I never take a holiday on credit, nor would I delay any bill payments. If I can't pay up front I would rather not go away as I would hate to be in debt. I pay both the deposit and balance on the due dates and use my credit card solely to get Tesco points When I get my statement I always pay it in full.

My spends come straight out of my bank account with money I've frugally saved.

Same here,Shirley. We would never take a holiday on credit. If we couldn't afford it,we wouldn't go,simple as that. I certainly wouldn't delay paying any bills,I wouldn't be able to sleep!

We save up. We don't do holidays on tic. If we cant afford it, we dont go.

same here we pay deposit then balance when its due. pay it on credit card but pay it of when bill comes in only use credit card for protection.
hope to have 3 hols this year march just me and hubby for our wedding anniversary, august to zante for our family holiday( i,ve already booked that one) and like to go in october as well to get some last minute sun before xmas.
love my hols. me and hubby have good jobs so can afford it, and two of my three kids dont come anymore so that makes it cheaper.
never would go into dept for a holiday though just not worth it for 2 weeks.
regards tracey

well, I booked and paid in full for my two hols for this year in september ( in anticipation of the airline tax happening in nov ) like everyone, I saved hard for these and am so glad we got something to look forward to this 2011 if the government are telling us that this is gonna be a proper tough year, thank the lord for a few weeks of forgetting yer troubles

I have paid on my credit card in the past but can now afford to pay up front,luckily.I love my holidays and try to have 2 or 3 each year,I can understand people who work all year needing a holiday and if the only way they can afford it is to get credit then as long as they don't overstretch themselves I say good luck.

We pay the deposit on the day we book. Then every week I pay so much off it online, or by going into our Travel Agents. That way it is paid for well before the due date for the balance and we can then put that money away for our spending money whilst away

Hi Debbie,didn't realise you could pay off some each week in Travel agents,is that by special arrangement or can anybody do it?

I have 'regular savings' bank account that is just for holidays - I have a standing order set up which transfers a regular amount into it each month from the cheque account that my salary is paid into. I have in recent years been able to afford to increase the amount each year but as a public sector worker my salary is going to be frozen this year so might not be able to do that this time.

However, in conjunction with this I have also managed the financing of most of my big Cuban trips by taking out a new credit card with a decent 'interest free' period for purchases on it just before booking. I then set-up a direct debit for the minimum monthly payment and make sure that I am transferring enough into the holiday account each month so that I will be able to pay off the remaining balance in full as the interest free period comes to an end. The savings account doesn't pay that much interest but at least I do get something this way! The important thing to remember is to never, ever use the card for any other purpose.

However, I suspect that this won't be something that I'll necessarily be able to continue doing - the chances are that it won't be so easy to acquire new cards in the future and/or they'll only offer quite low credit limits. I'm currently closing all the 'dormant' cards that are no longer in use, having never used them once the balance was paid off at the end of the interest free period in case that will make a difference. Can't say that I think that the change is unjustified - it came as such a shock to me when I totted up the combined credit limits on all the cards I have (including the store cards taken out to get the 10% discount on big purchases and the paid off in full from savings in the first month)and realised that they added up to over £50,000! I'm in a decently paid job but even so, this is more than my gross annual salary - how on earth did they think I'd ever pay them off if I had maxed them all out to the limit?

SM

Hi Debbie,didn't realise you could pay off some each week in Travel agents,is that by special arrangement or can anybody do it?

Hi Oscarben, we have always done this for years and years. We have used First Choice for the last six years for booking all our holidays and they are more than happy for you to do this. Lots of my friends do the same thing as well

I have also done it with Thomas Cook before as well Just go in and ask and you should find that they will accomodate you

We pay the deposit when we book, the balance on the date it is due. Deposit by card, bill paid in full when it arrives. Balance by debit card or whichever method does not attract any booking fees or card charges.
If at the time of booking the holiday we couldn't afford to pay for it in full and cover spends etc we wouldn't book.
Cuba in March, which we paid for just after Xmas - ouch! and I am just going to book flights on line for Lanzarote in September and transfer deposit for villa.

No way would we go into debt for a holiday. Hubby would come over all unnecessary at the thought of it

I booked this years summer holiday last August, literally as soon as we'd got off the plane from our holiday last year I couldn't wait to fly off somewhere again! I had caught the holiday bug!. I pay something off each month every payday. The full balance is due by May but I will be all paid up by March. I will then have ample time to save for Euros, new clothes, toiletries etc by August. It will all have been done by cash too.

We both work and gave up smoking over a year ago, we very rarely go out and much prefer to stay in. We might go for a pub meal with the kids once every month or two months but we are the homely kind and would rather be at home. We have also cut back on takeaways, visiting pizza places etc and will only have one as a treat now and then. We don't visit cinemas or go bowling anymore due to the extortionate price they charge, it would only for be for a birthday treat now if the kids wanted. It is shocking to think how much could be spent for a family of four to do these things every week or month!

