To wonder how people afford holidays!

[Dreaming34]

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

By earning that as my salary alone.and paying for a holiday over six months. We didn't have expensive holidays when the kids were little though.

@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

We save throughout the year and put everything on a credit card that gives us air miles.

We also never buy named brands - Aldi is your friend!

Firstly look at your food spend and meal plan. I started doing this at the first lockdown and am still doing it. Less cost and less food waste.
Do you make packed lunches for work? Buy take away coffee? £20 on ice creams is madness.

All these small savings add up. Just list all you spend each month for a month. Every ice cream, every item in your top up shop I think you will be surprised and could afford a holiday in 2023 with a little canny budgeting.

@Rosehugger what do you do if you don’t mind me asking?

Family of 6 and I’d say £200/week. That includes beers but not wine. And buying everything we fancy. I could do it for half.

We spend about £120-140 a week on groceries but that includes some booze, cleaning products, shampoo etc- that's for 2 adults and 2 primary age dc

I spend that for three adults and two teenage DDs (so two really hungry adults). We eat very little meat (DD1 veggie anyway) and I plan five dinners a week before shopping (Aldi click and collect mostly). We don't drink much alcohol - a few g&ts each and DH has a few beers.

It costs £100pm just for activities like gymnastics etc, nursery fees 600, nipping to the bloody park for ice cream…20 quid!

I mean, come on, you've answered your own question, lol.

You don't need to spend £100 a month on activities - you could choose free ones. You don't need to spend £20 on ice-creams at the park - buy a multi-pack from Tesco and have them when you get home instead.

I must admit I go to the supermarket and don’t really care what I spend. If I didn’t do that we could go on holiday! Constantly filling the fridge up with innocent smoothies, fruit, yoghurts etc

Surely you must realise that most people can't afford to just chuck food in their trollies without thinking about what it costs? I mean - DH and I earn well - a small mortgage and no debt or DC, but I still wouldn't buy Innocent smoothies - most of our food is Tesco own brand and it's just fine - I'd rather spend the money on other things, not expensive yoghurts.

You have a good salary you should easily be able to afford a holiday. Examine your spending carefully. You sound far too casual, eg the 5 strawberries.

Solicitor @Dreaming34 I don't do stupid hours now though (I've finished work for today). If I wanted to work long hours I could get paid a good deal more- not worth it though, IMO.

You see a lot of people would have looked at that and thought "I'm not buying 5 strawberries for £3" and put them back. And those people would be £3 better off than you.

Joint income of 75k and can't afford a holiday? what are you spending it all on?! We have a joint income of a good bit less and we've just been on an amazing holiday

So why did you buy them then? If I saw a pack of five strawberries for £3, I'd have thought "no bloody chance" and put it back!

Then don’t buy them?
I always just rotate what I buy, I don’t by the same fruit or treats every time. Sometimes I will buy it if it’s not on offer because I just want it, but I don’t default very time. I look at what is on offer/in season and weigh up the decision.

If they only had tiny punnets of strawberries for £3 you don’t have to buy them just because you bought them last week. It’s by no means having a miserable life, just being a bit more sensible.

Depends on what you mean by a holiday! If it's a cheap week in Benidorm, then you should be able to manage that. If it's 2 weeks touring Japan, then I completely understand.

If the kids are old enough to go to things like footy or athletics clubs, this is a lot cheaper than them doing gym, swimming, dance etc as they are usually run by volunteers. Also scouts etc. You usually have to help out every now and then. But althetics was like £45 every six months, guides is £25 a term. As opposed to £150-£200 a term for gymnastics/dance/swimming etc.

What are you paying for "entertainment "? My boss says she can't afford to go away, but has Sky, disney+, netflix, amazon prime, apple TV.. a cineworld subscription, a new phone every couple of years, unlimited data plan on the mobile with superfast broadband at home .

People prioritise differently, I prioritise holidays and use free view, with a 4 year old phone.

You're clearly finance blind. You need to get that sorted.

Similar combined income, two kids.

Including their school dinners, we spend £85-£90 a week on groceries including cat food, beer, none alcoholic beer and a crate of caffeine free coke.

We never buy bottles of antibacterial spray now - just the refill capsule.

I have my detergent delivered.

This year we've had a week AI in Egypt (two rooms), Paris for three nights in August (and London for one), Istanbul for 4 nights in October half term.

All the whilst we're doing home renovations.

You need to budget properly.

Don't do gymnastics and don't spend £20 on icecreams?

Childcare is unavoidable but the icecreams are your choice - I go to M&S and get a box of 4 for £3.

It is the little things that add up.

When I see someone with innocent smoothies in their trolley I wonder how they can afford it and we have a similar income to yours, some years a lot of higher.
sounds like you’re overspending in the wrong areas. Holidays are important and they’ll be remembered much longer then an innocent smoothie or a nice piece of furniture or even a fancy car.

I could be you op. We can afford holidays but still with our mortgage coming up for renewal, gas and electric and a NI hike we are literally £500 worse off.

dreading the next year!!!

better off meal planning and treat planning

I wouldn’t sack them kids activities though otherwise what on Earth is the point of working your backside off!!!

you have not said whst your outgoings are though, mortgage etc and how much disposable income you have

another idea is to book a hol now for next year then for Xmas and birthday gifts ask for money to pay off your hol or to buy currency with for the kids

Ha, this is it. Branded foods really make the difference to food bill. I ditched Asda for Lidl (so no uncle bens rice etc.) and I almost halved what I used to pay for food.

Innocent smoothies are only £2. That’s 50p per smoothie. How is that being indulgent?

Yes but the quality is different at Aldi and Lidl

Just to say, if you reduce your spending by £30 per week (food shop, takeaway, activities etc) then that's over £1500 to spend on a holiday

There are still good deals out there. At the weekend I booked for 2 of us in a 5* hotel on a Greek island for 7 nights for 1300, during school holidays. It just takes longer to find deal than it used to