Everyone going on holidays

[Atetheentirebagofnachos]

I’ve seen it more than ever this year on Sm, everyone seems to be off on lovely holidays, I mean, it’s great, but thought most people were skint.

My family and friends have less but they are not skint…..all of them and all my colleagues are going on holiday

I think this year was the first year a lot of people went on holiday since before Covid, so people have had time to save for it

I think you just notice people who say they're on holiday more. The reality is plenty of people can afford it through saving as a priority, being financially comfortable- lots will also be exercising their credit cards and then racking up tonnes of interest paying it back over many months; depends how much a holiday means to you!

Once you stop paying for nursery etc sometimes people find themselves £10k better off a year.

A lot of people are skint and a lot of people aren't! People tend to post their holidays on social media, people are less likely to post to say they aren't going on holiday. Also depends on your social circle - most people I know holiday regularly, as do I.

People have different definitions of skint.

For some it means not sure they can pay their electricity bill.

But for others it means having to cut back on previous lifestyle. So you can be skint and still go on holiday to Spain if previously you went to the Maldives.

Also different people have different priorities. We drive very old fully paid off cars, we don't go out for nice meals, we don't have sky tv, we buy clothes off vinted when needed, take packed lunches to work etc. but we like to take the children away if we can once a year. When we get there we will not do many / any paid activities but enjoy the pool, walking the local villages and self catering.

My exH moans he doesn't go away but his priorities are different (not wrong) he plays golf, he goes to the pub, he drives a newer car on finance etc.

We had a week abroad in June. We couldn’t afford it but paid on an interest free credit card and paying off enough each month so it’s cleared before the interest starts. We’ve had a really shit year or so and desperately needed the break so was worth it!

I think a lot of people are indeed skint but they go on holidays regardless. Due to social media it has become another necessity just like clothes, food, days out and so on. You’re somehow seen as failing if you can’t afford a holiday so people stretch themselves and go. I know of single parent families on universal credit going to Mexico and New York this year.

"Everyone" is not as skint as you think op, and people have different priorities. Some, like pps, prioritise a holiday, find good deals and pay it off/save for it slowly. And good on them.
We can well afford holidays, but what we actually do varies, and whether it makes it on to social media varies too... Last year in the summer hols we went on a big 2.5 week adventure, this year we'll self cater in the UK for 10 days. Just whim and preference.

Of course most people aren't skint.

A lot are of but not "most".

Tesco Clubcard points are covering the cost of a short break for us. We may have less disposable income than we used to due to COL but I try to be as savvy as possible when it comes to going away.

We have saved hard for our holidays. We don't eat out at home and don't spend frivolously because we would rather have holidays. I also make sure I plan and budget them well. Everyone spends however they like but I stick to a montly budget and meal plan ect. But we have also been skint and just had camping holidays or travel lodge UK breaks. It's whatever we can afford.

@Baneofmyexistence can I be nosey and ask where you went? Looking for ideas..

People have different circumsrances.

if you don't have young cbildren and own property with no mortgoge or a very small one you are probably doing ok.

We have had two big-ish holidays this year but then we have a very small mortgage (perfectly happy in our small flat so have never upsized), no young children and do not run a car. I also paid for one holiday with a work bonus.

Really? It seems a longer time than that since Covid restrictions would have affected travel - or do you mean it has taken a while for people to recover financially?

This always confuses me when I see it, why would someone not have been away since 2020 because of covid? We had a holiday booked for April 2020 which didn't go ahead, we rescheduled for August 2020, then we went away in 2021 and onwards as normal.

I haven't had a normal for us 2 wk holiday since covid as our DD hasn't been well enough (MH issues) to cope with being away for more than a week.

Not necessarily because they couldn’t afford it because of Covid, but because people changed their spending habits - I know of lots of families who used to holiday regularly before Covid, then stopped because of Covid and began spending their money on things like home improvements etc.
Obviously they couldn’t afford both. Those people are just beginning to holiday again

@leafybrew Zante, it was lovely, had a great holiday!

Of all the families and friends that I know, only one person is skint, and even they have saved for a holiday. Everyone else is pretty flush. But we are all in our 40's and 50's. No one has nursery fees anymore, and most are nearing the end of their mortgages or have no mortgage. We have 2 holiday booked. But I don't really spend much on anything else. I have 2 haircuts a year, never pay for beauty treatments, drive a car that's 13 years old etc.

I've spoken to a few people who struggled a lot with the rainy weather at the beginning of the year and decided to prioritise spending on a foreign holiday for some sun.

We are not rich by any means but we find cheap holidays and always have a good time. We create a holiday fund each January and save some money and then see what we can afford. We are going for a long weekend in Norfolk in october half term with parkdean which cost £150, if you wanted to keep it cheap you could get a food shop to avoid eating out.

we have also booked france with eurocamp for next august summer hols for £900 + around £20 (ballpark figure) for eurotunnel.

this is for 6 of us. we may have another long weekend in the easter hols.

Was it? Only 2020 and 2021 were affected by covid as far as I am concerned, and I probably could have gone on holiday in 2021 but couldn't be doing with the restrictions/mask wearing on planes etc.

I think it's just because we are in the middle of the school summer holidays, so you will be hearing about it more than at other times of the year, as this is when parents are likely to have time off work to go away.