How are so many people booking holidays if they are struggling with the cost of living?

[Brinnyloowho]

This is definitely not meant in a snarky way but so many people around me are going on not one, but multiple holidays over the next year. Ordinary, not particularly well-off people. All the news of airports and travel being pushed to their capacity. All at the same time I'm seeing about the cost of living crisis. Yet, in reality I'm not seeing it.

Maybe all of these holidays were booked pre-crisis (I know ours was). Does this mean travel will slow down again after the summer?

We also have a combined income and are still taking holidays, but we've decided to stay in UK anyway so costs are hugely cheaper than going abroad....although we are managing price rises we are making decisions about what we buy food wise, ie we've cut back on meat etc

The assertion that the cost of living crisis isn't affecting many seems very premature to me. Anyone with fixed mortgage and energy rates has not had these rise yet but may feel the pinch when the fixes come to an end and payments shoot up.

Absolutely agree mental health is over looked from the fast busy pace of the UK busy busy daily grind.
I always go A/L so I don't have to cook and clean and for the sake of my mental health.

After reading the food shopping bills... on MN that obviously shows people spend on different things and probably do it without realising.

There is a time lag factor for both spending types. People going on holiday now likely paid for it some time ago whilst the increased mortgage and energy costs have yet to hit.

I still don't understand some of the energy increases people are reporting. I am on pre payment so just pay what I use, variable btw.
Electricity units went up 10p, standing charge about 20p a day. I looked at some other tariffs and it's about a same. There is simply no way people are having to pay 200+ a month extra, unless they are not giving meter readings. Average house use is 8kwh (we are well below that, some will be well above). That would make 80p difference +20p standing charge. £1 a day. To have to pay £200 more people would either have to use about 7.5 the average or their units suddenly cost £25 each (or 20 and rest is standing charge)...

Sorry muddled day and month numbers at the end there. But you get the gist.
It £6 a day if people pay 200 extra a month.
75p a unit increase on top of previous price. + Standing charge 50p

It's obviously not the same people is it?
I'd guess a third of households are in/near actual poverty and no hope of a holiday, a third are being quite careful and might have budgeted for it and a third are comfortable enough to carry on as they were. That's still enough holiday makers to make it look busy at the start of the school holidays.

We've used £15 worth of gas since the 24th of June.
I'm still scratching my head at the figures too.

I booked our summer holiday over a year ago, holidays are a priority for me, my kids are 16&14 and wont want to holiday with me for much longer. Id rather cut down in other areas and have the holidays with them whilst I can. I by no means well off, single parent with 0 input from their father, but I want to enjoy time with my kids whilst they still want to enjoy time with me.

Same @Hrpuffnstuff1 . Minimum difference from last year on gas.

I think it's because many people accept the estimated DDs. Friend's business went from 300 to 900 on DD and he genuinely thought he will have to close down. I got him send meter readings and bill is now 350. A smart guy but just didn't think it will make difference. Same with a friend with previous DD 60 (she lives by herself) and now 160. We checked her use and it's 85 or something like that...

If people were on a good fixed rate and now on variable it is perfectly possible for payments to go up £200+ a month. That doesn't mean they are using that much every month. It means their annual cost has increased by £2400 and they are paying that monthly rather than getting bills for £600 in a month over Christmas.

If you are on prepayment you were probably always on a high rate so your rate won't have increased as much.

I said on another thread, I don't think it's so much a cost of living crisis as a widening gap between the haves and have nots.

There are still lots of people with extra money in their pockets from having wfh and saved fares for 2.5 years. Where I live London commuters are saving c. £6k pa and there are a lot of them, this is basically a commuter town.

When we bought the house.
I left the prepayment meter for the electric in. The difference between the prices was negligible.
The gas was a brand new meter they estimated £35 per month. I just said send me a bill. I read the meter and send it in. Last month was
The charge is 7.5p and 32.5 standing.
Rishis £400 rebate will see us through winter.
We do have a log burn too.
Plus new windows doors and the loft room king spanned and re plastered via a grant.

Tbh though we're both frugal.😂😂
I have noticed the increase in fuel though.

@ArcticSkewer But that would mean people's single kwh went up x times up. I understand people pay more to equal it with winter, but it's still nonsense money when you look at price per kwh. What will happen is that people will now spend ao much they will have to cut down on essentials and next year they will be in ridiculous credit and rightfully pissed off.

☝👌
True.
The energy companies are using public money to shore up for future shocks. Big bonanza for them.

Ok let's look at my fixed rate for gas and see how it compares.

I pay 3.26/kw h with 26.9 standing charge.

When I switch, what will be a good rate and how much of an increase will that be for me?

My electric is 18.10 with standing charge of 26.59

I can't possibly know what tariff you will get but I can absolutely guarantee you it will not be 90p a kwh.
With EDF in certain area of NW or North Wales for example you would go to something like 27kwh and 50p standing charge on electricity.
Using the average 8kwh day your monthly extra would be somewhere around £30 a month. If you use less than that it will be less. About 6.6 is standing charge only. I use about 4kwh a day so (6 in winter) for example so my rise is under £20.

With gas, edf tariff for gas is, if I remember correctly, 27p standing charge and 7.6 unit. Basically no difference on standing charge, units would with average use of 30 unit a day make About £38 difference.

So all together, in this example, it has risen under £70 a month, if you use the average number of units. Now this is some their I think variable and not the best rate you can get. Even if you throw £20 on top towards winter it's still nowhere the sums people are reporting theirs have risen. So either most of the nation was on 5p kwh for electricity and 1p a gas or the companies are taking bit of a piss.

Considering even Ofgem was/is investigating it, even if my math here is bit off (which it probably is because I haven't even finished my first coffee), the companies are overcharging people a lot. One way to defend themselves is to give regular readings. If you wnat to build up money towards winter, you still can anyway.

I agree they are increasing DD to ensure that customers can cover the winter months ( obvs not everyone can afford this)
We have built up around 1K ready for the winter.
Our usage has dropped dramatically by using smart plugs, showering at the gym, batch cooking and freezing, laundry reduced.
So despite the prices hike of 50% we are using 50% less

I don't believe so. A lot of accommodation providers do most of the work themselves.
Bookings are just low this year.

Certainly that will account for some loss of bookings, but not the difference that has been noticed.

Ah this old chestnut. Haven't RTFT so please forgive me if I've missed anything vital buuuut:

1. The cost of living crisis hasn't bitten for most people yet. Wait until October, it'll be chaps then.

1. The cost of living rises won't affect everybody in the same way. Class war, and all that.

1. God forbid people ACTUALLY want to travel and enjoy themselves whilst they can, eh? We've just had two years of utter hell during Covid.

One thing I have noticed is it’s the drug dealing boyfriends that need to get rid of cash quick. And this is happening, I know people with 3kids, don’t work, but their boyfriend sells drugs (and a lot of them) this funds that family that doesn’t work. People like this don’t know what a crisis is because the put people in a crisis then go on holiday with their illegally earned money. So this is a way people do go on holiday, buy clothes, have fancy instagram posts during a crisis….

@amijustparanoidorjuststoned absolutely agree covid has saved people TONS of money in childcare and travel. People also will be doing more hours or taken on an additional job I think people have forgotten these factors to spin the narrative that it's all been dire!

It really has not for some.

We've been on 3 holidays this year, as not previously been re covid. I'm off this weekend. Yes some are struggling. Plenty aren't.