I don't know if we've answered joeseptuk's question or not but it would appear that most of us who have replied are still in the fortunate position of being able to go on holiday without going into debt but I suspect that if I was reading this having just been made redundant or having my hours cut back or seen any chances of regular overtime rapidly disappearing I might being thinking 'All right for some' and be getting a bit fed-up with the mantra of 'if you can't afford it, don't go on holiday'. I don't think that any of us wanted to come over as being a bit sanctimonious about the dangers of going into debt - I know that I didn't - but when I re-read this thread from the beginning I realise that we haven't done perhaps what joeseptuk was hoping for.

By this I mean, where are the tips for anyone who's going to be struggling to fund their usual sort of holiday but is still wanting to provide their family with a holiday? After all, it is often in straitened, stressful times that families have an even greater need to get away and spend some relaxing quality time with each other. So how's about it? What suggestions do we have for how people can cut costs and get a holiday on a budget?

I suppose that my first suggestion is that if you usually book a package, you might surprise yourself by just how much cheaper a DIY can be. The really cheap flights for this summer''s school holidays wil have gone already but you might still get a reasonable deal for the October half-term. Or if you can fly from a Scottish airport in the last 2 weeks of August - all our kids will be back in school by then and prices fall dramatically for departures from Scottish airports. I've often done this in reverse - I can get to Newcastle without too much hassle and flights in July (after the Scottish holidays have started but before the English ones) are much cheaper from there comapred to Edinburgh.

Or do you live somewhere that others might want to holiday in? I live in a little seaside golfing town and whilst I've never done it myself, friends regularly do houseswaps. For them this has the double advantage that they've often never had to pay kennel fees for their dog either - they have always been able to swap with a family that also has pets and part of the deal is that they each look after the the other family's pets. Yes, it can tie them down but it enables them to keep the costs down and the saving on keenl fees makes a big difference to the amount of spending money they have whilst away. One of their best swaps was with the Norwegian family who were really keen walkers and golfers and wanted a base for a three week trip to Scotland and were willing to not only swap their main home on the coast but included their holiday home complete with boat on lake up in the mountains and the use of the family car to get there!

And whenever the Open is held in our town, many families let their homes for the week and use the proceeds to go away on holiday thmeselves at the same time. Last time the going rate for a family home of reasonable standard was £500 per bed space per week for any house that was within walking distance of the course. My neighbours (whose kids have now left home) didn't feel comfortable leaving strangers in their house so they did B&B instead - they slept in on the bed settee in their living room/kitchen and rented out all three bedrooms to a group of 3 French couples who were friends. Hard work yes, but they used the money to completely re-decorate and re-furbish their house but it would equally have paid for a very decent holiday instead.

And as for saving for the holiday, how about investigating if there is a Credit Union in your neighbouhood or workplace? Unlike banks they'll let you set aside comparatively small amounts each week without getting 'sniffy' and whilst they won't pay you a lot of interest, they won't charge you a lot either if you do ever do need a loan. Once you've been a member and have made 20 consecutive payments establishing your savings record, most CUs will allow you to have a loan of up to 20 times your regular payment and will charge a much lower rate of interest than the banks and way below what a credit card loan will cost. Yes, it is never a good idea to get in over your head but a family holiday can be a lifesaver for many people and the unfair thing about the way the banking system works is that those who often have the greatest need of being able to get an emergency loan are the ones who end up paying the most for it. I just wish that Credit Unions had been around when I was a child - my mother was very 'savvy' when it came to money but more importantly my father was in secure employment even if it was relatively low-paid - but neighbouring families weren't in the same position with breadwinners working as casual labour on the Liverpool docks and seemed to always be paying off the 'Provie Man'. Being part of a Credit Union could have made all the difference to them.

So over to the rest of you - what are your ideas for how to still get a family away on holiday despite money being tight?

SM

Great post,SMa,I personally think that all working people should be entitled to a holiday of some sort.We used to be on a tight budget and so had holidays with friends or family,sometimes using a credit card to help out,we are now lucky enough to be able to afford 2 or 3 holidays a year.Your idea of house swapping is good,especially if it means not having to pay kennel or cattery fees.Our 2 dogs cost a fortune to put in kennels,and we get cheaper rates because they go in a run together.Hope other people help with your ideas for cheap holidays.

With getting married and moving house last year, we had to save up a fair amount of money in a short time. One of the things that worked for us was actually looking at what we were spending our money on. If you have online banking, you should be able to download your transactions for the past year in some way. Put them in a spreadsheet and categorise them in a way which suits you - e.g. Bills, Petrol, Food, Clothing etc. It didn't take me long to work out that we were spending far too much money on things like clothes and eating out! We also switched our gas and electricity and looked for cheaper deals on insurance etc. Even small things like borrowing books from friends or from the library, buying clothes from charity shops and having one less takeaway can soon add up.

