What is your summer holiday budget versus household income?

[GreatWhiteWail]

DH and I are not aligned on what our holiday budget should be. Because of covid and having young children we haven't previously gone on a (scottish-) school-holiday-time family holiday to a resort. When it was just DH and I we did more city-break type holidays (and even though we went to nice hotels, it didn't cost that much). We have never done a 'week in the sun with a beach/pool' type holidays so have no frame of reference. I'm talking about just a European resort for 1 week plus flights for 4.

I know there will be outliers as some people have no mortgage or childcare costs etc and will spend a lot more than is typical. but I'd be interested to know what's normal for different family incomes.

Is £5k for a holiday for 2 adults and 2 children a 'reasonable' budget? We each earn approx £60k. DH says people earning this would spend much more than that. I am uncomfortable with £5k, as although we can afford it, it seems so much money to just spend (rather than save or spend on the house etc).

Apologies for the nosiness, I don't want to ask friends as although I really want to know if this is normal, it would be rude to ask what they earn!

Agreed!

We have always spent up to £3k all in for 2a+2c. This year I just couldn't find a reasonable option, so we went at Easter. 1 week all inclusive came to £2.6k for everything (including taxi to the airport, spending money). The weather wasn't great and I feel I've missed out on a summer holiday but also not sure I can spend the going price to get what we want. (We could afford it, but it seems such a vast sum for a week).

We spend about 10% of the household income on holidays (including dog sitting) but we have low outgoings otherwise and these are a priority for us. Normally it's a 10day summer vacation in Europe, a couple of UK cottage weekends and a long weekend to EU or other with just my DP. We have 1 DD14 who has ASD so holidays are chosen to suit her so self catering.

ETA we book these in bits and pieces during the year. We have next summer's Air B&B booked already for example. This spreads the cost so we don't have to drop a few $k all at one time. It's better for my blood pressure that way. We also have a holiday spending savings account that we pay into every month to cover any big bills if things do come out all together in a month.

Income £250k, holidays this year hiking in the alps, £3k a fortnight, camping. We like cheap holidays. AI holidays somewhere like turkey or canaries would be our idea of sheer hell.

Sorry to derail but would love details of your scandi trip if you’re willing to share!

I must know the careers of the joint income being £250K. I’m a lawyer in my early 30s on £70K and would love to increase this as we grow our family to sustain what we have now! Thanks anyone that sees this 😂

Household income 120k

so far this year we have spent about 4k across 3 different breaks.
London break for 2
week in a forest lodge with 2adults and 2dc
5 day Iceland trip for 2

We have a combined household income before tax of £105k, we are spending £2.5k on a one week holiday in France for 10 days including spending money for 2 adults and 3 kids. We also do 2 or 3 camping trips per year which come out around £250 each once you add in some meals out etc. so total annual holiday budget of around £3200.

Both earn around 60k and save 400 a month for holidays so around your 5k a year.

With preschool kids they've not been a massive priority recently, I don't want to spend lots to watch tantrums in another country. Now we're going into school holidays will need to reasses the budget!

I can't see myself ever wanting to spend 10k for a standard European trip, that's a long haul budget in my mind- but maybe I'm out of line with post covid prices.

We earn similar and generally aim for under £5k but every 3 years go long haul so that’s more like £10k. This is for 5 of us and this summer we’re going to Europe AI as the dc love the independence. It’ll likely be our last family holiday as dd is 17 and next year will go to uni (not sure we’ll afford a holiday next year with student rent etc). We’re spending £7k this year, which is a stretch with other pressures over the last year.

When I say stretch, I’m strict to use income to pay for holidays and not touch savings. This year’s is going to have to touch the savings but we had high vet bills, bought a car etc.

our mortgage is £1200. We deliberately chose to stay in a very affordable home which works for us rather than spend more for something bigger because we want family holidays.

Household income about £100k gross. A weeks AI in Crete (4* with swim up room and private transfers) is costing us £3.5k in August for 2 adults 1 child. We paid about the same for Tenerife last year.

2 adults 3 kids.

Income around £130k joint

Holiday around 10K, we struggle to find anything less for all inclusive 4/5 star hotel.

Last year we did a villa in spain but probably spent more with spending money etc.

Joint income of 100k, spent about 10k the last 2 years. Two staycations of 1k each and one main summer holiday of 8k when everything is factored in.

I’ll add that last year we went half board and by the time we’d bought lunch and drinks and snacks we spent the same as going AI so we decided to just go for it this year then upgraded the hotel. Pre dc and when they were younger we did more travelling like driving Vancouver to Calgary and New York to Wisconsin lakes via Chicago but the standard AI week in the sun works well for teens ime.

Odd, I found most were £7/£8k in Greece, Canaries and Ibiza when we were booking back in January. First week of Jan is the best time to book August holidays.

Which way? How high or how low?

Household income 100k, holiday budget around 6k per for year but this gets us around 4-5 holidays (some city breaks) for the two of us. No kids and no school hols makes a difference though!

People can spend how they like of course but I think the numbers on this thread are INSANE. Imagine if you all didn’t go on hols for a year and donated these huge sums to charity, what a difference that would make for some people. I do think it’s a colossal waste of money and I’d never spend these amounts on trips just to escape for a week or two.

This is DH's point. When I say we could spend less and put it towards the mortgage, he says that there is no point as it will barely make a dent in the mortgage even over 10 years anyway, and in 10 years the children won't want to holiday with us anymore and it'll be too late to spend on family holidays!

We’re retired, so fixed income.

We haven’t been abroad since 2008. Usually it’s a week somewhere in UK self catering, with maybe four meals out. Probably spend between 1K-1.5K, including fuel and spending money.

Agree with all of the above!

I budget 5K- 6K just for me and DD. This tends to get us two European holidays and another shorter UK break. Income is 85K - single person income.
I think 5K in total for a family of 4 is fine for one holiday but if you wanted more than one holiday or break a year I can’t see this being enough.

We spend around 20% of income on holidays, but that’s probably a skewed percentage because we have a high income and don’t live in London (or anywhere down south).

20% of a low income wouldn’t leave enough to have a comfortable standard of living.

On your income, unless you have debts or high car finance, I think you could spend £5k or comfortably more. But that entirely depends on your outgoings.

What a great thread @GreatWhiteWail !

your life is lived once and there’s only so many years of family holidays you get. So to a degree I am more on your DH pov at this time of your life.

however some of the numbers here are just eye-wateringly astronomical… but it depends on how you value your holidays and what you value about your holidays - each to their own!

currently dp and i have some health issues and reduced hours so no (proper) holidays anyway, but prior we’d be household £80-100k and maybe spend £4K for our annual holiday(s) across mini breaks to odd places (Brno, Lausanne, Vienna, Tallinn) and a week in a Canaries apartment (hoorah for Mercadona and the Titsa bus!). Now we are enjoying the railcard and a few decent deals on travelodge/premier inn type hotels in the uk with free museums etc

Our entire ethos is what your husband says. We spend so much now because ‘later’ will be too late. Yes, we will have some wonderful holidays in the future just the two of us, but I want to enjoy every second with our daughter through her childhood. If that means we spend longer paying off our mortgage, or put less into pensions, during what remains of her childhood then I’m absolutely ok with that.

Side note - although high earners we were young parents, so we didn’t have reserves built up pre kids, however will have plenty of time once she is grown up. Swings and roundabouts!

I find adventures with my children a very worthwhile cause financially.

Do you forgo things during the year in order to give 10% of your gross income to charity?