To ask how you actually afford to go abroad

[lavenderpekins]

Aibu to feel fed up? Not going away again.. nearly everyone I know is going on a family holiday to the med this summer holiday.

Sort of lighthearted I know we're very lucky to live in this country, able to buy good/nhs/school.. I'll get over it too..

Buy early on offers.

Airbnb the house for extra money (stay at one of GPs houses)

That gets us ONE holiday and it's bloody hard. We had to work on the house this yr so staying home.

Also looked at house swaps but the kids LOVE the French campsites.

We go long haul every other year.
Mil loans us the money for the holiday and we pay it back over the next year. Sometimes a bit longer,
Then same again for the next hol or we would never afford it.

wilting - any recs on the french campsites

@rippleffects

I am in awe of your flight skills!

do you only fly ryan air? do you literally book the moment they come out - do they tell you when flights are released and you already know where to go, I imagine even browsing flights wastes precious time
RA scares me a little I used to find there was so much wrong you could do to be suddenly landed with a huge bill...and staff not friendly however easy jet I have found better, however if you are getting these deals only through RA I may have to revisit them.

Dozyoldtwonk

That would be my dream to achieve! Even a few trips abroad just a few nights etc would be a wonder. Its a precious precious time with young dc it really is - soon they will be off on our their own and not wanting to holiday with mum and dad

I am desperate to go to farther flung places with them like Japan and thailand.

we do now need a new kitchen but your post makes me think...

I'm a single parent on £28k a year. I'm off to lake como next week with dd and her friend (who I'm paying for)

Flights were booked last november £156 total for all three of us and one suitcase. Ryanair as soon as they were released.

Airbnb mobile home £456 for the week including free kayaks and bikes.

Car was £120 but I'll pay extra damage waiver on pick up.

We'll eat out a couple of times and maybe go on a couple of boat trips. I expect to spend approx £250. I'm prepared for food in supermarkets to be more expensive than previous holidays though.

It's one of our more expensive holidays but cost has been spread through the year so I haven't really noticed it.

I wouldn't ever put a holiday on a credit card.

Problem is, many people I know say they can't afford a holiday abroad, yet they smoke, go to the pub every week, and buy scratchcards every week. They could go to fucking Australia if they saved all that money.

We got a holiday for 2 to Germany in April for 4 nights/5 days with a coach company for £199 each. Half board.

So I don't buy it that someone can not afford a holiday abroad.

So I don't buy it that someone can not afford a holiday abroad.

Really??

RippleEffects - your holidays sound amazing, and cheap!

We've never afforded one until this year. I'm using my redundancy payment to go on a foreign holiday over the summer. It will probably be the one and only time we will ever go.

Gosh not you're rude. I don't buy scratch cards and smoke (firmly m/c background as most of my friends). 200 each is 800 quid. We've not often spent that on a holiday (as stated upthread we usually do uk and spend less!)

I did it on the cheap at Easter, setting off the day they broke up straight from school. Just me and dd though (single parent). I booked a few months in advance, got hotel, flights and airport transfers for all together about £600. I booked it all myself online though and the hotel was 3 star self catering, 5 mins walk to the beach and clean and comfortable. First holiday abroad we've had and dd is 16 so I was determined we'd have one this year without faddy xh. It was just 5 days but lovely!

You're right about camping though, it isn't always the cheaper option. We went last year and had to upgrade all our gear - £1000 (tent), £300 (towbar), £600 (campsite fees), etc. That plus food and spending for 2 weeks put the holiday on a par with our holiday abroad the year before.

We're camping again this August but it will be so much cheaper as we don't need any new stuff this year. Definitely abroad next year though!

I really enjoy threads like this, I'm so nosy about what people value and prioritize!

We have three children under 10 and live in the US. We typically go overseas (often back to the U.K.) every other year and then do US-based shorter trips from time to time. Over the last 12 months we've had long weekends in Toronto, Washington DC (there for the Women's March!) and NYC. We are going to Napa and Sonoma wine country for a biking trip next month. It's a splurge for us (and our first week child-free since 2008) but we work hard and have two decent incomes.