It didn't take me long to work out that we were spending far too much money on things like clothes and eating out!

Snap!

I had got into the routine of eating out frequently with a group of friends which can soon add up so I started to invite them round to my house instead. I wouldn't call them 'dinner parties' - last time I served up sausages and mash! But I provide a simple main course, someone else provides a nibbles type cold starter and a couple of others bring along a dessert so that there is a choice. And each couple brings a bottle. So it costs nobody very much but we have a real good old natter around my big dining table in a much more relaxed setting than most restaurants and nobody is mentally calculating what the bill is going to come to. The only downside is the washing up now that the dishwasher has packed up (and I'm not replacing it until I've made up my mind about the kitchen makeover!) but I just 'scrape and stack' and tackle it in the morning!

Similarly, when I added up over a whole year what I'd spent on relatively cheap clothes - but a lot of them - I resolved to start buying fewer things but better quality. And that ended up saving me money to because it results in far fewer impluse buys because it makes me weigh up much more whether I really need something or not and, once bought, good quality clothes last so much longer anyway so need replacing far less frequently. And a fair bit of that quality clothing has been bought in charity shops - though at the behest of my nieces I'm learning to say that I now shop for 'vintage' clothes

SM

PS Charity shops a great source for cheap books and I usually find recent novels there at a knockdown price before my name comes to the top of the library waiting list.

We are lucky in that we can afford to go on holiday without going into debt - but we choose not to have other luxuries. We drive an old banger of a car, we very rarely go out, we buy new clothes twice a year and that's IT, we don't drink much and we don't have expensive hobbies - like football matches, the cinema etc etc.

We sound very dull don't we?

I think for some it is a matter of priorities. Some would rather smoke and drink and go out every weekend in new clothes but then struggle when it comes to paying for a holiday. We have the holidays but not the other things - it's horses for courses.

In previous years we *have* struggled to pay for holidays and have put them on credit and paid them back afterwards but I wouldn't recommend it. I was very resentful of having to pay for something after the fact and wouldn't do it again.

I think if we were struggling to pay for it this year I would take in extra work at the weekends -maybe take on doing people's ironing or working in a pub and send Mr out to mow lawns and wash cars. We would find a way to do it - our holidays are very precious to us.

We pay the deposit and then either pay a monthly amount online or pop in to the travel agents to pay some of the cost. We always have our hols paid for before the due by date. I am in a sharesave scheme at work and have a sharesave maturing every summer, this gives us our spending money.

I think SMa's post was actually very good..and made me think of things I had never thought of before. I certainly did not want to come across as being up mesen..beleive me, we have to save hard for our holidays...we saved for a whole year to go to The Maldives, only for it to be cancelled by the holiday company with 11 days left to go...but I digress.

I think it depends how people define holidays and what you want out of them. I noticed "The Sun" is doing it's £9.50 token holiday and other offers for slightly more at various holiday camps both here and in Europe. Going to have a dabble at that mesen. Never one to pass up a bargain. Our paper often offers "saver" offers for weeks away at Butlins or somewhere quite cheaply and some bus tour companies where we live have a savers club for thier holidays abroad..obviously it is a coach journey to Spain or Italy or France rather than train or plane. This works out cheaper and the cost can be spread over the course of how long.

I wouldnt go into debt for a holiday and if we couldnt afford it, we wouldnt be able to go. Its that simple. We may take advantage of the low deposit offers (just to secure the holiday we want) and then pay the remainder of the deposit when due. The balance is always paid on the very final due date but mainly because whilst the money is in my bank, im earning what little interest there is available on it rather than the TO! A holiday once a year is important to us, especially hubby who works so hard throughout the year not only in his day job, but ferrying us around and for him, its a chance to completely chill out. We are lucky though, hubby's job is safe enough at the moment and there is enough work for him to take overtime - whether Saturdays or as is the case for the next few weeks, 12 hr shifts. Tough going, but the extra money is worth it and this will pay the bulk of our holiday this year. We only manage 1 holiday a year, but we do make the most of it .

always pay thefull deposit regardless of low deposit schemes, in the past i have paid so much off each month , but for the last few years i pay the balance when due date is near, money might as well be in my account than thomson's or thomas cooks

SMa wrote:

. Or if you can fly from a Scottish airport in the last 2 weeks of August - all our kids will be back in school by then and prices fall dramatically for departures from Scottish airports. I've often done this in reverse - I can get to Newcastle without too much hassle and flights in July (after the Scottish holidays have started but before the English ones) are much cheaper from there comapred to Edinburgh.
SM

Or there is the direct rail link from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport.

