To think my DH is a miser when it comes to holidays? How much do you spend?

[Pipsquiggle]

We are a relatively high earning household. We earn between £7k and £9k a month net. Have a small mortgage, no debts to pay off, monthly bills but essentially never spend over what we earn (we have saved for so long, we have kept up with this habit)

We both agreed that we needed a foreign holiday where we could relax, so I looked at options for an all inclusive 4/5 stars, pools, kids clubs etc. for 7 days. The quotes I got back were circa £5k to £6k (school holidays, family of 4).

My husband then says 'We can't spend like this every holiday - it will be a 1 off' - which is fair enough, I don't mind camping or hiring a cottage etc.

But then I got thinking - am I taking the mick with this holiday? What do other people spend when they go abroad?

I don't want to start a 'showing off' thread but genuinely How much do you approx earn as a household and how much do you approx spend for a week abroad? This holiday is slightly lower than a month's earnings - is that too much?

Thanks in advance.

Yanbu. Our income is similar and we definitely wouldnt rule out a holiday at that price.
Having said that, we have never actually spent that much as we tend to do UK holidays or visit family abroad. Plus we like to self cater with the kids because of the flexibility it gives us, so a villa on a resort with a pool and a hire car to get to a local supermarket is all we really need, then we are set up for day trips and picnics and whatever we like.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

I'd never spend that much on a holiday. I was infuriated watching antiques roadshow one year when a most beautiful antique was valued and then sold for a 10k holiday, bloody cave dwellers. I'd much rather have the antique. I can afford a decent holiday but I'd much rather go camping or to a motorbike rally. After 2 days on holiday I want to go home.

I'd much rather go on holiday than keep an antique unless it had great meaning to me. The antique is just one item of interest and beauty for me to look at, whereas travelling allows me to see many.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky I used to think like that then I spent 2 weeks in a coma and when I eventually came out of it, realised that all the "stuff" we had was completely worthless compared to living the life we dreamed of.

Just because someone spends their money in a way different to you does not make them "cave dwellers!"

We probably spend about £6k in total on 2 holidays- usually a week each time in 4/5* all inclusive. But we only have one child so free child places bring the cost down and DS is at an independent school so we take advantage of lower prices outside of the main school holidays.

non Covid time we spend £££££ on holidays, we earn more than double to you though. Easter we spend 10-12k 2 weeks, more at Christmas, summer family holiday is about 8-10k. your dh is being tight

[quote GrandDuchessRomanov]@Shehasadiamondinthesky I used to think like that then I spent 2 weeks in a coma and when I eventually came out of it, realised that all the "stuff" we had was completely worthless compared to living the life we dreamed of.

Just because someone spends their money in a way different to you does not make them "cave dwellers!"[/quote]
Totally agree. Live is for living, not for hoarding inanimate objects.

It’s a reasonable amount for your income.

Our income is in the same vague ballpark and we spend at least £15k py on holidays, it’s the only thing we splurge on. Depends on your priorities.

We’ve not long returned from the US, which was about £6k. Planning a European week in June for maybe £3k and have a blow out, special occasion South America trip planned end of this year for around £15k. Plus will have some weekends away.

Given your income you can easily afford to spend that every year on a lovely holiday abroad to give you a break in the sunshine. If he thinks it's too much go without him and save a bit of money that way.

@hibbledibble

I don't do holido abroad, as it's terrible environmentally.

For holidays I have generally gone for cheap options (uk self catering cottage), though food and day trips in the UK are very pricey.

6k for 2 weeks abroad does seem like a lot! But maybe prices have gone up a lot since I last went abroad.

cant afford uk holidays

@GrandDuchessRomanov

I'm not going to say how much but we spend a lot more than that as travel as frequently as possible (when we can) is a priority for us.

We fly business, stay in the best hotels, high end rentals and dine out at excellent restaurants.

With DS 17 who has SLD life can be very challenging and our holidays are a complete break from that. No way would we get that from camping etc!

One thing I am pretty sure of is that when I am lying on my deathbed I'm not going to be reminiscing about what expensive curtains or designer crap I bought, but about the experiences and things that we have done and seen as a family.

If you can afford it, life really IS way too short!

Agree. We have so many great memories from our holidays. The DC bring them up in conversation all the time & those we spent with relatives who are no longer here are really special. Life is definitely too short to be miserly with holidays.

