Page 13 | To wonder how people afford holidays!

Dreaming34 · 2022-06-21T14:22:49+00:00

I mustn’t be budgeting very well on food etc and me and my DH have a joint income of 75k, we really struggle at the end of every month and we cannot afford to go on holiday! Everything is so expensive really we are really struggling

Oblomov22 · 22/06/2022 07:43

Sorry to harp on about the strawberries, but seriously buying a small punnet for £5, is actually really silly. Why are you not more food shopping savy? Last Friday, at Costco a huge tray of driscolls British strawberries were £6. I bought 2, got 2 bowls this big for a bbq. Why like pp's suggested would you not put it back thinking 'I'm not paying that'!

onthefencesitter · 22/06/2022 07:46

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 22/06/2022 06:46

@LovesLaboursLoss
FWIW I didn't 'choose' to live in the SE or have any interest in it. I arrived here as where I used to live didn't have the type of jobs I was qualified to do. So I got on my metaphorical bike and moved to get a job. It was that or be unemployed, or taking a low wage job, not a profession.

Hmm, it certainly reads like you chose to live in the SE, and that's absolutely fine!
However, DH and I lived in an expensive city for years and chose to up sticks and move to somewhere more affordable. That choice exists for many in the SE who dominate threads like these complaining about the cost of living there!

If everyone from the SE moved to cheaper areas, those areas wouldn't be cheap, would they? In the past, there were lots of pockets of London that were affordable. People would rather move 50 miles and commute in than live in them. Now there is hardly any area which is 'affordable', the estate agent who came to value my flat yesterday said that he has never valued a property below £350k ( my flat was valued at £450k and I live in a nice part of London; so there isn't even a huge difference between areas). I am a below average Londoner. Can you imagine what it would be like if lots of former owners of £500k flats bought in your area? The prices would skyrocket. This is what has been happening in the commuter belt around London Vs suburban London for the past 7 years so even places like St Alban's are more expensive than a lot of parts of London (cos a lot of the new incomers are from central London so do not balk an eyelid at paying £700k for a very ordinary house plus train fares). At least the locals in St Alban's can get the train in and benefit from a London salary. If you live faraway from London, your kids will have the pleasure of competing with London equity/London inheritance/London salaries while not being able to benefit from all those things..with WFH, such movers may not bring much economic benefit to the area esp since the high street is dying everywhere.

mosesbass · 22/06/2022 08:07

Yes it's better. I got fed up of throwing fresh things away before their best before date from Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Hmm well I got some tomatoes from Lidl, they lasted so long I just wondered what the hell chemicals were on them to last so long.

Fullofhotcrossbuns · 22/06/2022 08:12

Dreaming34 · 21/06/2022 16:30

@FemmeNatal honestly there were 5 strawberries in my pack when I bought them a while ago, and they was £3, I may have got them from Morrisons instead

Grow your own 😀

thriftyhen · 22/06/2022 09:52

£3 for a pack of 5 strawberries! I bought these in Morrison's on Monday. Down from £2.69 to 27p. All still good to eat. You need to sort out your budget and your priorities!

Glittertwins · 22/06/2022 10:17

Sunshine10012 · 21/06/2022 16:05

A lot of people live on loans and credits cards. Years ago I worked in Asda and the majority were paying on credit cards for their food so no doubt they buy holidays this way too.

I find this an odd statement to make.
How do you know that people are not paying it off every month ?
I put everything on the credit card as I might as well get something back out of it - free railcard, pizza etc. And advice is to put large purchases (e.g. holidays) on a credit card for Section 75 protection.

BarbaraofSeville · 22/06/2022 10:26

A good proportion of credit cards are paid off every month, or are at least on interest free deals as a way of spreading the cost of a large purchase like a holiday.

inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/saving-and-banking/nearly-a-third-of-credit-card-holders-are-paying-almost-1500-on-annual-interest-alone-1557078

There's also purchase protection and cashback, both of which are likely to be the main reason for people buying their groceries with a credit card, rather than being unable to afford food without borrowing.

