Many people prioritise/ live for holidays above all else

[Elizo]

Recently went on a wonderful/ expensive group holiday with DC having saved up/ extended mortgage. We aren’t wealthy/ don’t go abroad often but from the chat with others think holidays are huge priority and what they really look forward to all year above all else. Saving/ working hard all year for ski-ing/ trips to US etc - clearly that sort of travel out of reach for most of us. Loved our holiday and wondering if we are odd ones out in this!

That just highlights the difference though, doesn’t it?

My environment is important to me, and I would rather have a really nice house and garden, where I feel relaxed. This means that on my holiday I can sit and read a book in nice surroundings and then go out for day trips in the beautiful and interesting area … at home.

Oh have seen the update. Bit misleading.
I got into a debate about this on TikTok.
Young family with parents who earn fairly well but have credit card debts, loans and no savings but prioritise holidays.
Their kids are young and it's always all this 'making memories' rubbish although the kids won't remember the trips at their age.
When you mention saving for the kids' futures such as if they want to go to uni etc that gets laughed off. It's ridiculous imho.
In my experience people who are obsessed with holidays hate their lives.
And two weeks on a sun lounger in Crete is not 'travelling' anyway.

I am such a homebody those people who jack it all in to go travelling for years I just can't relate to. After uni I took a year off and went to Canada - got a job and stayed in one place for 18 months - had lovely experiences in that one place but failed to travel. I often post pictures of very local walks/things which people say look amazing - I find loads of people barely explore their local area or spend a lot of time/money travelling and sometimes it just feels like its just cos you are supposed to. I'm taking the kids to an all-inclusive this year - it's their second time abroad - it's a lot of money but we've always self catered - I'm on my own and just going for something easy - I'm looking forward to time with my kids but would probably be just as happy to stay home. People really struggled with not being able to go places in lockdowns but the kids and I were fine - we are probably just very boring - easily pleased and quite introverted.

I get a bit fed up on holidays. I’m in my 50’s now and feel like I have been to all the places I want to see. I’d rather holiday at home to be honest nowadays and the save the thousands. I do enjoy a few days in the Lakes though and a trip to London now and again.

In my experience people who are obsessed with holidays hate their lives.

You carry on believing that if it makes you feel better.

And two weeks on a sun lounger in Crete is not 'travelling' anyway.

Agree on that.

It's interesting to see that it does seem quite a few people have changed over time so maybe we will one day too!
I will say that I like organising and keeping the house tidy and clean but as we're not DIY people at all, the cost of decorating/renovating/new furniture always feels prohibitive when I balance that cost against holidays.

I think the idea is to make a life you don't want to run away from all the time.
Plus the environmental concerns are valid too.
I also can't get over how many British people have barely been anywhere in their own country too.

I'm about to retire and spend a lot on holidays , one thing that really bumps the cost is dog care for my two pooches

Yeah..I dont get it.
There's another 50 weeks in the year to have fun and do stuff- why skin yourself for those 2 weeks??

I love my holidays and weekends away.

I don't hate my life at all, quite the opposite in fact but I don't gain joy from material possessions and sitting at home watching telly/gardening/reading. I find that dull.

I don't skint myself to go on holidays but I rarely buy new clothes/crap for the house as those things don't bring me joy. My home is just somewhere that I sleep. If I didn't have a child I'd live in a van.

Quite easily. My couple of flights a year are nothing compared to the rich and famous. I'm not going to waste my time feeling guilty.

We prioritise day to day living and interests over holidays. The kids do musical instruments, canoeing, horseriding, sports and a couple of other things. Husband is a keen photographer. I do a craft as a hobby. We spend a lot of money on food, cook fairly elaborate meals from scratch most days but eat out at least once a week. We try and get out with the kids to do something at the weekend that usually involves expense - local railway, rent a boat, theme park, theatre, etc.

We used to do weekends away to do something a bit further off (e.g. a show in another city) quite a bit but all the hobbies got in the way! We do go on holiday most years (though not this) but it is generally pretty chill and not normally abroad.

Do people understand that global warming is a thing? How in good conscience can people be jetting off?

Yes indeed that's a consideration, but it is quite challenging to live entirely carbon neutrally. Aviation accounts for around 2% of global emissions, while fashion is 10 and animal agriculture close to 20 - so as I don't eat meat, and I don't spend my travel budget shopping at Shein, I can live with myself.

I love a holiday

I work so have a yearly holiday abroad so in guaranteed sunshine , as well as obv pay bills etx

But I save for a holiday or put flights on credit card and pay off over 3mths with a tiny bit of interest

Would never put on mortgage though

We save up and have 2/3 trips a year. We love to travel and it helps to have something to look forward to, we do it on a reasonably small budget with air BnB and cheap flights booked in advance, although we have booked a winter trip away with BA and that was very reasonable as a package...

We do spend a good chunk of our disposable income on holidays and are happy to drive old cars and be fairly frugal in everyday life to allow this but there is no way I would take on debt to go on a holiday

Our holidays aren't massively extravagant affairs and I prefer to go on multiple holidays each year rather than blow the lot on a single £££ holiday

Not being on holiday doesn't mean sitting at home. Plenty of local activities to do (and if not ... why do you choose to live there since you find home so boring) 🤣

You extended your mortgage to go on holiday??!! Madness.

I live for my holidays and am going on my second one this year in a couple of weeks. However, I’d never extend my mortgage to do it.

🥱 Steady on Greta.

Holidays are our main indulgence, we will cut most other spending to go away as often as possible. It's usually 4 or 5 times a year but only 1 or 2 if those will be abroad. Family holidays are likely to be over soon and we are cramming as much in as we can while they still want to spend time with us. I'll paint my house another time, the bathroom could do with updating, my car is old and I don't care but the time we've spent together as a family is irreplaceable.

@Beezknees can't delete on phone web ignore

I sort of agree. We drive one very old car (cheap to run and no monthly payments) we could afford 2 nice cars but then we'd have to sacrifice our 2 holidays a year. For us, family holidays are way more important than nice cars. A lot of friends don't agree and that's fine.

Because one individual not going on a flight is going to make exactly zero difference to anything while China has over a 1000 coal powered plants and are approving another two every week. No point martyring yourself for a cause that is unfortunately already lost.

Unlike ppl, I don't think there's anything wrong with flying in moderation. But:

1. Millions of individuals deluding themselves that their choice has no impact - and subsequently flying several times a year - does indeed add up

1. China produces crap to feed our overconsumption in the west.

I love a holiday, but it blows my mind how people spend so much on them. I don’t do resorts, don’t do package holidays. I book everything individually myself and it’s much cheaper.

Dc and I went to Spain last month and it cost maybe £700 total including flights, meals, all transport, huge flat right by the beach for 4 days.

I went to Spain on my own last year. It was maybe £500 for a week, including flights.

We used to travel more and further afield pre-dc and we definitely were never spending thousands even being away 3,4, 6 weeks.

We have a beautiful house though and a lovely lifestyle, lots of hobbies, so that’s definitely where the money goes.

That’s us. Few nights out and very little eating out, and we don’t t have expensive hobbies or activities - but we love our holidays.