Again you’ll get such varied responses. Our yourself earns around 3,500 a month. Maybe spend up to 800-1000 on a yearly holiday. But for a great one I’d splash out more.

That sort of money, best part of a month's wage, is too much for an annual holiday imo. Its okay as a one off, but I would rather save for uni accommodation etc. We go away a couple of times a year for a week, cottage in the UK, and and spend about £2k on each. Added is the cost of busienss cover. Monthly income is about £7k.

We take home about 9k a month, but wouldn't spend that much on a one week resort holiday. But mainly because it's not our kind of holiday. Our last holiday where we spent that sort of sum was 2 weeks in Borneo/Singapore in 2018. Self-organized. For a easy week in Europe we are more in the bracket of £1000 airbnb. Plus flights, meals and drinks out etc bringing it to £3000 total maximum. That's for 4 adults these days as kids are almost grown!

@WinnersDinner Blimey

We bring home a bit less than you & have booked 10 nights in Spain all inc in a 4 star family hotel which is costing us £5300. I was a bit shocked by the price but we are paying extra for decent flights and we haven’t been abroad since the pandemic & the hotel looks perfect so we decided to do it. We usually spend around £5k on our summer hol. We are also doing a U.K. break which will cost us about £2k inc spends. It’s a lot of money really.

Usually I spend about £2-3k on a family holiday, inclusive of all excursions and treats. That's for a week, for four people. We usually book a very spacious and comfortable self-catering place and then eat out at lovely restaurants half the time and pay for activities ad hoc.

Occasionally we've had a big blow out holiday e.g. Japan or USA which cost about £12k for 2.5 weeks, but that is inclusive of absolutely everything - flights, sights, incredible food and shopping sprees.

I personally don't much like all inclusive places or kids clubs or hotels. I prefer the freedom of self catering and the space of separate bedrooms and living spaces for all DC. The costs are lower but imo, you get way more for your money.

I'd much rather have the antique.

Nice that people have different priorities then, I'm happy to swap any antiques, jewellery, watches and whatnot for travel, memories and experiences.

So many posters lying about their income on this thread.

6k for a nice holiday for 4 people is reasonable.
Enjoy it
You’re a long time dead

Anyway the market in particular antiques is so very changeable.

@2022success

You will get such a wide range of responses here OP.

It depends on how people prioritise holidays. If I took home between £7 - £9k a month, there is no way I would be going fucking camping.

For our big annual holiday (pre covid) I would spend about £10k for me and two young adult DC, including spending money. That would be (for example) a nice apartment in Italy, days out visiting attractions, eating in decent restaurants etc. On top of that we would have a couple of long weekends, say Paris and Dubrovnik for them and maybe a friend each, and that would cost about another £4 - £5k each trip.

Last year it was just five days in Spain and then a fortnight in California. Probably cost less than usual. However, I absolutely prioritise holidays. I only take home about £3.5k but have tiny house, tiny mortgage, no debt.

Wait. What?

So your approximate net annual income is £42k and typically - in non pandemic times - you would spend almost half of that on a maximum of three weeks’ holiday per year?! I am agog.

We clear around £3k a month give or take. We spent £4K on our family holiday to Cyprus last year…that was for 2 rooms AI for 6 of us.

Going to Florida this year which will cost about the same.

I think that's fair enough in relation to your income. We don't have anywhere near what you earn but we manage 1200-1500 quid for a week in a caravan at haven and then have to pay for food etc on top so for all inclusive abroad it sounds reasonable to me.

We don't go away in the summer. It's prohibitively expensive and when you get there the place is full of everyone else doing the same, especially in the U.K. We go in February or May half term or two weeks in the Easter holidays - much cheaper and better weather for us as we don't like it too hot.

Your husband sounds like a right misery though.

75k household income.

4 years ago my household income was 9k (studying for a MSc and had two part time, 9 quid an hour jobs). Even though I can probably spend 6k on a holiday now, I just couldn't. I am stuck in 'I am skint' mode. I think I blanched at the £480 worth of flights we just paid for BIL big birthday bash and accomodation is free. I think I might need some MN tips on being spendy haha. We do go away on weekend trips on the rare occasions the DC go to their DF's and £300 for accomodation would be splashing out. Think I am a miser like OP's husband.