Holidays are just not worth the money

[Phonicshaskilledmeoff]

Holidays are just not worth it.

The kids are desparate to go on holiday. I struggle to see the value though. For the 5 of us an abroad holiday is about £3k minimum. I struggle to get over the cost whilst I’m there - £500 a day and I sit wondering whether it was worth it.

The kids are excellent travellers and beautifully behaved when on holiday so it’s nothing to do with them. I just think it’s insanely expensive for what you actually get.

I enjoy it whilst I’m there - how do I stop being a cheap killjoy?!

Us too - this is what we did as kids every year. I love that you mentioned the squash - that is a core memory for me as a child 😂 it was literally sugar syrup with a bit of fruit though!!!

Always been a problem for me, even with plenty in the bank. I do think it’s worse though this year.

Exactly our situation and sometimes I’m actually glad I didn’t face kids. Cost of living being one of the main things.

Im the same to be honest. Time is disappearing.

The accountant in me is counting every penny, but the mum in me is watching the time tick down.

I think about money - lot more than the average person. I need to do something about it. Maybe booking a holiday might be a therapy activity!

Which countries are you going to? There might be cheaper countries to consider.

Look, it's expensive because there are 5 of you. That's on you, because you chose to have 3 kids. But also there's no going back now! So figure out how you can make a holiday work for all of you, and how you maximise your cash, and enjoy the kids you have, rather than wishing you could magically have a big family but with everything being cheaper.

Ok…..

Not complaining it’s expensive. Saying I don’t see the value for money which is slightly different.

To be honest, I think £3k for a family of 5 abroad sounds like a bargain. We spend £5-10k per holiday for our family of 4.

Holidays are important to us. We love going to new places, seeing new things, eating new food, relaxing together. We go away about 4 or 5 times a year.

We factor the cost of holidays into our normal annual budget as we see them as important as any of our other costs. If we were a bit short on money there are other things I’d cut back on before holidays.

Thank you for all the hints and tips. Genuinely found this post very helpful. It’s helped me organise my thoughts.

Was expecting to get a little bit of flack on here but it’s been genuinely supportive and helpful. Thank you very much for helping.

Do you put away cash beforehand?

I am on holiday with my young adult son right now, we usually do uk camping or sc or stay with family. This time we are in a resort and my god it’s glorious to have all our meals cooked and housekeeping coming in to clean the room everyday. It feels like a real holiday rather than being busy in a different place. No way can I afford to do this every year though.

Your children are desperate for a holiday, you can afford it, yet you would rather they have no holiday memories to look back on than part with money. I can see the sense if you were struggling but according to your posts this is not the issue having inferred even if you were wealthy you would feel the same. On reflection are you subconsciously waiting for your children to leave home then you can spend money on your own holidays free from having to pay for them🤔

I don’t think you are necessarily wrong - however good luck convincing me a therapist is value for money 🫣.

Definitely something I need to work on. I think the suggestion of syphoning off money beforehand into a separate pot so it feels free was a good one.

My parents were certainly not poor but had to make money stretch. We lived in a nice area but parents had fairly average jobs. Friends wore designer clothes which were out of the question for us. I did have a really lovely childhood. Eurocamp holidays not long haul. My husband was well off compared to us.

Not really. The set up we have is DH and I both earn about the same. He pays the mortgage, household bills, car, food etc. I pay school fees, any child related costs and holidays.

It works out about the same.

Mine are in their 40s and still talk about the holidays we had - I struggled to afford them but they were worth every penny

£500 a day isn’t actually unreasonable, if you can go all inclusive then that’s 3 meals a day for the family, plus snacks and drinks, and a pool/beach day, plus a night in a hotel, all of which would probably add up to £500 in total if you tried to do that in England.

I know this gets dismissed a lot on MN but honestly talk about it with a chatbot, I similarly obsess about money and have on occasion questioned my approach, and I found it really useful discussing with ChatGPT. Yes I know it can be validating, but it helped bring in some wider context, compared us financially to other similar households, broke down costs etc. It came up with some compromises.

Another thing I do is collect Avios. I have a BA Amex and put all my spending through that. DH has a platinum Amex and does the same. I also get Avios from my bank, uber, Deliveroo, and some other loyalty cards. I only fly with carriers that give me Avios.

My BA Amex gives me a companion voucher every year.

We get a lot of flights free this way.

That’s actually a decent shout.

It all depends on your priorities and what you enjoy, the cost won’t change will only go up . For me the main thing I remember as a kid is the holidays though a lot if this was because my mum and dad were happy relaxed and it was fun so it your not then maybe it’s not working
I do know what you mean though I love holidays though feel a pressure for it to be good as I have saved so hard all year but nothings ever perfect and I try and accept things a bit more now

We love a good holiday and I like pricing up how much I would be spending if I wasn't on an AI holiday. Last year we got a good deal on a really luxury holiday. We paid about 4.k for 8 nights AI (500 a day) and it did feel good value once there. 2 adults and DD9

1st full day:
3x breakfast with fresh smoothies = £45
3x a la carte lunch with drinks =£60
3 x a la carte dinner with drinks =80
Snacks = £30
Handmade chocolates =£35
Patisserie=£30
Cocktails, beers etc for adults = £250 (Cocktails are around £12 where we live and we drink a lot of them on holiday)
Soft drinks & ice cream for DD = £15

So day 1 would have cost us around £545 if we had done all of that in the UK at nice places. That doesn't include adding in the cost of travel, accomodation, entertainment, the amazing kid club activities ect. So I think we got good value on last year's holiday.

Edited to add that last year's AI was the best we had been on and the handmade chocolates were unreal - I dread to think how much they would have cost in the UK. Same for the meals that were included, even the buffet restaurant was unreal!

or maybe they have different taste?

It doesn't sound like a holiday to me either, but who cares?
Some people have a thing for staycations, not exactly my idea of a holiday either but as long as I am not stuck in this country again, that's less people in the planes with me 😂

I need to look into the more. Especially as my sister lives abroad and we need to visit.

YANBU. Stay home and invest the money in something more sensible - home repairs or in a fund for your children’s uni fees or house deposits in the future. No one needs holidays and flying bad for environment.
@Phonicshaskilledmeoff

It’s only money. You get like 16-18 years where your kids will come away with you.

God I cannot bear people who are obsessed with money. Plenty of it, but tight as drums. Yuck.