£3k - new kitchen or holiday?

[Buttery81]

DH and I have squirrelled away about £3k over the course of the last 12 months and were discussing last night how we want to spend it.

DH is really keen to book a fabulous holiday - we haven't been on a "proper" trip away for about four years (bar the odd weekend here and there in the UK).

However, I'd really like to put it towards a new kitchen. Our current kitchen is perfectly functional, but rather dated and tired-looking and hence a bit scruffy in places. I anticipate it will take us another three or four years to save enough money to buy a brand new one.

DH says it's been a long hard year - which is true - and we deserve a "proper" break. But I would honestly prefer to stay home and save for my dream kitchen.

We did get the bathroom done last year, which we both agreed needed replacing as it was in a worse state than the kitchen.

WWYD?

I agree with both, why does a holiday need 3k thrown at it? That's v high end

Really? I would struggle to keep a holiday below 3k and that's just with going on very standard holidays. Probably doesn't help that there's 5 of us though!

Personally if I had to choose I would go for the kitchen and just use a little bit of it for a nice weekend away somewhere. But can you get a kitchen for 3k anyway? Ours is about 15 years old and cost a lot more than that (not a stealth boast, just an average kitchen!).

Both, I'd get the kitchen then go on a much,much cheaper holiday.

Holiday 100%

Heart says Holiday
Head says Kitchen

I’d want to give my children a really amazing holiday, but then I’d want a nice new kitchen to enjoy for a few years. I’d probably end up going with holiday and have a really good time with my kids, and then focus on saving for a kitchen.

Kitchen! You will get much longer term pleasure from that. Book a cheap and cheerful holiday to IBiza or something?

Holiday. Life’s too short to spend it on s kitchen when you already have a fully functional one.

We had 23 days in SE Asia in (mostly) nice hotels, with food, for less than £2k. So you definitely don't need to spend it ALL on a holiday!

And you said the kitchen is tired, rather than falling to pieces - I'd split the money, and £1.5k would go on new cabinet doors (say £500-700) redecorating (paint - £60?), and maybe use the rest towards new light fixtures, accessories, or if you can find a bargain either new flooring or new worktops. It'd feel like a new room!

It very much depends on your expectations of both these things - if you wanted a villa in the Maldives for two weeks with your own staff, and a full kitchen redesign with built in wine fridges that connect to your smartphone to let you know when your pinot is ready to drink and the finest aged oak floorboards hand oiled by a team of highly trained mice, then obviously you can't do both. If you want to go somewhere amazing at a reasonable standard, and want your kitchen to feel refreshed, I think you could.

Holiday it is with me. Dh is in the type of job where holidays abroad for jis age bracket are not the normal. But we have always took the kids abroad for a week. Ok for a few years it was jersey because of the short flight.
Kids adults now and loved their holidays and we still go. Nothing exciting but a holiday abroad.

OP for 1500 each you can go to a five star resort in the Dominican Republic for 10 nights and have a wonderful time. Majestic elegance is my favourite.

Holiday!
Unless your kitchen is falling apart, just scrub it with bleach, repaint the cupboards and keep cooking in it.
An amazing holiday will be an experience you will never forget or regret.

Our kitchen is old fashioned and scruffy - in fact our whole house is. Like you we always seem to have enough money for either/or. I choose holidays every time and luckily so does DH. We've been to some amazing places and DC have adored the holidays. In the end I think my desire for a new kitchen is a bit keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, whereas my desire for a holiday is curiosity and lust for adventure, which is a whole lot more fun.

My husband constantly have this conversation and we always choose holidays in the end. He's disabled so we always end up saying well what if we can't do this holiday in a few years so lets do it now whilst we can.

I know that isn't the same situation but make some memories I say!

I don't think you'd get a holiday of lifetime for £3k!

Have you got kids? Do you need to go in school hols?

I was Widowed in my 30's.we had holiday plans for the future, that never happened. I decided not to stay in our home.

Now in my 50's, I'm sorry that i didn't travel more. I've still got time, but I'm having a few health issues, as are a lot of my peer group.

If your kitchen is functional and you have the ability to get no interest credit, then have a holiday.

Especially as you work long hours.

Also, last time i was in Egypt i didn't go to Cairo, which isn't advised now. The World's quite unstable at present. So whose to say if we aren't going to be restricted in the future?

Kitchen, you’re going to need a lot more for a decent one and the workmanship involved.

A holiday doesn’t have to be extravagant, you could do a city break very cheaply.

I’d vote kitchen.

Holidays are over so fast, and a beautiful kitchen will be there every day. And it will increase the value of your house.

What kind of kitchen are you hoping to get? We did a (large) kitchen remodel with IKEA which cost $13k (approx. £10k I think). Granite countertops, stainless appliances. You don't need to break the bank on the kitchen.

We would always choose to travel - unless it's a "sit in the sun for a week" holiday, which doesn't appeal at all.

Had this debate with dh before...he wanted a holiday and I wanted to re-do the driveway.

His response was ‘fine...I’ll take the kids to Italy and you go sit on the drive and we’ll see who’s benefitted the most in a fortnight’.

Italy was fab 😂

I agree with both, why does a holiday need 3k thrown at it? That's v high end.

A 3K holiday is not very high end.

Kitchen. It's hard to save, especially with interest rates so low. If you keep it, it goes to something lasting that will bring you longer enjoyment than a holiday.

You say you work long hours and that it's been a long hard year, so I would go for a really lovely holiday to recharge and then consider your options with the kitchen. There have been lots of good suggestions here.

Kitchen.
Holidays are over too quickly where as a kitchen will last years.

You don't say if you have kids? Agree with people who say 3k isn't really high end these days. I would go kitchen - you look at it every single day !