AIBU to say you can't afford to go abroad on NMW?

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If you are a working parent how do you afford to go on holiday abroad?

My teenagers and toddler have never been abroad. Family of five. I want to change this and COVID or no COVID I want to save up for an overseas holiday. How can people on the national minimum wage budget so they can go abroad? Please advise! Or am I right in thinking that if you earn NMW you cannot go abroad on holiday?

Yes - I am BU and it can be done on NMW.
No - YANBU and it cannot be done on NMW.

@Ibelieveinghosts

It depends on outgoings as much as anything. As this thread shows a lot of people on this thread with 3 kids can’t afford a holiday abroad. I’ve a friend who has near a six figure household income a massive beautiful house yet doesn’t go abroad (although some of this is for environmental reasons to offset the 3 kids).

We have one child and holiday about every 6 weeks precovid we had at least one really nice 2 week luxury overseas holiday and two overseas city breaks a year. Then holidays and weekends in the U.K. holidays are our priority Our house is much smaller than my colleagues and friends I prob buy 3 items of clothing a year for me.

If you want to work out if it’s feasible work put your fixed outgoings for essentials, housing, food, utilities,clothes that HAVE to be replaced (don’t fit/ worn out rather than style), transport where no other means, school equipment and these days internet.What you have left is what you have to spend on luxury items (and everything else is luxury). You might need to give up booze (if you drink), net-flicks, trips out, shopping trips but everything in this luxury bracket is about priorities, the more money you have the less you have to prioritise,

Pull your kids out of school for a week. Book train tickets or ryan air, stay in a youth hostel. Go to Spain in November (out of season is your friend) self catering snd buy from supermarket. Do research about what are cheap or free activities. Some places have city passes that can work out cheap. Hotels wouid prob be difficult and limited choice with more than 2kids so would need 2rooms. 5 star all inclusive in the summer holidays prob not affordable

Agree with most of this, but pulling three kids out of school for a week is a £60 fine per parent, per child. That's £360 if there are two parents. Eye-watering.

So, just looked at Canvas Camping Holidays in France. You can get a week in France on their sales page at the end of August / September for around £300. You have to be prepared to take that last week just before term starts.

Take kids out of school for a week. Think of a good reason. Don't tell kids much in advance.
Book ryanair at least 6 months in advance. Book cheap self catering accommodation online.....YHA can be pricey now. Bus/ coach to airport. Only take free online luggage.e.g. Large rucksacks. O k if going somewhere warm. Collect small plastic bottles to decant shampoo etc. Bar of soap. Get sunflower walking guide from library. Train kids to walk! We have had many wonderful trips like this. Spain, malta good for this. Book accommodation near bus routes. In the past we took 2 large surfaces. One with tent and bedding. One with other stuff. But ryanair charge a lot for luggage now. Also used to take a kettle and saucepan and plastic plates and the top fighting for a small camping Gaz cylinder which we bought when we were there. We hired cheap rental cars. Kids still enjoy walking!!!

I haven't been abroad in 7 years, but we've been using that money to create a rainy day fund should the worst happen. Interest rates are going to go up soon (and so will any debt repayments you have), power and petrol bills shooting up, food bills too. Tradespeople are having to charge more because of shortages in materials. Great idea to save for a holiday, but I'd make sure you have a cushion first for massive rises in any bills or emergencies.

You have to be prepared to take that last week just before term starts.
We always go away this week. Most of europe are back at school. It is much quieter.

www.canvasholidays.co.uk/france/cote-d-azur-provence/campsite-coteau-marine.php
£434 end of August. Looks gorgeous.

cheaper while they are younger
put money away
depends on your car
you can travel by coach

Drive to France, camp. Book directly with the campsite not the uk tour operator. Or find a cheap holiday let through Vrbo or air bnb. Live on baguette and cheese. We do this and we earn well above nmw, kids love it.

oh i see you have teenagers now

dont feel bad,
if they want it badly enough they can go abroad when they can work

air bnb is a fantastic idea

a coach to europe is affordable

The cheapest way to do it?
Don't go in the school holidays - not getting into a debate here about pulling kids from school, but stating as a fact that it will be much cheaper (depends on if your schools issue/ can impose fines though.)

Don't stay in hotels - havong a family of five means an expensive family room, or two rooms. Appartments may me an option - apart' city have some good close to airport places.

Book everything yourself and build your own package. Fly cheap and book early. This probably means flights at rubbish times, which is nt great with a toddler, but it's cheaper.

Don't pay for additional luggage. Get used to packing light and wearing the heaviest items on the plane. Shorts and t shirts weigh very little. Don't pack going out clothes or spare shoes other than flip flops - they are too heavy.

Book self catering - a washing machine is important as you will have no spare close. Holidaylettings or similar are good. If you find a place you like stick with it. You may then be able to book direct with the owner for following years and save money on lettings fees. Hire the cheapest car you can find using price comparison websites. Book via Quidco for cashback.

Don't eat out. Use local supermarkets and take picnics out with you. Local markets are lovely, but I find the food in them expensive. Lots of bbqs in the evenings.

When my children were small I managed to save a lot of money by booking like this - we let the airlines decide where we went by booking the cheapest flights we could and using that as the starting point for the holiday. France was usually the cheapest, though we also went to Spain (cheaper car hire) and Italy. In France we even managed to stretch as far as a house with a pool most years - so spent very little when we were there as the kids loved being in the pool most of the day.

