Do families who go on 'big' holidays usually rely on credit cards?

[tigermoth]

It's been years since we last went on a 'proper' holiday abroad. Those two weeks in Corsica cost us around £4,000+ (two children, two adults). We had the money at the time and it was a lovely holiay

Since then we have mainly stayed with dh's family in Devon, so we are used to virtually 'free' holidays.

We love Devon, but I know that both our boys have wonderful memories of Corsica. I know how much they would love to go abroad again somewhere similar. As would dh and I.

I also know how much such a holiday is likely to set us back - not necessarily another £4,000 but we'd have to fund the cost of accommodation and airfares (during the school holidays) and we are simply not used to doing this.

It might seem a stupid question, but how do people actually pay for those sort of package holidays? Is it common practice to pay in monthly installments? If so, for how many months can you pay the cost - ie £3,000 spread over 3 months is not a lot of good for us!

We don't have credit cards, so can't spread the payments that way. And with no credit card, we'd have no access to any emergency cash if we were abroad. This worries me. At home with dh's family we have backup if anything goes wrong.

dh and I are not keen on getting a credit card as we both doubt we would be disciplined enough with it. But is it a 'must' if we plan this sort of holiday?

Oh, should add that we do have a credit card and find it useful as a safety net whilst abroad and personally wouldn't travel abroad without one.

I also try to remember that whilst away I won't be spending at the supermarket/petrol etc, so that always helps with a bit of spending money.

tigermoth we put £250/month into an online saving account every month to pay for our holiday. We have 6 & 3 yos but other than food I am not sure your 14yo would have cost much more as both DC flights were full price and we just paid for a villa rather than per person. The flights were £300odd all in, £60 for airport parking, £300 odd for hire car (ended up with Merc A class but expected something like Focus or Megane), and £900 for a two bedroom villa with shared pool in the south of France. So the total would be about £1700.

Then we spent about £800 while we were there, which is actually quite a bit less than last year in Normandy/Brittany, but the weather was much better so we were on the beach or in the pool a lot. So our total was £2500. But we did eat breakfast in, make our own baguette sandwiches for lunch, and eat dinner in alternate nights and out alternate nights. OTOH we spent an absolute fortune on ice-creams and drinks in cafes.

So we spent a total of £2500 and put in £3000, but some of that money went towards a short break in Windsor/Legoland at spring bank. Also we are able to take the money for two weeks groceries/petrol with us. We do take a zero percent interest credit card with us.

In answer to the OP- when I worked at Thomas Cook - I would say that approx 80% of hols were booked on credit cards- the remaining 20% debit direct from bank account

Thanks primigravida

You could save money off what we spent by not having a hire car for two weeks. But we weren't prepared to get taxi transfers because it was quite a way and the car seat issue - presumably less relevent to you - can't remember how old your DS2 is. Also where we stayed was slightly inland so we drove to the beach. Although we didn't have to drive at night - mediaeval walled town within our 3yos walking capabilities and stuffed with pavement cafes etc.

We have just come back from florida. We took a credit card as i think we needed one to book our hire car and for emergencies.
I think we did spend on it while away but did so in the knowledge that we could pay it off when we return as i have had a big say increase due to a promotion and going full time. I second what Roisin says about the more money you spend the more you expect. We took family with us and my mum spoilt the holiday and it left me heartbroken that our dream holiday became a nightmare.

Sorry no paragraphs i am mumsnetting on my phone in bed while we have a child free lie in

So sorry to hear that twinset.

twinset what happened?

We don't have credit cards, we used to but we weren't good with them so once they were paid off, that was it!

We haven't been on any big holidays abroad since the kids (bar our honeymoon, which was really credit card dependent- cruises are!- you swap your card for an on board version which does everything). However, these days we are strictly budget which seems to work for us (bearing in mind I manage it and know I have to hide a bit for dh's enthusastic theme park spending LOL)

This year was a bit ahrder- we took mum and dad which was great, but they ahd a small tax rebate just before and therefore their budget was much higher than us, and they did refer to me as miserable once but I was only making ends meet! they did offer a bit of cash, but its theres- we had plenty, within reason.

We've had a couple of 'big' holidays paid for on credit cards/ loans or we wouldn't have been able to go. Most years we've just gone to a UK caravan at Easter and paid about £200 so we've paid for that out of that month's salary.

