To wonder how people afford luxury holidays

[dontbesillyhenry]

Not once but several times sometimes yearly? We both work and earn relatively good money but can only afford to stretch to a few days in England. We don't have loads of luxurys either so it really baffles me what are we doing wrong?

I think most people on luxury holidays are pensioners now.

I know a family that have about 6 good holidays a year. They have a joint income of 60k and own a house without a mortgage. They don't buy things and cut living costs as much as possible so they can go away all the time.

We've been incredibly lucky as we inherited our home and haven't had to pay a mortgage. We both have good careers and after paying for the DT's we have prioritised on holidays. We also have friends living in lovely places around the world who are keen for us to visit ( we live central London so willingly host their visits to us).

I don't really understand what's so baffling about it. Some people have
just have money than others!

Eurgh. *just have

I don't thinks it's an unreasonable question to ask when you perceive that others have similar lives to yourself but can somehow manage a holiday too.

We have neighbours like this. He works in a factory doing a very ordinary production operator job, she works part time in Tesco.

They have just had all new double glazing and a new conservatory, a brand new car for them and for their newly driving daughter. A family holiday to Florida and a separate holiday for the eldest daughter to the Caribbean. I honestly dont know how they do it!

We are very average earners but have had more than our share of fab holidays over the years, because:

DH's parents died young so paid off mortgage with inheritance.
DH works in travel industry so gets substantial discounts
My parents have paid for several holidays for our family and siblings families as they could not go without us (disabled)
We have a crap car, don't buy designer clothes, expensive gadgets or eat out loads
Holidays are important to us so will go without other things in order to be able to go
Actually this year we had a much cheaper holiday in UK due to house renovations but normal service will be resumed next year!

OP, if you earn good money then it must be going somewhere

Before I had my DD me and DP went on expensive holidays. No real mystery around it - we earned well and enjoyed spending on things like holidays. I'm p/t at the mo so holidays are cheaper ones now but I don't see why we wouldn't go on fancier ones again in the future when my earnings go back up. I don't really get what's so baffling?

I go abroad once a year. My dad & my sister treated me the last 2 years, I wouldn't afford it otherwise because I'm a care assistant part time due to illness, it was very kind of them.
We used air b'n'b as it's much cheaper & booked separate flights, ate no lunch & had some cheap evening meals in the apartment to save money.

I know 2 women who go abroad several times a year but they are widows with inheritances in their 60s have paid off their mortgages & work full time still so have a larger disposable income.

The other people I know who go abroad are either single women like me or single mums treated by their extended families - or they earn much more money than I do (eg nurses with husbands who work in good jobs, clinical leaders, doctors, physiotherapists).

I will be able to next year when I retire. ( early)
No mortgage, good pension pot and partner still working. Couldn't have done it in my 30s or 40s but then expensive long haul holidays not my thing. Always 4 star plus hotels and villas though

I agree with PP, I am not sure why people are so baffled that some people's financial situation is different from theirs.

Those who are jealous like to assume that it's "all credit cards and loans" when in fact there are a wide number of other factors that are likely. Inheritance, other type of windfall, low/no mortgage, top ups from parents, lifestyle differences such as low spending on food, clothes, household.

I prioritise travel as it's far more important to me than anything else. My house is ramshackle and I buy clothes rarely, and from Sainsburys. I also agree with posters who say it's often cheaper to holiday abroad.

I would be so depressed if I couldn't holiday at least three times a year, despite loving my job. OP you say you earn "good money" but again that means different things to different people and is irrelevant really as someone earning £60k with a £2500 a month mortgage is potentially worse off than someone who earns £20k with no mortgage.........

Some people are rich. It's the same way some people afford sports cars or big houses or cleaners and nannies and private schools.

That's all there is to it. Sadly I am not one of them!

Prioritise it over other luxuries
Plan and budget like crazy
And fwiw every time I think about doing a UK holiday whenever I add the numbers up it seems cheaper to go away!
I go away once only twice a year for a really nice holiday but do little else that is very special the rest of the year . We live for travel and our holidays !

We spend very little on some things that others spend a lot on such as clothes, beauty treatments, gadgets, home decoration, bought lunches, cars.

