Would you get a loan for an amazing holiday?

[Florally]

Just that really.

A friend of mine is getting a loan to do her ‘bucket list trip’ and go on safari and to South Africa and it sounds incredible.

My DH would never let us do that, save instead of borrow as a mantra.

But, I think if it were just my decision, I would. If you can afford the repayments without impacting anything instead of saving for years… I don’t see the harm.

Would you? (And as a bonus, where would it be? 🤩)

I agree with this. I drive my car daily and still can't wait for the car loan payments to be finished.

Holidays feel like distant memories so quickly, and the thought of still paying for it later is just awful.

This, my mum put our major holiday this year on her credit card, I paid my share towards it, and its now fully paid off.
It also aids in getting your money back if a company (Thomas cook was a prime example) folds under whilst you're still waiting for your holiday.

You think being financially sensible is "boring"? Says a lot about you. Are you one of these YOLO people always in debt?

I went on holiday about 12 years ago to Istanbul, on a credit card. Still paying it off (we bounce the money around different interest free cards but of course pay transfer fees when we do). No regrets! We had kids a couple of years after and would never be able to go with them till they're much older. I'd always wanted to go, it was amazing, and I wouldn't like to go now because the political situation has worsened so much.

If my job was relatively secure, then yes. Life is short and the grim truth is that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I think best to use a zero % credit card rather than a loan to pay for it, however. And be really frugal when you come back from holiday to pay off the debt asap.

Nope. Holiday would be over and you'd still be paying it off months later. Then what if you decide you fancy another holiday but can't save for it because you're still paying off the last? Agree with PP, if you can afford the repayments you can afford to save, just need to wait a little longer to get there but for a bucket list destination, it would be worth it.

No

And I would worry that my friend has been diagnosed with something terminal and that it was a family decision to do this knowing they could use life assurance to clear the loan but make sure her dream came true before she passed!

12 years ago and still paying it off! Glad you had a nice holiday but you could probably have had at least 6 more bearing in mind you haven't paid it off in 12 years and therefore the amount of transfer fees you must have accrued and paid.

I don’t think I would unless like a PP said, for medical reasons I had to go sooner rather than later.

I'm off on belated honeymoon this summer - we could’ve taken out a loan but decided to save instead.

That's insane. Istanbul isn't expensive. It's still fine to visit for tourists.

For me it would depend on the amount of the loan, the length of the repayments and how much per month.

I’m quite partial to putting stuff on a credit card to spread out the payments. If I want to do something then I do it. I don’t wait around to save, I might not be here in a few years when I can afford it in one chunk. But I’m very sensible with it and always pay it off and over pay. I don’t do it for everything either. Currently have no debt.

Distant memories, sure, but sometimes wonderful ones to cherish forever. Some of the best times of my life have been whilst I’ve been on holidays.

I use a zero % credit card for holidays which is pretty much the same thing, and (try to) pay it off before I go on the next one.
Some people have big car payments, I would rather have an old car and use credit for hols instead.

Or imagine saving and saving and then your parent gets seriously ill, or you do...

Suddenly your bucket list trip won't happen..

I'm in this position myself...

I don't think the OPs husband should be dictating what she spends her disposable income on.

But she doesn't have that disposable income. It's money that she does not have.

No. I've never taken a loan out for anything except for the mortgage and I would only do so for something essential.

I was brought up to believe that if you want something you save for it. But when I started work I was very tempted to get a credit card and have a spending splurge on a fab holiday and some nice clothes. However a guy I worked with had parents who took the family away on holiday abroad, put it on the credit card and then spent a year paying it back, ready to start again the next year. Even at 18 I could see that I personally wouldn’t be so dedicated to pay for something I’d already had that had been and gone a year ago plus taking into account fees as well. So I adopted my parents approach.
When my husband and I decided to have a trip of a life time to Australia, we didn’t have a holiday for 3 years to save enough money because we decided to do and see exactly what we wanted to there so it definitely wasn’t a budget type holiday and we looked forward to it so much that we didn’t mind not going away whilst saving.
However a close friend of mine was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had a couple of fabulous holidays whacked on a credit card so she could go whilst she was still able and I think I’d have done the same in her case.

I think putting an holiday on a credit card and paying it off ‘before’ the holiday is different from what the OP is describing as here, one is taking credit and going on the holiday and then will still be paying for it for a long time after. I can’t do the later at all.
I’ve just booked our 2026 all inclusive holiday with Jet2 yesterday because I could get a good deal now and I have 9 payments to make which will be complete in March and the holiday is months after in August 2026.
It’s the same as saving money because I can save the same amount I’m paying now till march and then book the holiday, the only difference is that next year, the holiday will be much more expensive so I’ll have to take some more from my saving for the same holiday.
However, I can’t book one on credit and then go for the holiday and then still be paying for it. It’s not a necessity so I’ll only go on one that I’ve paid for conveniently

OP I have just booked a rail trip and safari in Africa.
i understand the dream but I saved and paid half myself and half with a very unexpected inheritance.
i am 60 though… dream since childhood to go to Africa but I wouldn’t have borrowed.. depending on your age you have plenty of time.

We did this in our early 30s as we wanted one amazing holiday before we started trying for children. We were on an average income, saved hard for 2.5 years, needed another couple of thousand which went on credit card and took us another 2 years to repay. Dream holiday in a campervan around Scandinavia.

Our children have SEND and that kind of holiday is out of reach financially and practically now so I'm glad we have the memories, absolutely no regrets.

Living your life on the basis that you might die tomorrow sounds great in motivational memes but doesn't work in practice.

It’s horses for courses, but committing to a payment plan for a huge sum that @Freshstartyear25 described to pay for a holiday more than a year away would make me very nervous because of the possibility of cancelling, which would mean a chunk - perhaps all - of the holiday payment being non-refundable, depending on when you cancel.

It’s taken you twelve years to pay for a holiday?

Boring because he won't support taking out a loan of thousands of pounds for a holiday? I doubt he would support her getting into lots of debt for a holiday whether he goes on it or not.