I feel very lucky in that the weather where I am is beautiful in the summer (no need to go away "to the sun") and there's a lot to do here, so we do like to have "staycations" (hideous word) and make the most of our home city.

It's always interesting to me to see how much people prioritize holidays and what they are willing to go without for a couple of weeks in a different place. If going on holiday meant no eating out, bargain basement grocery shopping, not buying clothes or never getting a haircut/manicure, we wouldn't do it. It seems like a pretty hair shirt existence, and one I wouldn't be willing to do. As another poster said, I like to get pleasure out of every day. Skipping the $5 latte is one thing, but value baked beans is quite something else.

Yes! The whole car thing always baffles me. We must the only people I know who have one small old car and have never bought one on finance! I have no envy of fancy cars though - if it gets from a to b it'll do!!

There are almost certainly things that you spend money on, though, which seem like a complete waste of money to other people. I can't understand why people, for example, spend thousands on a bag, when you can buy something in which you can perfectly adequately carry your belongings for about ten quid. Some people get a lot of pleasure out of owning some bags, in the same way that I enjoy having nice cars. That said, I wouldn't take out a loan to buy one, unless it was interest-free.

Notknownatthisaddress

1. Some people can't afford it as they aren't willing to compromise their standard of living. I'm sure a page or two ago there was someone who wanted to go abroad but won't if it means cutting down on her luxuries. Absolutely fair enough.
2. There will also be people who genuinely cannot afford it.

Poverty is something that is ever rising, more and more people are using eg foodbanks because they can't afford food. Yet you think everyone can afford a holiday? Get a hold of yourself

Fascinating thread. We earn well now (2 ft incomes-top 10%). We even when money was tight we always managed a holiday. Usually camping in France, staying with friends (Rome) and in 2012 Crete for 4 half board £800. Things I have realised though are; we all have always had passports I got the dcs when they were weeks old, so only ever one to renew at a time, we live in the SE, Dover is just over an hour away, the train to the airport is only £10- I think this does help as there are very few hidden extras on this side. We also have places we could stay for free in France, Italy, Canada, New York and the Carribean.

Wow places to stay in am those places in incredible!!

It's so expensive being poor sometimes.

@Stillwishihadabs

It's having places to stay for free that makes holidaying so much cheaper.
IMO - rich people have lots of places to stay for free abroad, and poor people have the aunt's caravan in Skegness etc
It all helps however.

I agree, just thinking that list is incomplete it should include sunny Spain (cousin settled there-house with a pool and my aunt also keeps a place we are welcome to use. My uncle has a beach house in Wales.

Abroad what is this word abroad

Will follow thread closely

Going abroad is not a necessity. If you can't afford it, don't do it. Or save up until you can afford it.

We've spent about £3.5k-£4K in total in Spain in the school hols for the last 3 years. My dp and I both put aside a bit every month to pay for it. Before that, we stayed in the UK as the kids were young, but then they started asking if they could go on an aeroplane etc.

We earn ok-ish money, but don't tend to spend much on going out (no babysitter), clothes and technology, it just doesn't interest us, so we aren't going without in our minds. We do need to spend some more on the house, my mum thinks we should go forgo our holiday to do our patio, for example...but my thoughts are that the kids will appreciate a holiday more than a patio while they are young.

We are a family of 6 so holidays are expensive. We earn about 90k between us and have a car loan and mortgage but no other debts. Last year we went to Majorca - booked flights, accommodation and transfers all separately for best deals. Paid for flights by doing some overtime at work and kept a watch on kayak fir best prices. Accommodation was through holiday lettings and we got a huge apartment with air con v cheaply. We then saved spending money for eating out every night so was still a holiday for us! Probably all in about 4K which for 6 was good and we had fab time.

This year we're in the uk as we've had some work done on the house but DH and I did get away at Easter for a short break abroad.

Next year we're doing France and will ferry and drive it, book gite - the year after we're doing AI to Mexico so will be pricier and we're saving already.

What I tend to do is keep a 0 per cent credit card so I can book flights/ holiday as the best offers come up. Then we pay it down before we go keeping it clear for booking ahead for the next holiday