I hope I don't come across as a tight boring git but I do know that for 2012 there will be no holiday abroad for us and we will just make do with a week away somewhere in the UK. But I feel lucky that we have been able to go abroad this year and last year and it has all been paid for in cash. I wish we could go abroad every year but I work in a school and have to holiday when the prices are at the highest. I am also realistic that our income just wouldn't allow a holiday abroad every year and all the other things we want to do, we like to go for two weeks and it is so much money. We want to build up our savings, I would like a newer car, the bedroom needs decorating, new patio set wanted.........the list goes on.

It would be nice to have it all but you have to be realistic and live within your means. Putting a holiday on credit just isn't worth it. Your holiday will be fantastic but it will quickly come and go and the debt will still be there unless you can pay that balance off in full.

Pretty much the same as everyone else - If I can't afford to go away simply - I don't. I don't possess a credit card just a debit card that's just a personal way of living. My Holiday in March has just been paid for and looking forward to already. Would like to think I might go away again later in the year - if the pennies allow then I will if they don't then home will be good enough.

I used to work for one of the big travel companies and got some really good concessions. We used to go on holiday every 12 weeks or so and had lots of holidays rather than 1 big one like a lot of the others used to do. I liked to make my 1500GBP go the whole way!

We were perfectly happy to use the concession to cover part of the cost rather than all of it and only paid 33% of the basic holiday package using charter flights. Even so, we may have decided it was better to let the phone bill run over for another month or delay paying the car tax etc....

I hated the way we lived in UK, always just working to keep a roof over our head and not much of anything else. Holidays were our escape from the day to day routine and as far as I'm concerned life is for living and let's deal with the rest later....

Now, I'm living in Cyprus and have been for almost 7yrs. We sold the house in UK and now rent a 3 bedroom bungalow about 10 mins drive from the sea and live on our earnings with no difficulty. We bought 2 vehicles, have no need for the latest "must haves" that seemed to always be required in UK and pay all our bills on time - as well as taking a holiday each year.

I've just booked a few days in Malta to surprise my parents whilst they are there on holiday this February out of a very nice bonus I got on Christmas Eve.

I may be the odd one out going off the above posts but it just goes to show, it can be done.

Never booked a holiday yet that I could not pay for. I would like it if the TOs ould offer me a discount for paying the full amount at time of booking rather than the present sytem of deposit and balance. I do however know people who are still paying for the last holiday when taking the next.

fwh

We pay the full deposit at time of booking, even if a low deposit is offered, and pay in full just a week or so before the due date. I use my Tesco Credit Card for protection and points, but pay it off in full when the bill arrives. I wouldn't feel happy having a holiday on credit, as I'd be terrified in case something would happen and I wouldn't be able to pay.

I would never book a holiday I couldn't afford to pay for immediately out of one month's salary. I do use a credit card for bookings, simply for the protection this offers - which was useful when I had flights booked with an airline which went bust. The credit card bill is paid in full immediately it comes in, and the card earns me points for free nights in hotels.

So far for my holidays booked for 2011 - flights to France are paid in full for end Feb, but I still need accommodation. This will be paid in full when I find somthing to book. My flight to Krakow in May is already paid, deposit is paid on acommodation there and balance for this will be paid in full in Feb. Deposit paid on a week AI at end June in Majorca - balance will be paid in full when it is due in March. Currency will be bought just before I go on each of these trips, out of my monthly salary. I still have another trip to book for November, and will do that soon I suspect.

I would never defer a bill to go on holiday, or leave a debt on a credit card. I suppose I am lucky in that I do earn a salary which allows me to pay for holidays without going into debt, and without having to give up on anything else. I do love going away!

I would never defer a bill to go on holiday, or leave a debt on a credit card.

Same here Meerkat, I would never be able to sleep easy.

I suppose I am lucky in that I do earn a salary which allows me to pay for holidays without going into debt, and without having to give up on anything else. I do love going away!

I agree that you are lucky. I suspect that you are in the minority (in today's financial climate) that can afford lots of holidays without having to sacrifice anything. Neither hubby or I have a great salary but we are able to afford 3 weeks abroad and one or two weekends away each year. This is mainly due to the fact that neither of us are smokers, we never go out (be it drinking, for meals, cinema etc) and our sons are now adults so don't need our financial support.

Luckily for us, we are both quite happy to be at home, knowing that we can look forward to our little jaunts away

I think we are lucky too really..our holidays are not taken without sacrifice..ie: we have to save up..and when we went to the Maldives ( or didn't go as it turned out) we saved for nearly a year.

We have a savings account that we transfer money into every payday ..when it comes to the holiday, we pay the deposit on the debit card and transfer the money over back into the current account. We pay the balance in full using the same method about 8 weeks before we go.
If we are booking a holiday any later than that..the cash is already in the bank and it is a case of book it, pay it, pack it..get gone!

The savings account is also used for the spends.

Generally, we like to have at least 2 holidays a year and a few weekends diving. Sometimes we are lucky and can afford 3..but it depends on the holiday cost and how much work we have had in the meantime. Like Shirley..we don't smoke but we do like a drink. We simply stay in and both of us work overtime.