To think people are too obsessed with taking a holiday?

[Tepoi]

I don’t get the attraction of saving for months to go somewhere for 10ish days. Fine if you have money but hearing how people are spending the equivalent of 1 - 2 months take home pay on a holiday strikes me as very odd. Maybe because I don’t have the money to spare.
if you do go on holiday, and it takes 4-6 weeks’ take home pay, can I ask why you go?

Another one of these "I feel X and can't possibly imagine how any thinks differently" posts. Is it really so hard to imagine that people like and prioritise different things? I cannot stand the idea of running around a muddy field getting crashed into and chasing a ball but I'm perfectly capable of understanding that for some those sports are great fun. I don't need rugby players to explain it to me. Unless the OP is genuinely unable to think in others' shoes these "I can't understand" posts are just backhand ways to say "I'm so clever and right".

I'm an average ish earner I'd say, DH is the classic mumsnet high earning husband.

I bloody love a good holiday! We've got one coming up which is probably the equivalent of a lot of peoples annual wage. It's business class flights, a hotel suite for two weeks and lots of activities booked when were there. It's a reset and like living a different life. If we didn't have the cash we did then we obviously wouldn't be splashing £££ on them, but we do so it's important for us to enjoy our money in ways that matter to us - I totally understand to some they'd think it a waste of money or a silly thing to do.

We love holidays - being somewhere new, different weather, new food, lovely hotels, the flights - just absorbing other cultures and areas. I love going to different places, we don't tend to do AI or beach holidays. We do city breaks or similar. In the last two years I think we're nearing ridiculous amounts on holidays, but it's the post covid splurges still.

I love the countdown, the excitement, the annual leave away from work, the buying holiday clothes and mini toiletries, packing, the airport drive - everything about it. I'm so so excited for our next one that I can't even think about it without smiling! We work to be able to splash out on holidays.

We both work full time, my DH does ridiculous hours. Even though he has to sometimes take work calls on holiday, it's normally the closest he ever gets to totally switching off. It's worth it just to see him fully relax!

I have the most wonderful memories of holidays abroad my mum took me on. She was a single parent, so they were always done on a shoestring, but we enjoyed every moment of them.

I want to give my children similar experiences, but to be honest it also really helps my mental health. I hate winter, and suffer from quite severe SAD, so knowing I have a couple of weeks of guaranteed sun and warmth to look forward to helps me get through the winter.

I love travelling. Doesn't have to be somewhere hot and sunny to lie on a beach - next year we are planning on going to the Netherlands, and possibly a long weekend in Iceland.

Personally I think it's far weirder to never want to go anywhere and just stay at home all the time, never experiencing the big world outside your immediate surroundings.

I find people that for. Go on holiday when they can afford it - and who deny their children the opportunity - completely odd!

Holidays are my favourite days/weeks of the year. I look forward to them. I can't think what else I would spend my money on that would bring me as much joy?

I love the sun and swimming in the sea, rivers or lakes.

I haven't been on holiday since 2018, due to financial difficulties. It's really getting to me. 🤯

I have had skin cancer (twice) so I don’t really do beach/pool holidays. Nothing to do with class, I am definitely WC!

I absolutely love my holidays and spend what OP would probably consider a disproportionate amount on them. I don’t drink or smoke, my house is tiny and I drive a ten year old Fiesta.

My breaks in Paris, Kenya, Italy or Switzerland are something I look forward to all year. They keep me going. I love the different culture, history, and better weather for walking around in.

It’s different strokes for different folks though. I am sure many people with my income would prioritise other things.

I love being away from home. We try to go abroad 3 times a year and have a few more staycations in the UK. It's worth every penny spending time together as a family and experiencing the different cultures throughout the world.

Why do you care? People can spend their money on whatever they like. I just booked my 4th holiday of the year. I've spent a total of about 10k this year on holidays. Money well spent given the shit weather at home.

People who study happiness will tell you there are a few truths:

Hope and having something to look forward to makes you happy.
Shared goals make you happy.
Having experiences makes you happier than 'things' do.
Having stories to tell yourself about your life make you bonded in relationships and therefore happy.
Achievable goals make you happy.

Holidays make us happy from saving for them, planning, looking forward, going through the nightmare of the actual travelling to arriving in a new place. Then spending time having experiences together. And thinking about it and talking about it afterwards.

You may not like them or want them but they are important to many people. Personally travelling is one of the enjoys of my life. And thankfully DD and DH agree.

Our family loves holidays and over the years we’ve done it all. From cheapie camping in our own tent, staying in other people’s houses, house swaps to safari in Africa and three week fly drives around the US and Canada and, yes Disney in Florida.