We were supposed to be going to NZ next Feb for my cousins weddings but the cheapest airfares are on the net and you have to pay in full when you book, so I don't think we can do it.

Being charitable to Xenia here, I think we should support the notion of instilling in our sons and daughters the idea that nice things don't come from nowhere, and that we can afford to do X because we have worked hard to pay for it.

Of course, that doesn't mean you automatically have a lot of money if you work hard - there re plenty of jobs which show that. And quite a few jobs which basically consist of talking bull, drinking coffee and getting paid a huge whack plus a "bonus"

I agree with that notion UD- and I think it doesn't relate just to material things. For example if my boys kick up that they ahven't got whatever piece of crud is in thsi week, I sggest to them they consider whether they'd prefer said crud and a Mum who isn't there at home time, or the reality they have now- ie siblings, Mum at uni and therefore home when they are 9and all next year with a new baby), dad with 2 jobs and most but not all they want. They get violin, they don't get Heelies. tis life.

Haven't read this all so not sure if this has been mentioned before, but it is definately worth booking flights and accomodation separately and chosing your destination partly based on the ability to get cheap flights.

We are planning a week at a Kinderhotel in Austria and picked the hotel based on the fact that we can get Ryan Air flights for a penny each (plus taxes) to the nearest airport. The flight for a family of for are costing us a total of less than £150 return. This means we can splash out a bit on the hotel.

Another thing is all inclusive hotels. Although self catrering is probably the cheapest way to go if you plan not to eat out, all inclusive can work out really well if you don't want self catering as you know exactly what you are paying up front and don't hgave to worry about sepdning money.

So for our kinder hotel holiday, it is costing us under £1000 for one week for 4 of us all inclusive. This is NOT school holidas however.

If you pick somewhere expensive to fly to, the costs sky rocket. We are going to Florida in Feb to visit my dad so we don't need accomodation. The flights alone are likely to cost us £1500.

She spent the holiday sulking and endlessly criticising and making bitchy comment to dp and i and telling up that we were crap parents and that dd was a nightmare. Also tried turning dd and myself against dp. We also had to leave one of the villas as it was unclean so lost a day and lots of money finding an alternative villa. It was our last big holiday for years as we have school fees to pay next year which put more pressure on us to have the perfect holiday.

Xenia does have a point but I don't see its relevance on a thread where Tigermoth's career choices are already made (too late to be a top gymnast, opera singer or merchant banker, sorry about that Tiger) and marital ones too (too late to "snare" a rich bloke if that was your ambition, sorry Tiger).

Some people can just afford holidays without any problem, some people save for them and some people can't really afford any holidays. We do have credit cards for use overseas.

UQD in your DREAMS are there jobs which consist of drinking coffee talking bull and getting a large bonus. What sort of envious nonsense is this? Jobs like this only exist in your imagination.

I agree with UNQUIETDAD kids need to know that to get a lifestyle you need the wage and that often comes from hard work- academic success and informed choices.

Hurlyburly - ever heard of humorous exaggeration?

I know pleanty of people who seem to spend all day at work drinking coffee, and talking bull.... and get paid quite well for it.

There you are, then!

My essential point was: yes, we should encourage our children to value work rather than benefit scrounging - and dangling the carrots of things like holidays is one way to do this. But we should still be wary of implying that there is some kind of automatic correlation between hard work and high pay. Because sadly, all too often, there isn't.

Yes but that's where I disagree with you UQD. The harder we work and the more responsibility and pressure we agree to take on, then the more we get paid. It does correlate.

I'm with mmj. No-one is saying that encouraging your kids to get good jobs is wrong.

But Tigermoth was simply asking other people how they budget for their big holidays. Whether by lumping it on a credit card or saving.

I completely fail to see the relevance of someone with a supposedly much larger income lording it over with a comment along the lines of "Well, the fact that you have to budget at all is your own silly fault for not being rich".

It can only be aimed at winding people up. Well done to the rest of you who managed to resist the bait - unlike me >

S'not aleways true, Hurly- Teachers for example, I coudle arn more by taking an alternative post-grad than the PGCE, would I work any less hard? Seriously doubt it!