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..

Haven't been for 14 years. Going in October for a week abroad.

Couldn't afford it before, some of that's to do with my own fussiness. I wouldn't go abroad and stay in a 2 star as I reason I don't want to stay somewhere less nice than my house even if it's in a different place.

I stuck the flights on a credit card a month ago, paying them off today.

The hotel doesn't charge til you check out so saving for that.

I do accept everything you all say about being fortunate to be able to stay with friends and family. I put £200 away every month which I use for Christmas and holidays. An example of a "cheap" abroad holiday would be ferry - £100 ish, diesel and tolls £200. Campsite fees £200 so total spend £500. We reckon on 10 euros per person per day spends, which usually got us to eat out once (otherwise BBQ) and 1 days paid activity eg: water park. So all in £800-1000. Have to say last time we did this was 2011 although we are doing similar this year for other reasons and on less of a shoe string

I would say though you have got to really want it, travelling on a budget can be stressful and is definately easier with younger children. I would hate a summer with out a week somewhere hot and dry. I quite happily forgo my daily cappacino (2:50 a day) to do so.

www.insurance4carhire.com/?refID=100&subRefID=1226

Those of you hiring a car on holiday - make sure you buy your top up insurance before you fly - much cheaper

OP some people have money and you clearly know that and many people don't and do a UK caravan

Why not focus on (a) being happy with your lot / as envying others is a miserable spiral

And (b) if you really hate being skint start to think about a plan to address it / it's not impossible

No one ever says - I can't afford a holiday because I am saving for my pension and old age care home ...

Perhaps, but if I didn't pay into my pension I'd seriously be able to upgrade my holidays each year!

We spend about £3k, paid for out of bonus' really (wouldn't do it out of normal salary) if there were no bonus we would put it on a credit card and pay it back monthly.

If you find a good all inclusive deal on somewhere like teletext holidays it can be cheaper than staying in the uk.
We are going with friends on a eurocamp holiday to Italy next year and the fortnights accomodation and flights for 5 is £1000. It's booked over a year in advance and we save a bit each month.
Dh is on just below the national average salary and I'm a full time student.
I suppose some of it is choosing where you want to go on holiday. For example for the next few years Florida and a Disney holiday would be way out our reach because it would take us years to save up but a last minute all inclusive in Spain is doable.

Conniedescending Thu 13-Jul-17 07:26:59

Love that you already know where your going years in advance! My DH looked shocked when I mooted the campsite mentioned on here for next may
But I think planning ahead helps enormously with the costs.

laurie I had some nasty experiences when we went to some places I used to think where cheap. I agree if somewhere isnt close to being as nice as home its a bit miserable.

I think this is where air b n B comes in now and also b and b's in general - we have stayed in some stunning places!

I find this question strange to ask a complete set of random people with varying incomes.

You either:

-Earn enough to just be able to book and pay at the time, no saving required
-Save money each month and build up before booking
-Find super cheap deals
-Pop holiday on a credit card/get a loan
-Combination of the above/other

We do house swaps on the website Trocmaison, we have been to France many times, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Majorca. Last year we wanted to go further out so we rented out our house through Air BNb.

I'm reading this with interest as I am planning on taking the children abroad when I have saved enough. I'm a newly single mum and they have never been abroad (6, 9 & 12). It's going to take me a long time I think as even the passports are going to cost a bomb but we will do it. Ex had never been on a plane and never wanted to either so I think after all the rubbish we have been through we deserve one.

As for this year I nicked my nans sun tokens and I'm taking them to the isle of wight for a long weekend. It's nothing extravagant but the ferry makes it exciting for them. Just hope the weather's ok.

I will never understand why questions like this arise on MN. How do people afford to go abroad/shop in waitrose/buy designer handbags, and the chorus always bleats on about credit card debt.

No. Others earn more than you. FFS.

Going abroad has not been an option for us since having kids. Not to do with priorities either, we don't spend the money elsewhere. It really doesn't bother us though. We have a lovely week away in the uk every year which the kids love.
At the moment I just can't see how we'll ever be able to go abroad again, maybe when the kids leave home!

I have a wry smile to myself when reading about the people with "wonderful friends" or "family members" in nice holiday locations where they can stay for free.

Meanwhile there are often threads posted by the wonderful friends and family members groaning at yet more freeloaders turning up ostensibly to visit them but really after a free billet.

It's funny that I never had more friends and must-get-back-in-touch family members than when I lived in a major world city. Funny that so many failed even to send a Christmas card when I moved back to UK and a boring old suburban town.

I also don't understand why credit card debt- or any other- matters.

It always goes that way on here. "How did they afford a new car?"
" Ah they're probably in debt".

So? They borrowed the money and they have the new car. The situation is exactly the same as if they paid cash, as far as the OP is concerned.

I might go on a lovely holiday every year and put it on a credit card. So? I still get a lovely holiday. Other people might not want to do that but that's their decision.

OP didn't ever return to the thread

Actually, we realised some years ago that the reason our neighbours could afford foreign holidays we couldn't was indeed that we were paying hundreds every month into pensions, and they weren't.

Having said that, I only ever had one non-visiting-family holiday as a child. DH's experience was pretty similar, so it's not something we've learnt to think of as a priority.

We can afford it because we've a high income. However, it looks like we do far more fancy trips than we actually do. I book really early. Our summer holiday this year in a 5* AI is £3500 for 5 of us for a week, I booked at the start of last september and within a couple of months it had gone up to £6500.

We did florida for less than £4k by shopping around, flying indirect, staying offsite and sourcing american sites for 4 day passes with a free day rather than buying for a full week. We've also done a SE Asia trip over xmas for £3500 by booking all our accomodation using airmiles. We're going away this xmas too to Africa, again for less than £3k for 5 of us.

I've friends who spend over £10k on their summer holiday and think that's perfectly reasonable and sat next to a woman on the train about a year ago talking about how you simply can't do a xmas holiday for less than £25k for 4. Now I'd love to know a) where she went and b) what she does to afford that kind of holiday.

lady i agree with you.

I used to work for a refugee agency. When I worked in Central Asia and the Balkans no-one ever wanted to visit me.

When I worked in Thailand, then moved to a glorious sunny tourist spot in the UK- suddenly I was inundated with extended family suddenly recalling I existed.

Oh for goodness sake. Notknownatthisaddress was talking about people who moan they can't have a holiday, but spend loads on ephemeral "pleasures".

20 cigs a day @ £7 a pack
Lottery ticket @ £2 a week minimum
Scratch cards @ £2 a week
Pub say £10 a week

That's £3283 a year for one person. There's no way you couldn't get a good holiday out of that. If you are a couple, that's £6566. A year. I could find a family of four 2 weeks in Florida, another week AI in a European resort, and a few weekend breaks for that sort of money.

We go camping in France! It usually works out cheaper than a week in the uk for 2 weeks- but we do already have the kit, a car and take a basic larder with us and self cater!

We went camping in France for a week and we spent more than we did for a week at Disneyland!