Our children share the best memories with us from those times away ~ exploring and having new experiences, seeing different things and meeting different people, days spent playing cricket or running races on the beach, swimming and snorkelling, hiring boats ~ and endless games of cards on the balcony at night. Never done a kids’ club or activity camp. As a family those memories are priceless to us and IMO you never get that on days out or time spent at home. It’s really what’s bonded us as a family.

Now we don’t go with the grown up children, I still love the thrill of the new, the mental stimulation and the chance to just focus on enjoyment ~ not whether the washing needs doing or I should cut the grass.

We have spent a lot (sometimes) but never above what we could afford. I can do without ‘stuff’ to afford those holidays.

Holidays are great!

I don’t cook
I don’t clean
kids love it
somewhere different
learn about different cultures etc
Sun!

The price of our holiday is the equivalent of a month's take home pay for me, and I work full time.

The weather in this country is not very warm. Working full time means I can't just go out in the sun on a random day when weather is good. I have to hope weekends are sunny.

If I did not work outside the home, I probably wouldn"t bother with a holiday, as I could go out in the sun on random days.

I don"t drink nor smoke, rarely go out for dinner. I don't go on short breaks in our own country, no rock concerts. I pay for dh and 2 dcs so a holiday is ecpensive. It is worth it to have warm weather and meals handed up to me. We go half board in a hotel. It is a break from shopping cooking. People speaking a different language means we are getting away from normal life. Holidsys in our own country are very expensive. We always have to 'do things' as weather is unpredictable, and we can't just go for a walk or sit in the sun.

And now my son is an adult and no longer comes away with me, I spend a lot less.

Many of my best memories of his childhood are summer holidays with him playing with other kids on the pool or building sand castles on the beach.

There’s a lot I’d give up before holidays

You can’t put a price on memories!

We’ve spent a lot on holidays over the years and saved around 10 to 15% of our take home pay to do it. Big summer holiday, smaller Easter breaks and a few smaller UK trips.

for me … what’s not to love? What else would I do with the money? Well a couple of years ago I suggested a new bathroom, it would be nice but we don’t need it, the kids were aghast, they love our family holidays. We’re not going to look back on photos of a new bathroom reminiscing about how good it was when they’re in their twenties 🤷‍♀️

This!

Because it's a great big wide world out there and exploring it and creating family memories is surely one of the main reasons why we work? Much more important to me and my family than buying 'things'.

We're all different.

I remember my late husband and I saving madly for a year to go on a long haul holiday. We're were laughingly frugal that year.
At the same time that we booked our holiday, our friends spent the same amount of money on a dining table and chairs.
We thought they were mad to spend that much on a dining table. They thought we were mad to spend that much on a three week holiday.
Neither of us was mad..we just took pleasure in different things.

I’ve never been abroad but I’m hoping to have saved enough to go somewhere next year.

I can’t wait to explore new countries and cultures.

If I won the lottery I would spend my days travelling from country to country.

I don't like " summer holidays" and we never go away for more than 5 days...but we go somewhere every month.

With that logic op why does anyone save for anything? Why not just buy the most basic and functional cars, homes, tv's, phones, boats, clothes etc. People spend a lot on these things and holidays because they enjoy it. It doesn't mean you have to enjoy it.

For example, I enjoy some holidays because for a whole week or two someone else is cooking my food and doing the cleaning. I enjoy others because I am visiting interesting places, trying new foods and learning about new cultures. Some other holidays I am enjoying bonding time with my children or extended family. The thing all my holidays have in common is that all the usually stresses of life are left back at home. When I'm on holiday I get to switch off and ignore work, family admin, bills, childcare logistics, worries and anxiety for example. So for me a holiday is worth every penny.

I am very lazy with my appearance and grooming, I can't bring myself to spend money on very expensive cosmetics or clothes because they don't bring me any more joy than the cheap ones do. It doesn't mean I don't understand why other people don't like to bug designer products. It's just that personally I took a £500 handbag to work it would probably get wrecked and then I would be gutted about the loss of £500 quid.

Surely you can understand why people take holidays, even if for you personally it's not worth the expense?

Worth every penny. Sun, views, experiencing different cultures, truly switching off from the day to day, quality family/friend time, good food, change of scenery.

Aside from any other holidays, we take a week away every summer in the Kent countryside about an hour drive from our home.
It's an inexpensive place and we can chill there, whereas if we stayed home for the week we'd feel like we needed to do domestic stuff. So we go there, get up in the morning with eff all to do, go for a walk in the woods, then sit in the garden, read, drink wine etc.
We do that every year, if we are flush we may have a week in Portugal as well, but that's not every year.

The weather is a big factor for me. It's so nice being abroad being able to plan your day and stroll around in shorts and t-shirt.
You get the smug people who say "just put on some waterproofs and go for a walk". Today, it's warm enough for a t-shirt but chucking it down with rain so I'd be walking around sweating in a waterproof jacket, or wet through with a t shirt. It's nice to be able to do something without planning for 5 different possible weather combinations