MN is so weird about credit cards. People refuse to have them and then complain when faced with a problem that would have never arisen or would have been easily solved if they had a credit card. Or they ignore all the many benefits of them and assume that people who use them are getting into debt and spending money they don't have.

onthefencesitter · 22/06/2022 10:31

I buy everything bon my credit card. I don't even use my debit card. I pay it off every month.

zingally · 22/06/2022 10:44

Depends on what your idea of a holiday is?

My income is about 30K a year, plus or minus a bit, and we have a holiday every year which we budget about 2K for, all-in. The rest of the year, we live pretty frugally. Our yearly "big" holiday is a real treat for us and really important to us, so we are happy to let other things go during the year, to fund our "treat".

LovesLaboursLoss · 22/06/2022 10:54

@ImplementingTheDennisSystem You make masses of assumptions from a very narrow point of view when you really have no idea of people's circumstances.

I chose to work in the SE as that was the only place I could find work after leaving uni. This was in the 1970s. (Yes, I am old!) I moved, from a low income, high unemployment part of the north, somewhat reluctantly rather than be unemployed.

Fast forward to my 30s, married a man in the SE who'd done the same, and whose work (head office) was in the SE.

Fast forward again- 2 children (do you have them?) who were settled in schools and we didn't want to uproot them.

I accept you moved to a cheaper area but that suited you.
And as a PP says, if everyone moved north it would no longer be cheap!

But you aren't making complete sense as you say you live in a very expensive part of the north, so what's your gripe?

TedMullins · 22/06/2022 10:58

Honestly it baffles me how expensive people say holidays are. Obviously I’m coming from the place of not having any kids but surely they wouldn’t add on THAT much more money? My boyfriend and I went to Naples for £200 each (flights and hotel) in May and are going to Madrid for £150 each (again flights and hotel) in august. If we had 2 kids then let’s double these costs and say we could get a European week away for £800 as a family, self catering. Maybe it’s not that you can’t afford holidays but you can’t afford exactly what you want and aren’t willing to compromise.

Fupoffyagrasshole · 22/06/2022 10:59

no car, cycle everywhere (Toddler on the bike seat), pretty much always eat at home, always take our lunches to work, rarely buy new clothes or anything! it all adds up

I think having no car is a massive way to spend money - basically what we used to spend on the car we put aside every month and that's the holiday fund

but obviously everyone can't do without a car

We prioritise travel over everything as it's what we love doing

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 22/06/2022 11:06

@LovesLaboursLoss

But you aren't making complete sense as you say you live in a very expensive part of the north, so what's your gripe?

You've lost me! Where did I say I live in an expensive part of the North? I live nowhere near the North. And where have I said my area is expensive? Your issue with me seems to be that I have an affordable mortgage (!!) so that wouldn't make sense at all! 😅

ApplesandBunions · 22/06/2022 11:09

A good proportion of credit cards are paid off every month, or are at least on interest free deals as a way of spreading the cost of a large purchase like a holiday.

Yeah I think this is quite common. We don't use a credit card for food, but most months will buy something on it for the protection and then pay it off the next month. We have some put by that could cover these costs upfront, so it's a choice.

Afterfire · 22/06/2022 11:20

Mumsnet hates debt. But Mumsnet is full of high earners with large pension funds who send their children to private schools etc. In “real life” many, many medium level earners use credit cards and payment plans as a way of affording holidays. It’s not that unusual. It’s just another thing to budget for like anything else (the monthly cc payment). Some holiday companies like Jet2 also offer monthly payment plans where you pay a deposit and it then splits the remainder of the payments into a monthly sum that’s paid off by the time you go.

If we didn’t use credit in some form we wouldn’t be able to go on holiday every year.

KingofLoss · 22/06/2022 11:39

Dreaming34 · 21/06/2022 16:11

Before I had children I had so much money I didn’t know what to do with it.

