can't take them out and do anything else with them. Feel like we haven't really done much but everything just seems to cost a bomb now. It's due to rain all week as well so can't even take them to the park. They are teens and pre teens so happy to game to their hearts desire with their school friends but still!

It’s the same for us - someone drove into the back of our car, had to pay the insurance excess 😡

A week’s camping cost us more than a week abroad.

And mine are teens 😭 eaten me out of house and home

Its been a bit of a rubbish one for us. No holiday and It's been too hot for us to do any days out. Just a 30minute morning trip to the park and even that we have only done twice.
We've focused on paying the £250/300 ( I don't want to add it all up) on 3 school uniforms shoes etc.

Hoping to have a better 6 weeks next year 🤞🏻 we still tend to stick to free things parks picnic bike rides. Big days out start at £100 these days it's just too much.

We do pinics etc. Try and keep the pricing down. It's laughable that the government lowered vat on days out for summer and it still costs £100 for a family. Glad I'm not alone though, I think for next summer I'm going to start saving after Christmas to spread the costs better!

We’re running out of money now the holidays are nearing the end!!! I feel everyone’s pain.

We still have uniforms to top up on (thankfully not everything needs replacing and our primary school has a swop shop system so got some good bits on there too) but all the kids (x3) need shoes and I need 2 pairs of trainers too and my daughter will need some tights but hopefully not for the first week in September so we will have time to get those after payday!!!

I agree with what people are saying about the cost of big days out, it’s just a lot isn’t it and as for the government making it cheaper…. I’ve not noticed that at all to be honest!!!! £1-2 off kids meals at the local garden centres - that’s been it really!!! And that barely makes a dent in things! And afew quid off entry prices here and there.

We’ve tried to do lots of free stuff to pad things out but when we’ve been working, the kids have been to either the childminder or holiday clubs and that’s been extra expense too.

Yep, ours go back to school tomorrow, I cannot wait for pay day it has been a very expensive summer.

I actually found the weeks she was at camp cheaper tbh 🤣🤣 even though some were kinda pricy - but packed lunch is cheap and she had fun there

and I saved some annual leave and did a bit of overtime as well some weeks so I’ve more annual leave to keep for October and Xmas instead

no camps next week so we are taking days each off - I’ve managed to find 1£ swims at a local pool Wednesday and im
gonna make a packed lunch for us and have a movie afternoon 🤷‍♀️

agreed to take her friend for the day Thursday so at least they can entertain each other

but yeah even a simple meal out with them where it’s kids way free or cheap - you end up having to pay a lot for the adult mean to qualify - so it’s not even cheap tbh

Yep same boat here. I desperately need pay day now.
No money left now that uniform has all been paid for.

Had a touch with the school shoes tho. Clarks brand new with tags on Vinted £16. Oh yessss!

X

Saw a fair set up just a few rides and stalls . Was thinking how anybody is making a living out of this. If you charge a minimum of £1 , then a family with two kids arent really able to go on more than 2 things plus any treats . And if course that's not what most cost so how do you cope with maybe 3 kids ? Kids don't know what things cost so naturally they like to go on everything. Must be so hard to keep having to say No to your child .

Can't go wrong with a vinted bargain! Both mine wear trainers due to health issues and the expense makes me want to cry. 😂

Grew up in the 70s and apart from a cheap UK holiday we just entertained ourselves at no cost!

Same here. A week in the UK in a self-catering place learning that Fair Isle jerseys over wet swimming things is character-forming, then five weeks entertaining ourselves. We might have a trip to an outdoor pool a couple of times, or a picnic with grandparents, but rarely anything more expensive.

We're feeling the pinch now too and will have to dip into savings this month. I think like a PP I'm going to start a summer holidays savings pot in the same way I do for Christmas.

To be fair we've tried to keep activities reasonably cheap and I haven't done any big days out with them at all. We have been to the park and the library a lot, seen friends, looking in the charity shops etc but things still add up. I took them to the cinema today and then for lunch in town for a treat and felt I'd done well as it was the cheap Movies for Juniors tickets so that and a cheap lunch for three of us cost me £20 all in. But then I needed to buy their new school shoes and PE trainers since we were in town anyway so four new pairs of shoes later I'm feeling skint!

At that age, school can be so intense. A week or two of full downtime is not a bad thing. Let them lounge and game without guilt.

Our holiday hasn’t been so bad cost wise to be honest, I don’t know if it’s because we live up north but we rarely spend £100 on a day out…we take a packed lunch (a big pasta salad, crisps, choc bars and fruit) and go for a walk for free/bike ride/swimming in the river plus a playground, occasionally go to a cafe for a slice of cake but my children know it’s either or-either a piece of cake or a drink or an ice cream, never all three for one person. I think petrol costs have gone up a lot but you don’t have to go out to somewhere that costs a lot eg loads of museums are free

ive sorted uniform for my three children for approx £100, weeks only needed two new pairs of shoes so will be hit with that cost when my third’s feet grow. we reuse as much a possible and their schools all do second hand uniform that’s 20p a shirt etc. so cheap as chips.

Two teens here, so yes. We've not done loads, but everything is expensive.

My eldest in particular thinks money grows on trees so is currently having a life lesson. I won't buy her a new return train ticket to get her home from where she is - a grand total of an hour and a half earlier than the fixed time train she actually asked for (an extra £20 too). Hopefully she's sitting it out in McDs rather than getting a friend to sub her. She's 17 so not a young teen.
Conversations will be had.

Let them amuse themselves.

This is our first school summer holiday to deal with and I now appreciate how expensive it can get! We're lucky enough to have had a few days of family doing childcare but honestly that has cost more money in train fares, thank you coffee's etc than the holiday club. We've done one family outing to the safari park which cost just shy of £100 for 3 of us and we took a picnic with us. It's crazy how expensive everything is now!

We're lucky we can afford to do those things, but not very often and we are pretty well off. We're on holiday now so it's not like we've had to miss going away. It's interesting because we've not been abroad since 2018 and even in Portugal food seems expensive, we're used to Europe historically being loads cheaper than the UK. Seems prices everywhere are just so high these days.

It's the constant snacking... they eat so much! Only crackers, fruit, yogurts. Im not stuffing them with crap but constant food.

Let them chill & game to their hearts desire for a week.

Not sure where this need to be taken on days out for pretty much the whole school holidays has come from.

Mum to older sons here. (18 and 21). Youngest starts a college course in September. Oldest starts an apprenticeship. The food bill has gone through the roof.
I don't have to worry about school uniform any more.... just social life money lol

We're also so lucky in the UK that museums and galleries are free. They cost a lot in Portugal, kids seem to be free, but you'd easily spend €40-60 for 2 adults.

Don't know igf it helps anyone but Deichmann had a deal on their shoes today of buy one pair get second pair half price

the “let them amuse themselves” posts are a bit annoying. It’s a different world now.

I’ve learnt to budget and save for the summer holidays. Yes, there is free stuff, which we do but I want to do some fun stuff and live a bit so I put away some fun money every month.

Im in the same boat. Had one of the kids birthdays so that wiped out money early on. Now living on the contents of the cupboards and freezer until Monday. I’m going to put £50 a month each payday into a pot for summer hols, hopefully next year will be better.