Shall we go on this break?

[whatthehellnpw]

We have a cottage booked next week, all paid for and about 2.5 hours away. Last week we had a roof problem and have had to pay out 4 grand on it. This means we have nothing left at all. Probably be looking at £200 spare to take with us to spend Monday to Friday. This includes food, and days out etc. shall we still go or are we going to be sorely disappointed? If we do go please give me some money saving tips as my kids need a treat and some fun.
Luckily my husband had a fuel card on account so can pay for fuel next month once we've both been paid!

Is £200 for food as well? How old are your children?
Bring food from home, bring toys and board games.
Budget for each day and have some cheaper days than others. Aldi do cheap sweets you could buy something like that before you go or a bag of popcorn.
Look for free events in the area, take water bottles and snacks but then get the odd ice cream.

Well you have to eat at home anyway so just be somewhere else for the week?

I would go. It has to be better than just staying at home, I’d find that so depressing when I should be on holiday.

100% go
You’ve got to eat if you’re at home anyway. So I can’t see much difference!
Walks, parks, beach etc…
Obviously theme park type places are out of the question.

Take loads of stuff from home. All the food cupboard stuff you have.
Take kids games, colouring stuff, toys.

Be savvy at the nearest supper market. You can still get icecreams multi pack £2.50 etc…

Sounds like a change of scenery will be a good thing

Personally I would try reselling if that was an option just for a bit of financial security if I’d had to spend all my savings. If that isn’t an option like others have said I’d still go and seek out parks, beaches, nature trails etc

We're going to Dalton in Furness, anyone know the area?

I think we're planning a beans on toast type tea, some pasta and frozen pizzas with the idea of fish and chips one night.
We'll take picnics out with us each day. Good idea about ice cream at the cottage. I'll be prepared with drinks/ tea and coffee in flasks as that always adds up!
Hoping to visit south lakes zoo but that's £48 for the 4 of us (kids 7 and 5) so maybe not

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Do you have any discount vouchers for cheap days out, the local tourist office, local free magazines or where you are staying may offer some.

Do you have any Club card points you could trade in for local attractions?

£48 for 4 if you isn’t bad at all. Take food and snack treats with you. Stay all day and make the most of it. If you have a cool bag and ice pack you could take drinks to keep cold.

Take empty tubs or jars to collect ‘treasures’ in. My children have loved being given a £1/£2/£3 challenge in a shop - to buy a treat or as many treats as they can for the amount. You won’t remember meals out but you’ll remember time together.

Safari Zoo is on Groupon today

www.groupon.co.uk/deals/safari-zoo-cumbria-7?utm_campaign=ppcbee+%7C+UK_NBR_SR_LOCAL_DEAL_TOPBRANDS_Support&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=safari-zoo-cumbria-7&ppcbee-adtext-variant=RSA_TTD&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwuG1BhCnARIsAFWBUC3aiUi3p7ZknuH14q_yKh-8MkbCeVWBNhJXwLzEhyMqdYnE9eozN30aAhbQEALw_wcB

Family ticket for the zoo, £25 on Groupon??

My friend took her slow cooker on holiday to feed her tribe. They'd prep the food in the morning and it would be ready for later.

I thought this was genius.

Just looked at this, there was an extra £5 off so I got the family ticket for £20!

https://manjushri.org/

This is a lovely place to visit - woodland walks, by the beach and free!

AND at least you're using someone else's electricity! Shower yourselves silly!

Does the cottage have a garden? Can you use it for different sorts of games and "challenges" with the kids?

That's a great deal. Well done. You'll have a lovely holiday.

That's a fantastic deal. Enjoy your holiday.

I'd go because I'd rather be in a novel location that's presumably attractive in some way with no money than staring at my own four walls. I'd rather go for walks in the country, beaches or a new city than do nothing at all, and you can feed yourselves in a fully equipped cottage for the same cost as at home. Just manage everyone's expectations before hand. Be honest with DC if they're old enough.

I would definitely still go as long as you can afford the fuel . Food would need to be paid for at home anyway. Take sandwiches and drinks out with you and have the odd ice cream or bag of chips as a treat .

Fingers crossed the weather will be mostly dry for you - don't forget that things like the walks and playgrounds are free and whilst you may all be bored of the ones at home - different scenery will make them more exciting . I think you are by the coast ? Ball games, sand sculptures and treasure hunts on the beach are free.

Are you staying on a site where there are things for the children ?

I can see you have booked the zoo . That will be a treat but aside from that I don't think you need to book any more paid activities out .

You could have a look on local tourist board website to see if there's anything else free or low cost but if not you should be fine anyway .

Absolutely go!! Since you're driving I'd stuff the car to the gills with all manner of things from home- coffee machine if you have one just in case there isn't one there & you'd otherwise buy coffee out.

Bring your breakfast stuff & herbs / spices etc that you use.

And I'd make picnic lunches with really good treats (multipacks of stuff from the supermarket etc)

Make dinners v easy & low effort - bolognaise with pasta & garlic bread & make enough for 2 nights so you can have breakfast at the cottage, head out for the day with picnic & snacks & come home to an easy quick dinner.

You can totally make this a low cost adventure & your kids are young enough to not have a clue they're on a low budget holiday- everything's fun at thar age!

Give then a simple project- get cheap poundshop scrapbooks & a pot of glue & bring crayons & pencils & get them to make a memory of each day you're there - do they gather things from nature when you go on a forest walk, shells if you are at a beach, ticket from the zoo, cheap postcards or flyers from the things you see & do & they add their drawings etc.

It gives them a focus on each outing - who can find a really good item for the memory book, gets them looking at things differently - if you find a feather on the ground you can google what bird etc & then it occupies them back at the cottage when you're sorting dinner.

They make great memories when they're older - remember the day we went gruffalo hunting in the woods & you found the hawk feather or the sparrows empty eggshell etc (or whatever) you all get to be big kids for the week!!

I hope you have a fantastic week!

If you can’t get a refund, you may as well go!

Take as many staples from home as you can eg tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar, salt, flour, soft drinks, seasonings, tins, loo roll, cleaning cloths, any cleaning or laundry products you might need, washing up liquid/dishwasher tablets etc so you don’t end up spending more on food than you would if you stayed home.

Head to the supermarket for yellow stickered items and stock up on day 1.

Go foraging one day for blackberries, elderberries, wild strawberries. Fun and free food!

Make a rough plan for things to do eg free/cheap local attractions and make sure you take enough toys/activities to fill the rest of the time. Don’t feel you have to do “holiday” sightseeing activities, the DC will have just as much fun doing things like going to an adventure playground, movie night with popcorn, a treasure hunt for sweets at the cottage, board game night, playing Pooh sticks.

Whinlatter Forest is great for kids. There’s a Gruffalo trail and a playground that small people will enjoy. It’s £10 parking all day, but most parking in the Lakes is chargeable.

I would go, may as well be skint in a different environment rather than home!