That's nice. That's a nice thing to say to an audience of people who are going through the worst cost of living crisis in living memory.

Lovinglife45 · 22/06/2022 12:34

Tedmullins
Travelling as a couple and as a couple with two dcs makes a big difference.

Your £300 break to Madrid would instantly become £600. Your spending money would also double. Small dc may eat less but would naturally drink a lot in hot weather. As an adult I can decide to eat only breakfast and evening meal on holiday, I would not expect my dc to do so. I can decide not to indulge in eating ice-cream but it would be miserable for my dc to do the same.

Can I ask where you found your £150 deal for flight and hotel in Madrid?

TedMullins · 22/06/2022 12:52

Lovinglife45 · 22/06/2022 12:34

Tedmullins
Travelling as a couple and as a couple with two dcs makes a big difference.

Your £300 break to Madrid would instantly become £600. Your spending money would also double. Small dc may eat less but would naturally drink a lot in hot weather. As an adult I can decide to eat only breakfast and evening meal on holiday, I would not expect my dc to do so. I can decide not to indulge in eating ice-cream but it would be miserable for my dc to do the same.

Can I ask where you found your £150 deal for flight and hotel in Madrid?

It was on lastminute.com. We booked it a few weeks ago, we tend to wait til near the time we want to go (like within three months) rather than booking a year ahead. Totally understand costs would rise with children but people talk of holidays costing 2-3k or more when it is possible to go abroad for a lot less than that, even with a family.

BarbaraofSeville · 22/06/2022 12:59

August is probably low season in Madrid. It's monstrously hot, many businesses close and residents go away to coastal areas or overseas to get away from the heat.

I can see how family holidays cost a lot more. We generally pay around £800 - 1000 for two of us for week in the Med either SC or B&B but that's in June or September, so I can see how twice as many people at a more expensive time of year and often 10 days or a fortnight, perhaps HB or AI, can cost more like £3-4k.

Crikeyalmighty · 22/06/2022 13:24

I've mentioned it before but I think you would struggle to beat Eurocamp for fun affordable holidays with kids abroad, especially out of season, and out of school hols (which I know isn't always possible) or a last minute deal- you do need a car though ideally for most sites. You can have the huge set up tents or the statics- so a bit like Haven with better weather I guess! (Often cheaper than haven too- even factoring in crossings and fuel if you stick to Normandy/Brittany/Loire kind of areas) I don't know why people have got fixated on AI holidays- a lot are hugely inflated pricewise to allow for those who are massively greedy and deplete the local economy and at least with Eurocamp you can then budget to what you actually use, keep lollies in freezer, they nearly all have really affordable restaurants and quality takeaway stuff on site too, plus cute towns nearby . (I Don't work for them- lol)!!! People need to think sideways, not just what Jet2 want to flog you

ApplesandBunions · 22/06/2022 13:28

BarbaraofSeville · 22/06/2022 12:59

August is probably low season in Madrid. It's monstrously hot, many businesses close and residents go away to coastal areas or overseas to get away from the heat.

I can see how family holidays cost a lot more. We generally pay around £800 - 1000 for two of us for week in the Med either SC or B&B but that's in June or September, so I can see how twice as many people at a more expensive time of year and often 10 days or a fortnight, perhaps HB or AI, can cost more like £3-4k.

Yeah, Madrid in August sounds like very hard work with DC. Tbh I don't think I'd cope with it even by myself! If it were somewhere that many families were going to want to go, it simply would not cost £150 for a week in August.

Kid friendly holidays outside of term time are much more expensive than just multiplying a break that flexible adults are happy going on by two.

minipie · 22/06/2022 13:39

I bet you’re spending in areas you haven’t even considered.

You’ve mentioned the £20 for ice creams, what else?

