£407 for two weeks spending money

[Nevergoesthewayyouimagine]

We live abroad so are planning a staycation for two weeks, but did want a few days out, a few lunches, beach and maybe a couple of nights camping.
Just had to pay a large, unexpected bill and now have £407 left for two weeks.
This is supposed to cover food, petrol & treats,
just not going to happen is it!

How much do you have per week for saving money?

It would be fine for me for just living costs, eg food and petrol but wouldn’t stretch in terms of lunches out or paid activities. Can you do a quick budget in terms of your usual food etc and see what’s left over for treats?

How many of you are there? How old are your DC? You’ll have to lower your expectations on the days out and lunches, but for food (particularly if you already have staples in the cupboards and freezer), petrol and the odd treat, it’s doable.

Do you have bicycles? Live close to anywhere where you can e.g. wild swim or wild camp?

It’s doable but it wouldn’t be possible (for us) to have a “holiday” 2 weeks on that budget because if we’re on holiday whether abroad or a staycation we’d want to go out for meals every daily, do excursions, not looking at price tags etc.

It absolutely should be enough.

You can still do stuff but probably not what you wanted initially.
Firstly, plan a cheap couple of weeks of food. Give yourself a budget. Get all your shopping in hat you can and leave an amount for fresh produce. Also add extras for packed lunches and some treats.
Budget for petrol.
Find all the local spots that you can visit for free, including the beach.
Go and have fun.

Depends who 'we' is. Two of you? Family with four kids and a dog?
If the former, no problem. The latter, probably not.

For eating out too sometimes?

Two adults, one 7 year old and a ddog

Yes!

You better be going somewhere super duper cheap.

It can work just you’ll be doing a lot of cooking from scratch, treats will probably have to be home made and you’ll have to stay near your camp ground. Can still be nice

That makes it a bit easier. You could treat a 7-year-old to a day swimming in the river eating nothing but ice cream and then camp in the back garden with a campfire and they’d probably remember it as the best day of their life!

Tally up what you currently have in your cupboards and do some meal planning - that will take the pressure off buying groceries and allow more for a lunch out. I know camp site fees can be pricey in the U.K., not sure where you are, but e.g National Parks sometimes allow you to pitch in some areas free of charge, and some of the best meals I’ve ever eaten have involved something vaguely charred from a camp stove.

£407 or £30 per day I would go with two cheap days so park play etc and then one more pricey day lunch/a proper outting.
Is this actual groceries or the meals out etc?

Do you need to be eating out? Picnics are great this time of year and usually better quality. Bike rides, beaches - all free too.

Depends where you live. Your budget works out at approximately £29 per day for 14 days. Cheapest campsite near me is £25.00pn. If you car is currently full, and you have some food you can take, it’s just about doable. But I’d forget the meals out or takeaways, until your last evening when you know how much budget you have remaining.

Totally depends which country you live in! Finland, you will struggle. Azerbaijan, should be doable.

Portugal