How do people pay for a holiday? Decent income and can’t afford it?

[Ht1]

Our take home is 5,000 a month after tax. Mortgage 1,600, childcare 1,400, car payments 450 for two cars (each needed for work), bills 600, which leaves around 1,000 for petrol or days out and birthdays or one off expenses. Sometimes we can save 300 but not always and often that gets wiped out, like last month when we had tyres changed.

Just looked at holidays outside school holidays and it’s 1k minimum for accommodation for a week, much more if adding in parking at an airport and going abroad. How do people pay for this? It seems sad a family of three with 5k a month can’t book a uk holiday with ease.

The trouble is, you get a few sweet years when childcare costs go- but then you're paying adult prices for your kid to come on holiday! And if you're a teacher and the higher earning parent, you'll never, ever get a cheap holiday. Or you will, but it's still dearer than other people will have paid 2 weeks earlier.

Some great cheap places for kids days out too. The south part and into Angus is also good.

Places like Charleton Farm, Murton Farm, really good play parks, splash pools at quite a few of them plus lovely beaches.

We love it there.

OP where do you live? I’m southeast, about half an hour on the train into London and my mortgage, bills and nursery are approx £2500 total with two small children. Your nursery bills seem really high as do your car payments. Mine is £175 for a 2019 SUV, my husbands is about £220 for a 2021 SUV. Can you look at cheaper cars to cut those costs down for example?

@festivemouse What point are you trying to make?

The childcare is the main issue, surely? Depending on how many children you plan on having, it won't last forever! We hit a low when we had our first child and dipped into savings to even afford the part time childcare we needed so that I could work, following a reduction in my pay due to both mat leave and reducing to part time.

Most people only do that kind of thing a couple of times a month. So that’s still a lot of change out of £1000. I think you’ll be able to afford holidays more easily if you’re just a tiny bit more careful the rest of the year.

Also, while you might need two cars, it’s unlikely you need to spend quite as much on them. And once you don’t have nursery fees, you’ll have more disposable income but do bear in mind that two full time parents often need wraparound care which can be expensive.

We take home the same but our mortgage is a lot lower with no childcare fees. Once the school years hit you'll have more cash.

For this year we currently have 5 nights booked in a premier inn on outskirts of Manchester by a tramline. That was under £250 & we will do lots of free activities (museums in cerntral Manchester & visits to local national trust places) alongside paid things like Lego discovery, a show, possibly snow dome or possibly Chester zoo for the day. Train will be £100 or so (with friends and family rail card). We’ve had similar trips to Leeds, York, London (more expensive but we spend under £1k for 5 nights for 4 of us). In the summer we are sharing a 3 bed apartment near Blackpool with another family (room each for adults and kids will be in bunknees together). It was £330 each for that.
If we are driving we go somewhere nicer with a pool Sunday/Monday night and then stay somewhere basic like holiday inn express, travelodge or premier inn for remainder of the trip. We get out and about lots when at the cheaper accommodation and we have a chill on the days with the pool.
Have taken similar approach when staying in Amsterdam/Paris/Berlin in past. In general cities have loads of kid friendly stuff and it’s often free/cheap. London museums are amazing for example and Amsterdam has really lovely parks & some awesome public lidos

Working from home doesn’t stop you having childcare costs. You are working so can’t look after your children

When Dc were small we had mega cheap holidays. A grim looking but functional 'apartment' or caravan at Parkdean Resorts, UK, for example. The accommodation is basic but clean, the locations are beautiful - near sandy beaches, with loads of local interest (eg Romney Sands or Camber Sands have a mini steam railway, a little funfair, donkey rides, a light house, a big sandy beach, a fishing lake, with a swimming pool, nursery pool, playpark on site etc.) They have sites all over UK, I think.

7 nights in May - outside of school holidays at Romney - start from £279 for a family of three in a chalet. A little more for an apartment (loads of space.) Bring nice food and wine and some scented candles, flowers and soft bedding - you can brighten the place up easily.

It's not luxurious or glamorous but it is a break in a beautiful coastal area for next to nothing.

Once DC start school you can afford better holidays.