What I do is use the money that would be spent otherwise on going to Away football matches plus have a cash shopping budget. Any left overs from that (and it does add up also gets saved)

hi all.....think we all have our own way of getting there....by hook or by crook....and when things get tougher I start sorting out my priorities....my must haves from my dont really neeeds or wont do any harm doing without......I work a stressful as well as physicaly tireing job ....have son with aspergers and a teenage son at home....so need my yearly hols and its high on my list of priorities...

I dont smoke....so that helps
I dont go out for meals ect ....am a home bug
Do my own hair and my eldest lad and dads (teenager insists on the hairdressers).....so save on this
I buy things when they are on offer and keep a stock in....so save this way
Am careful with gas and electric phone ect....despite the moans
I put a set amount in a savings account each week for holidays ....so dont get used to it in family budget

But last year decided there were no hols for 2011....needed catch up with things needing doing on house...then friend asked could our families go on hols together in 2011....OH and lads really wanted to go and so I agreed.....so drastic measures were needed if house to get sorted too....heres what I did

Booked last sept for aug this year....got great deal booking early

We agreed to share an 8 berth luxury lodge with our friends....so we all saved money on accomodation

We are coaching it and getting 1 child fare free and 1 half price..... more money saved

I was working all over christmas as was my shifts....so extra pay this month will go in holiday account

Decided not to spend a lot on christmas and cut it to the bones, .....so no big after christmas bills

Have shocked my teenager by saying no and meaning it when asked for extra cash ....told him he has to live within his own pocket money budget....so no extra visits to the bank mid week for a top up of cash......those £1 £2 £3 and fivers they take for granted add up....now its adding up in the bank instead

I am expecting loans to dad to be paid back ..... no more saying it dont matter ...now it does

Thinking Im getting voted out next family elections.....there may be a lads and dads co-ilision in instead...but I am on track for my hols......tweetie

I am currently saving up for my holiday, putting a wee bit away each week.

We are getting by ok at the moment. Over the last 2 years hubby and I have had a new system. We spend mostly his money, and save mostly mine that way if he's out of cash then we don't go out e.t.c. By saving mine we have money in the bank and we can also (at the moment) afford holidays and weekends away.

I must admit, i found the tone on here a little smug. The people who say they never get in to debt for holidays are admirable, but sometimes life is not as straightforward as all that.
While i admire people who are able to save for everything and anything,-, i have to say that sometimes it's great to be spontanious,- go for that meal you cant really afford, or order that expensive bottle of wine on the menu.
I think like would be extremely dull otherwise

The people who say they never get in to debt for holidays are admirable, but sometimes life is not as straightforward as all that.

I would say that it is in most cases. I can't think of one instance where I'd go into debt to pay for a holliday and no I'm not 'loaded'. I don't know about people being smug Suncatcher, I'd call it being sensible and getting your priorities right. Although I love my holidays as much as the next person, it is a 'want' rather than a 'need'. I would certainly forestall a holiday in order to pay a bill or I wouldn't sleep easy in my bed. I was brought up to know that if you want anything in life you have to pay for it.

Althought at present we are in the fortunate position of having more than one holiday a year, there is no guarantee that this will last. If we won't be able to pay for a holiday - then we won't have one! We didn't go abroad until our youngest was 11 and eldest 13. Instead we went caravanning or camping in this country. We took our own food, which I didn't mind cooking, and ate out very rarely. The point was, we got to spend some chill out time as a family. Some of our best holidays when the kids were small, were on a small little caravan park in the cotswolds, and in a tent on the Isle of Wight.

suncatcher wrote:

........it's great to be spontanious,- go for that meal you cant really afford, or order that expensive bottle of wine on the menu.

... but there is a big difference with having a meal and/or a bottle of wine and buying a holiday. If I couldnt afford to save then book a holiday then I wouldnt go, its that simple. We only get one holiday a year and hubby works all the hours he can get so we can do it, often working 60 hour weeks and only seeing us for a couple of hours a day. Its our choice for him to do that, and yes its not nice, but to get a fortnight/10 days away is worth it. No way would I ever go into debt for the sake of a week away. Thats not being smug, its being sensible.

I agree with shirley. I was brought up with the philosophy of ' if you can't afford it you do without it'.
We haven't always been able to afford foreign holidays or even a holiday of any sort. At the moment we are fortunate, like helen, to be able to afford more than one a year but who knows what will happen next week, year or month!!!

I have always said that everyone should have a week away every year paid for by the government but until hell freezes over I think you have to 'cut your cloth according to your means'.

Isn't going for a meal or ordering an expensive bottle of wine you can't afford,the way to get yourself in to debt? I am not at all smug,if I couldn't afford a holiday[and there have been times when I couldn't] I wouldn't go but that's just me choosing to be responsible I suppose.