My 19 year old DD is very good at finding the cheap flights on Skyscanner (I think) - has been know to spend £13 on a return. She'll happily stay look around for deals on airbnb. She's done a weekend in Amsterdam and Brussels for under £100 including food! Fair enough if you're on the minimum wage, it's going to be a struggle but as others have said you clearly have at least three children (don't get me wrong I wished we'd been able to have that many) who need feeding, clothes, toiletries, probably higher energy bills and I guess get presents/pocket money.

Lucky? Most people aren’t on NMW. In my real life experience, the only people I know who count English as a first language, with no SEN and are on NMW, are those who made a few crappy decisions e.g didn’t take school seriously so left with poor qualifications and/had kids pretty young.

My DD is on NMW. She works full time. English is her first language and she has great GCSEs, A levels and a first-class academic degree from an RG university.

Also if you book directly with the accommodation in Europe ( or wherever) they're not bound by uk summer holidays. The Netherlands go back mid August so you could drive to a Dutch holiday park and get a good deal. I like the look of the landal parks

Another option
Get overnight ferry from Hull ( or other port)
Free bus to Amsterdam
Day to explore city ( you can stay in Amsterdam longer in hotel)
Free bus back to ferry
Overnight ferry home

Most times the ferries have entertainment like live music or a comedy evening

Flights are usually cheapest, the earlier that you book. I've booked flights 6 or 8 months before travel to get the best price.
Pre covid
Eg Under £50 return to Amsterdam
Eg Under £50 return to Aberdeen

Booked accommodation separately

‘My DD is on NMW. She works full time. English is her first language and she has great GCSEs, A levels and a first-class academic degree from an RG university.’

You’re most likely leaving out some very key facts if this is the case. It’s quite unusual to have all that going for you and be on NMW unless you really want to be i.e. you want to work in a job you really love that pays hardly anything because you care more about the job than the money. That’s different from not having any other options.

The irony is that many holidays abroad are cheaper! I used to go as a student because flights were cheaper than trains, an AirBnB was a pittance when divided among 6 people and we got our own food.

The question is not wither you can afford to go abroad but what you’re able/willing to give up to make that happen.With ryanair cheap flights and go under off-peak you could do get away for £300 max. Most museums etc in Europe are free, and if you get the right AirBnB you can walk everywhere

Also 300/12 = £25 a month you need to save.
That’s not a lot
It may be if you live paycheck to paycheck but you’re thinking of holidays so I’m guessing not

@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil

‘My DD is on NMW. She works full time. English is her first language and she has great GCSEs, A levels and a first-class academic degree from an RG university.’

You’re most likely leaving out some very key facts if this is the case. It’s quite unusual to have all that going for you and be on NMW unless you really want to be i.e. you want to work in a job you really love that pays hardly anything because you care more about the job than the money. That’s different from not having any other options.

Many people work NMW jobs while applying. In 2 years most of them have jobs. Disingenuous to lump someone like that with those who will be on NMW for life

I mean you chose to have a family of 5, despite presumably knowing your income/qualifications/future earning potential, and once in school you'll have to pay a premium to go on holidays...

Your only option is to budget (income vs expenses), try to cut expenses, save the excess and look out for good deals. It might take you a few years.

Good luck and hope you get to enjoy it one day.

Agree that it depends on your outgoings and how much you can save a month. I like to do cheap flights on Skyscanner and then an accommodation search on VRBO/holiday lettings/Airbnb. But you do have to factor in eating in and out and car hire.
Loveholidays are cheap for package holidays. I just put in two adults, 3 kids for the last Monday in August with flights from.scotland and got a price of £1400 dinner and breakfast in Calella in Spain which I thoio was pretty good..I think you can pay monthly on there too. You just basically have to have a right good trawl. easyJet holidays are cheap too.
Oh and saving schemes. I'm on the minimum wage at a supermarket and we have a share save scheme which I always do. I save £50 a month of my wages which comes out before tax and then at the end of the 3 year scheme I can take my money or invest it in the supermarket shares if they are worth more and then sell them, you can make a bit on that if you are lucky. Mine goes into my holiday pot

I never went on holiday abroad as a child. My first overseas trip was as a 19 year old student.

My daughter is 12 and has only been overseas once. We could afford to go abroad but choose not to. But we’ve had brilliant holidays in the U.K.

I’d be surprised if a family of 5 on MW could afford to go on a package holiday abroad, but a camping trip would be doable, I expect.

in August with flights from.scotland and got a price of £1400 dinner and breakfast in Calella in Spain which I thoio was pretty good

I'm on the minimum wage at a supermarket and we have a share save scheme which I always do. I save £50 a month of my wages

Saving 60 a month wouldn’t give enough for a £1,4000 holiday. I doubt those on MW could easily save over 100 per month.

DH and I can afford holidays overseas but do not currently due to covid. The thought of being ill and the chance of quarantine and all the extra paperwork and cost means it’s not worth it.

Its all an income versus outgoing equation just like all purchases in life.

But deals are to be had, as well as book early there is book late. We booked a holiday before we got married that was last minute and accommodation allocated on arrival in the Canary Islands but I guess with kids it’s a risk. Our best deal ever was our honeymoon, a late deal on teletext which no longer exists but it was a half price safari in Kenya. We just had some days in Yorkshire over the summer and a late deal cottage was 25% off. So while most book early you can risk it and book late.