We spend a reasonable amount on eating out but a lot of our disposable income goes on holidays (probably about £6-8k a year), which buys 3 weeks in Europe with scuba diving but at cheaper times of year, June, October and either December or February - all outside of school hols.

If you earn decent money and 'don't have any luxuries' you either have high bills (childcare, big mortgage, debts?) or have a skewed idea of what a luxury is and what an essential is. Have you done a proper budget to see how much money you do have spare, cut your bills where you can and checked what you spend your money on day to day? Have a look here:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help

We make our money go a lot further than others on similar incomes because I'm always looking for deals, discounts, cashback etc rather than just buying things in the first place I see. That boosts our disposable income quite a bit.

I prioritise holidays over most things. I'd far rather have another holiday than new clothes, car etc. I inherited a large sum a number of years ago and then I bought bitcoins back when they were £10 a coin. I also play on the stockmarket. To look at me, you'd never think I have money, but that's what pays for it.

There are so so many ways people can have "hidden" money- I.e. not appear to have it when looking at other aspects of their lifestyles.

I love my trips abroad. For me I prioritise them and do without in other areas of my life. Old car, not many new clothes and I barely drink alcohol. Oh and no kids makes life cheaper too. I have recently bought a puppy who has turned out to rather 'special needs' though so that's eaten into my holiday fund.

It also helps that I'm happy to fly economy and stay in decent three star (or even two star) places rather than blow the budget on high end hotels.

ive learnt a lot about money over the past couple of years. the credit crunch coupled with idiotic spending at times has left us ( separated now) relatively badly off.

happily since separating i have gotten into the habit of saving what i can and had built up 2 months worth of bill payments/living expenses.

Im genuinely not envious at others' ability to travel and enjoy their holidays.. and look forward to when i can afford to go away.

DC's find it tough because all their friends get away, some of them a few times per year. I cant provide that just now. But I will.

The last 10 years have been horrendous financially and emotionally but its spurred me on to do better.

Live and let live - comparison is the thief of joy (learned that one the hard way)

We rarely go abroad but when we do it's no expense spared, what's the point in going away to stay somewhere shitter than our own home! We spend what we can afford and would never go away using finance or credit cards.

For me it's always been about priorities in spending but also taking the view that pennies matter. I am meticulous about buying things like clothes in sales, for example, or only reading free books on kindle and online spending goes through quidco. I buy value goods where we like them, own brand everywhere else - no brands at all in this house! I also rarely watch TV - instead I am on the laptop doing surveys for amazon vouchers or doing competitions in the hope we will win things like holidays or shopping vouchers or even something I don't want which I then put on eBay and get the cash for. The small stuff adds up - leaving cash aside for the holidays. So many people I speak to just buy what they need, when they need it, or buy the branded stuff or get in the car to drive 2 minutes to the shop etc and shrug and say 'but it's only a few pennies' then wonder why they have no money!

I manage at least one holiday abroad a year, I'm a single parent and my total income is about £21k (that includes child maintenance from my ex) so I'm a low earner. Totally depends on outgoings. Mine are very small, I live in a cheap area of the midlands. No car, work is within walking distance so I have no travel costs, I don't have any childcare costs because the hours I work mean I don't need any. Being a single parent I hardly ever go out for drinks or anything like that. I love travel and I'd rather do that than eating out a lot and going out for coffees etc.

I pay for holidays in cash, I don't even own a credit card so it can be done.

I earn a reasonable salary and travel is a priority for me. I research the holiday LOADS and get flight, accommodation and activity bargains. Food costs are often excellent so I can afford to spend more on doing some amazing things when I'm away. I travel solo so accommodation can be more expensive, but again I research to get bargains. I generally put aside £200-250 per month for holidays.

They earn more than you, have smaller outgoings, different priorites?
Holidays are our priority. I work in travel but usually book normal package holidays as it is cheaper for us (live near a small airport with little competition), we a rarely eat out here but always do on holiday so save money there, I don't smoke, drink, go out, rarely get new clothes. I find good deals.

People have a lot more money than you, I guess. Lots of MN'ers have stated that they have a combined incomes of £70-120k.

There are lots of threads on MN of people spending £5-7k on holidays. Generally. Many threads of people going to Florida, spending £8-12k.

So, I guess people have a lot of disposable income. More than me!!