Do you buy snacks/drinks/toys for DC when out?
Hair, nails, other beauty
Take aways, Drinks/meals out
Netflix, Disney+, Spotify etc
Amazon Prime
Outings to softplay, farms, etc
Gym membership, classes
Take away coffee
Magazines, e books, audiobooks
Hobby bits and bobs, Memberships
Expensive phone contract
Cleaner

These are all discretionary spending, if you are doing several of these then they really add up and would potentially cover the cost of a holiday if ditched.

whereeverilaymycat · 22/06/2022 16:22

WombatChocolate · 21/06/2022 18:50

I’d say people with the same household income can have wildly varying standards of living due to how money savvy they are…..and that’s not due to age which determines the price they bought property at.

So for example, some people on £75k have over the years built up a pot of savings. They have £10-£15k they can draw on when needed. This means that when bigger expenditures appear they can buy a 3 year old car, or a new boiler outright and without any credit agreement. Therefore they don’t have hundreds going out monthly in payment plans and eating into what’s available for basic living or holidays. Some people on £75k will manage the weekly shop for their family for £60 and others will spend more than double that…with exactly the same number of people in the house. Some will have 4 TV subscription packages and others just 1. Some eat a takeaway every week whereas others might have it once every 6 months. Some check their utilities and insurance every year and switch and others don’t, meaning they might pay £500 or more on those things.

The impact of these different things all factored in together can make a huge difference. It can mean one family of 4 with kids the same age can manage 2 holidays a year and the others can’t have any. It can mean one family can upgrade to a bigger house and will retire 5 years earlier than the other.

Money savvy means no spending more than you need to on things. It doesn’t mean being cheap or going without, just that you get more value from your money. So ultimately the person who watches the pennies has more £ to spend.

I know families who have the same income as other families and the adults nad kids are similar ages and neither have had family help. They started from the same position. One have regular monthly payments going out for 2 cars which they replace every 2 years. They also eat takeaways weekly and spend a lot in the supermarket and keep their heating on high through the day and night in winter. They have also borrowed in the past for an extension and to do up their bathroom. They don’t have holidays as they are ‘skint’ even though they have more than £100k coming in. The other family has a similar income and lives in a slightly smaller house. They drive cars which are about 7 years old and monitor their bills and weekly spending. They eat out with friends but don’t have takeaways and only tend to eat out once a month. But they always have 3 holidays a year, including a big one and they manage to send one of their kids to a private school. They also have good pension provision and are looking at stopping at work just before 60.

These little focuses on money accumulate in impact and over the years mean some families live hand to mouth and others have flexibility and choices available to them. Often they don’t have so much of the immediate items which people might fritter on, but actually have more of the big stuff and importantly have spare cash so that when something crops up that they’d like or need, they can just choose it, without serious consideration of affordability. So they might get the letter about the school ski trip at £1.2k and look at it and say ‘yes’ because the savings are there, whereas the other family has no savings and knows that each month every penny goes.

Lots of people see money savvy and being a bit frugal as dull, boring and meaning people go without. Often it means they get far more because they know that always buying brands in the shop, when you can get similar or identical for 1/3 less, and always paying a lease for a brand new car fritter away hundreds each month which could be put to better use. It’s fine if you’d rather have the branded food and a new car every two years if you accept that then you can’t have the holidays or early retirement, or upgrade to a bigger house, but actually you can’t have everything and choices always have to be made….and they impacts that somehow people often can’t seem to see.

Great post.

RainCoffeeBook · 22/06/2022 16:25

You've said in your posts you already know you fritter it on 'snacks' and 'ice cream for kids' so you know why you have no money.

Your income is well above average for the area. You afford things by acting like an adult with money and stop blaming your children. They do not 'need' innocent smoothies and park ice cream and expensive clothes.

BrokenAndAfraid · 22/06/2022 16:39

Thank you need to look at your incoming and outgoing and cut your cloth accordingly. I'm a single mum of 3, live in the south east and work with an income of Approx 45000. I used to do 2 holidays a year as I don't drink , smoke or spend money going out often. I'm happy buying second hand and walking instead of driving when I can. I think it is possible you just need to weigh up what's important to give you the quality of life and make cut backs where you can.