Had a taste of the good life and now want more

[Aislingklo]

My parents withdrew some money last year and were able to take me dh and ds on a few holidays abroad. We never really went away abroad much as a family until then, just once abroad as a family of 3 years ago. It was great and now I want to go away more but we just can’t afford it. It really depresses me and in a way I wish we’d never gone as now I have this intense itch!

These were all in school holidays too although 3 sharing a cabin which is cheaper

If you both saved £50 month you could afford a holiday or go away in the UK, OR you pay for your own holiday and go, you can get holidays dirt cheap

Well, I guess it's either don't go at all or compromise slightly.

I am on holiday about 70 nights a year, but to do that, most of them are self catering in the UK, eating out about 1/3-1/4 of the time. If you stay at home you have to shop and cook anyway, so you may as well shop somewhere on holiday. At least then you are somewhere new and exciting, and you are at the beach (if you go to the coast), or have a pleasant change of scenery.

Cheap is possible in school holidays as well. I take a child relative in the summer holidays, a 10 night trip cost me about £650 for accomodation and fuel (it was the other end of the country so had 3 tanks). I took mostly batch cooked meals I made at home portioned up, or chicken breasts I sliced up and froze into portions and made easy things like fajitas, or cooked on the BBQ and had salad. Low effort but tasty meals. We had a great time. I only topped up food now and then, most of the food I bought at home and took with me.

There is always a way 😊

Look on Easyjet lots of good AL. I booked a few months ago for April next year. Got a child free place too. Just under 2k for 1A and 2 DC. AL.

I’m going on a saga cruise next June, for the first time. So pleased to hear good things as I’ve been told it’s all old people and boring

Yes there is and i go away a lot also and the fun part is getting things cheap..and being cheeky and asking for a discount..i dont understand people who dont go away or go on holiday, you can get things really cheap if you spend time searching online....

I'd be interested in them please

How on earth does a single mum on benefits afford to go abroad twice a year? I'm sure lots of people would love to know what they are doing wrong? 😊

Oh, I love food shopping overseas, doesn't feel like a chore. Plus in lovely hot countries dinner is cheese, fresh tomatoes and some bread - no cooking! ;-)

We go abroad every September, we usually book in the January and it gives us a good 9 months to pay it off. Usually works out around £60 a week which is £30 each!

Oh, enjoy! Am hoping to too next year, but I want to go alone - leaving the OH to look after the animals. I wanted Saga too because I can't abide screaming children, ha! I was told though that the corridors fill up with mobility scooters!

I remember that a 5 day ticket to France was the good life holiday in Normandy and Paris. Even that seems expensive now.

There were cheaper places to eat and buying patisserie was a bargain. Probably me can't adjust to changes.

@Happyjoe @Hayfield123 I thoroughly recommend the Saga cruises! Our car was stuck in a 7 hour traffic jam on the M25, together with about 50 other people ( I timed the corresponding distance just last week and it took 10 minutes!) so we were very delayed getting into Portsmouth. Saga and our driver kept in communication, we didn't arrive at the port until 2 hours after departure time, but they delayed departure for us all. Our luggage was whisked away as soon as we got out of the car, we were guided rapidly through the departure procedure and onto a minibus to go the shortish distance to the boat. We were shown to our cabin, our steward arrived with our suitcases shortly afterwards. I asked for a mattress topper and that was provided. Our cabin and bathroom were kept spotless. We had fresh fruit provided, there was a mini fridge with fresh water and we were provided with water bottles which we could refill at water stations at various places. The food was incredible! My DH mentioned how good the lamb rump was to our waiter and said he could eat it all over again and he was offered another portion (he said no). I was able to request my food with alterations (for instance no sauce) and there was never a problem. There were 3 types of wine offered at lunch and dinner (in the smart restaurants) but I don't drink alcohol and requested sparkling non alcoholic wine, which they went to get from the bar for me. I could have asked for anything and they would have got it for me.
The cabin was plenty big and the bathroom, although compact, was also plenty big. The balcony was lovely to have, but not huge. It was very hot when we went so it was great to be able to have the balcony door wide open.
We didn't take advantage of the entertainment, but if you don't feel like going to see something you can always view it on the big television in the cabin.
The outside pool is nice and warm - I swam first thing in the morning to avoid other people.

There are a lot of crumblies on board with mobility scooters, yes, but we hardly noticed them at all. There are plenty of younger people as well. And a nice thing was that although alcohol is unlimited, very few people seemed to over-indulge or, at least, if they did it wasn't obvious.

I can't wait to go again... but sadly it will take us another 5 years at least to say up for another cruise.

There are always specials with cruises if that's what you want. It used to be that the bargains were last minute, but now, booking a long time in advance seems to have the better deals.

Nothing wrong with wanting the good things, you just have to work out how to fund them yourselves.

As a kid, mum loved to travel. I wore second hand clothes all year, or home made clothes, but we always had a holiday. At first these were more camping or cabins, but eventually, cruising a couple of times a year became our 'normal'.

Mum would work long hours, cleaning houses, then cut corners in her weekly budget to fund those holidays.

You haven't mentioned your work. Is there any way to increase your earnings? A pay rise, a few extra hours a week, selling on Vinted, anything. Put all extra earned into a holiday account and don't spend any of it. You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up.

No I work in admin so around 25k per annum. Dh is SE plumber so around 40k per annum in a good year.

Could you maybe have a weekend away at the level of hotel you enjoyed instead of a longer break?

No as flights are so expensive during term time

I meant during school holidays!

So could you not do a weekend in term time?

It’s not worth it really if going abroad

Yanbu! I bloody love holidays and travel and I do prioritise it over other things.

Our household income is just slightly less than yours and we manage a week 4star all inclusive every year plus as UK break. We drive older cars, have a smaller house, don't eat out often at home, basically make sacrifices to prioritise the holiday. It can be done!

I sell on vinted, anything we no longer need or use or kids have grown out of and it goes straight into the holiday fund. Usually get around £1k a year doing that which is a huge chunk towards a holiday.

This. Plan ahead and pay off slowly. It makes a nice holiday doable. You can get a free child space as well if you book way ahead

To add to this, we always get a free child place and book around a year in advance. I'm good a hunting out a great deal.

When our kids were little (teens now) we couldn't afford every year so we went every second year.

This year we're going in October half term because July was pricey.

What changes are you willing to make to your lifestyle if holidays are important to you?

Plumber in the SE only on £40k ?! I’d have thought at least double that given what they charge.

Not much work now. People can’t afford it anymore what with the cost of living etc.