34 crisis - but am I being irresponsible?

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7k credit card debt, none of which incurs interest for well beyond a year.

I’ve bought a house, have a car. I pay more than the minimum payments on credit card. If I haven’t cleared it all by the end of the interest free then I will do a balance transfer.

I want to go on a trip. I’ve done very little with my life when I look back - lots of box ticking (good job, bought a house, own my car etc). I’ve never really DONE anything though. And I’m panicking about it a bit.

I’ve considered spending some savings on a trip. It will leave me with only a grand to my name (technically in debt as I will still have the credit cards). I save a little each month, maybe 200-250.

Would you do the trip? Is it irresponsible? I’m so conflicted but at the moment feel like I’ve always been working to exist rather than live.

Then try some of the "price insights" buttons.

I might be wrong but.. OP wants to go on THIS trip, she just wants someone to say it’s ok- you work hard, you’re responsible with money, you’ve got a contingency plan if everything went REALLY tits up, you’re not thinking this trip will change your life because you’re happy with your life, please, please go! We never know how long we have our health for to do this kind of thing and it sounds like you might regret it if you don’t- book it now!

I agree with Anne above

From your replies I think you very much want to go

Go and have a great time

Well, I said she's got the payment organised - personally I don't think even interest-free credit cards are anything other than plain old debt, so I'm a bit dubious about that part, but I've been as encouraging as I can otherwise .

I think I do want someone to say that...I feel a bit guilty for doing it tbh. I’ve not done anything like it before and totally play things safe. I also know I’m in a reasonable amount of debt 🙈

Ravenmum thank you for the suggestions! I definitely could do it cheaper but would be scared to do that alone in Asia which then leaves Europe. Xx

Sell the car, go on a working holiday, volunteer in Africa, or look for a job abroad.

Wait why can't she just go on a small holiday now or even save up a bit then go?

Trip isn’t until may

Have to pay half now then half later

why can't she just go on a small holiday now or even save up a bit then go?
to you too! Did I say she couldn't? Read the thread mate.

I'd pay the CC off with the savings then start again, if it were me.

If I pay for this and continue to save like I have then I will have approximately 2k savings by the time I leave for the trip. Obviously the alternative is being able to pay nearly all of it off by the time I leave for the trip if I don’t go - so a valid point and the nub of the issue

Are you trying to do it before you turn 35 or something, or could it just wait til next year?

I assume you are single with no kids. Live a little and have a great time x

Just do it!

Really, life is short. There is a world out there - go and see some of it.

Dh and I felt this way a few years back. We had regular holidays but had not seen much of the world and wanted to do things like go on a safari, see Cambodia etc. in style and comfort. We worked out that if we each saved £40 per month and put this on top of our regular holiday savings we could afford to do a big trip every 3 years. We have done 3 of these trips now and are looking forward to a fourth ( not chosen where yet) later this year. I couldn't find this sort of money at short notice but this way it costs almost nothing from our income and we get to have a great time. The idea was suggested to me by two female colleagues who earned little more than minimum wage but who were off to South America trekking.

Before the OP said where the trip was too, several posters said £3k was a lot of money for 2.5 weeks for a single person.

I'm 44 and only been out of the UK twice and have been feeling some itchy feet. I considered going to New York and so far, having done a lot of research, flights and a reasonable (3* hotel) in March (which is cheaper than most of the year) is the best part of £1,000. That's before travel to and from airports, food, doing stuff once there. So, it would probably be the best part of £1500-2000 all told. For one week. So £3k for 2.5 weeks doesn't seem expensive.

£3k would be expensive if it was 2.5 weeks in Benidorm!

Thanks for all the posts. I think I just feel I’ve done the saving part for so so long - all my life really. Yes I could wait and clear the credit cards. And probably should. But no doubt I will fritter away similar amounts on smaller trips anyway and feed my excuse not to push the limits for once. I think I’ve made my mind up... (maybe I already had 🙈)

You can easily do five nights in Europe for less than £250, and that's in 4* hotels. Lower your standards and you can do it for less than £200.

What will you do if you don't get a balance transfer offer next time? You can't rely on them being available forever, they're not nearly as attractive as they used to be.

Not sure. I would use some savings to pay off more and then have to suffer the interest I guess until paid off!

@ShatnersWig You're comparing one of the most expensive cities in the world (for accommodation) with one of the cheapest regions.

Does it sound so appealing when you're stuck with a debt at 20% interest?

You're comparing one of the most expensive cities in the world (for accommodation) with one of the cheapest regions

That depends. We did a HK singapore trip and accommodation wasn’t cheap (although cheaper than NYC)

Shatner, pop over and visit me . It's not New York, but you don't have to go straight from 0 to 100mph!

Interest free often isn’t , you pay a % up front to then get interest free for x months. Some can be great as say 1.9% upfront for 48 months but some might be 9.9% for 12 months which is an expensive way to borrow. You have no incentive to mist off early as the % is added wether you borrow for 1 day or up to 4 years.

You might get a totally free balance transfer to another provider but you can’t be assured of this.