A Holiday cottage company - and to be fair, it isn't in the English/Welsh school holidays, which would make the cost more - £690 a week in high season. But the OP was talking about outwith school holidays too. And yes, you are correct. More expensive on the coast near nice beaches etc. I've also checked and our cottage is £570 per week in mid-season this year - but we booked really early ( like when we were there last year, so it's not costing us as much as that this year). Literally a few pounds over £1000.

This Year I am struggling to see how we will afford a holiday but we spend 32k a year on nursery fees. If we didn’t have that we would be able to affordable incredible holidays. The childcare costs are not optional though without them we wouldn’t be able to work and earn.

Rude and bitter comment for no reason.

If the DC aren't at school yet, you can get a Haven Monday to Friday for a couple of hundred quid. Similar prices for Parkdean and the like.

I think you need to look at different holidays, you can easily find haven holidays for less than £200 for 5 days outside of the school holidays

Can often only go away a particular week off each year due to coordinating when the whole family is off school and can take it off work

Mainly they probably don’t have your huge mortgage, massive childcare costs and car payments.

They may have a smaller house, a company car or take public transport and share one family car.

They may use relatives for childcare.

They may also have a ton of debt !

They also probably don’t spend £60 on a day out. A nature reserve near me is £5 per car.
Take your own food and drink. Total less than £10 with petrol,

Self-catering on holiday should cost the same as not being on holiday - surely? I mean, it's not an additional cost.

anyone looking for inexpensive holidays in school holidays - then pick the last week of august as its often the cheapest and north devoid has some bargains - not as far to drive as Cornwall, so save some petrol and you have beach and the moors for entertainment - along with a lot of stuff costing ££££ to do on rainy days - but much of that can be done on Tesco club vouchers we found and taking picnics as we were self catering

Honestly I find uk holidays so expensive, including cost of activities, petrol, days out etc.

You might actually be better off going abroad. Especially while you aren't beholden to school holidays.

For example 5 nights half board in may in a decent 3 star in crete is £838 (£738 with the sale code for January) including flights, luggage and transfers and that's for 2 adults and a child over 2.

https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/greece/crete/agia-pelagia/pelagia-bay?ibf=true&to=27-05-2025&from=22-05-2025&dst=ALL&sAccId=&geog=ALL&flex=7&org=SOU,STN,LGW,LTN&aa=1&rooms=2_1:3&outId=Ef1214e58431956c67e2b4c0f73f2379e&inId=E7651adadfeda08845b32089f00912bfd&accId=X9180403&packId=2151577796/2/2694/5&boardType=HB&offerRooms=21:3/DBT.ST!NOR.TAILOR%20CONTRACT&transfer=GEMT54607KSS&dtransfer=GEMT54607KSS&isExt=1&lateRoomCheckout=0&theme=beach&ejhsort=hotelslist|3|XwbQOknP

Self-catering on holiday should cost the same as not being on holiday - surely? I mean, it's not an additional cost.

depends how often during the week you eat out. When im at home I don't eat out every week, but when im on a weeks holiday we will eat out possibly 3/4 times - which is more expensive. Fish and chips, a Sunday roast, pizza night, ice cream a couple of times. Obviously you can keep the price down by reducing this and getting a supermarket shop

Car loans or personal loans used for cars can’t be taken out over a long period of time- 3 years is usual. They depreciate too quickly for lenders to offer any longer.

I don’t think £450 a month for 2 cars is much at all. I have just taken out a loan for a car and the interest is 9%. A lot of people haven’t caught up with what’s been going on with interest rates in the last few years, reading these answers- ditto for the mortgage comments.
£350 mortgage would mean you owe less on your house than she does on her car 😂 hardly comparable.

i think OPs point is valid- you’d like to think people in her position could afford a holiday. Not having any trips out all year with young children in order to save for a camping holiday sounds miserable as hell. Lots of people don’t like those types of holiday either

I save and use credit card to spread the cost over a few months. I also only go away every other year.

Regular savings when I get paid, drive an older car paid for outright. Very few days out. Good savings before having children and had children in our thirties.

We didn’t holiday abroad at all until youngest was about 5. Before then it was a long weekend in a nice hotel at the coast booked last minute when the weather forecast was good.