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[MSE Lawrence]

Poll between 22-30 June 2009

Should you go on holiday while in debt?

A family with total earnings of £35,000 has nearly £15,000 on a credit card (at 6.8% life of balance). They’re slowly chipping away at it, but are still five years off debt-free status.

Yet they haven’t been away for two years and are desperate for the guaranteed sun and a bit of the luxury of a foreign holiday, which would push off substantial repayments for a long time afterwards.

What would you suggest they do?

A. No holiday until debt free. Then life gets easier anyway. - 23% (3471 votes)
B. Camp in the UK. It’s dirt cheap but still a break. - 45% (6836 votes)
C. Cheap overseas break’s fine. After all the debts aren’t that costly. - 21% (3203 votes)
D. Time for a treat. After all they’ve been good for ages. - 10% (1520 votes)

Voting has now ended, but you can still click 'post reply' to discuss below. Thanks

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[Mozette]

In the current economic climate there is no way I would advise anyone to take a holiday.

It does depend on other factors to an extent - job security, mortgage etc, but on the whole; no. Get it paid off asap.

Being 'desperate' for ...whatever... was possibly what got them in debt in the first place

[skintas]

i need a holiday something tolook forward too, im amking al the payments every month, and i dont go out drinking or wasting my money so why cant i treat myslef to a cheap holiday

[Flickering Ember]

I'd say Option B. I never went abroad as a kid or had any fancy holidays and it didn't do me any harm.

However, there are other ways to get a free holiday, such as saving Clubcard vouchers, or earning and saving vouchers from online surveys, or even mystery shopping (been offered flights all over the world). Of course, they could also enter competitions to win a holiday...

Mind you, I'm now relying on my modest overdraft to pull me through the next few months, til I get a job or go back to university, and while I wouldn't pay for a fancy holiday or even a less fancy one overseas, I am going on 3 mini adventures in the UK this year (a day trip, a 2-day break and a 5-day break), which is more than ever. Saving Clubcard and Virgin vouchers for a real break next year.

[JimmyTheWig]

The answers got to be B. I'd say a £9.50 Sun holiday if they didn't fancy camping in the UK.

My response to the other answers...
A. A cheap holiday can be very cheap if you plan it right, so I think they can probably afford it.
C. The debts _are_ that costly. Even at the good rate they've got themselves, they're still throwing away £20 a _week_ in interest.
D. I agree the deserve a treat. A cheap UK holiday would be a treat.

[teddyco]

I have a better idea!

Under Labour, the average family now pays 10% more in taxes.

Solution, get rid of this crummy government, lower the taxes by 10% and use that money to pay off their credit card debt.

Imagine what all of us could do with 10% more in our bank account rather than in the hands of this wasteful government?

[jamtart6]

life's too short! I voted D

[blue35]

I think C!!!

[scotsbob]

I can well afford luxury foreign holiday but out of choice I still Youth Hostel. It's more fun and I make more friends in hostels than hotels

[Gigervamp]

Thee are loads of people who never have a holiday and they get by ok without.

A holiday is a luxury. It's not a necessity, no matter how much you think you *need* one. You'll live if you don't go away.

Use the time off work to go for cheap days out with the family. Spend a day at the park with a picnic, go to a PYO farm and stock up on fruit and veg (cheaper than buying it in a shop), spend another day teaching the kids how to cook/preserve the fruit and veg you've picked, go to the museums etc.

And if this family is on 35 grand a year, they shouldn't be in debt anyway.

[ceridwen]

I tend to agree with Gigervamp.

I'm not perfect - as, having spent 7/8? years without a holiday at one point I thought "darn it....I've had one HECK of a lot of hassle since my last holiday - so I'm having a holiday...even though I dont have the money for it". But - overall...my position is that I wont have a holiday unless I can afford it - which HAS meant that I have missed out on the VAST VAST majority of my holidays ever..particularly with being single (ie the dreaded "Single Supplement" that adds so much to the holiday costs of singles).

I've now moved back to the point that I was at 30 years ago (ie the 1970s) where I realized that airtravel is BAD for the environment and decided not to fly at all ever. I had a coupla lapses and went on holiday by plane 2?/3? times - as no-one else seemed to know and/or bother about this and I thought "whats the good of me doing my bit - if everyone else is being selfish/shortsighted? If you cant beat them...join them"...but now that I've had a combination of other people ARE now joining me in my 30 years old position on the one hand/ I've read up the health hazards of flying by plane anyway (rather toxic air to breathe - courtesy of economy measures by many airlines)/I cant stand the hassle involved in flying these days...I've given up flying again...this time for good..

So - its staycations for me anyway - until such time as I have enough time to spend days travelling by train to get to wherever it is I'm wanting to go to on the Continent.

[liz545]

I voted B - camping in the UK. I think for a lot of people, a holiday is a necessity. It's a chance to take a break from the everyday stresses and remind yourself why you're on the debt free journey. Being in debt can put a lot of strain on your family and your relationship, and without the odd treat to look forward to, it can damage your relationships. But they do need to change their definition of treat. It's about spending quality time, not money; and it goes without saying that they need to save the money for the holiday before spending it!

[SUESMITH]

camping, when we were at our poorest we took our 30 odd year old caravan and stayed in a cl for £3 a night for 6 of us. took most of our food with us and timed it so it went over payday so we would have a least a little bit extra to spend - biggest treat for the kids was a bought ice cream and they loved it. spending time together not luxury is what's important

[slow saver]

I'd go for "a" as the next thing you know is Xmas round the corner, best just to stay indoors, in the dark no drinking or smoking, eating budget food, hey then perhaps this labour govt. will be happy with us plebs!!

[pixwix]

No sense in going mad on expensive holidays when you're in debt.

But a cheap holiday - why not?

For me it really depends on where the debt came from. If it's a result of this recession, I'd say go for the holiday. Let's face it, the fat City !!!!!!!s who got us all into this mess are having a fine old time at our expense!

[WhyIsSavingSoHard]

If you're in debt, but paying it off at the agreed amount each month, in my opinion you are entitled to do what you like with what money you have left.

BUT, one thing I would not recommend is having a holiday on your credit cards thus adding to your debt.

There are lots of ways of having a debt free holiday. Saving up through the year is one of them and so is (as has already been said on here) having one of the cheap newspaper holidays. As far as I'm aware, you could even go to France doing that.

My sister's in debt and paying it off monthly (interest is frozen as long as she keeps up the re-payments), but she, her OH and 3 children have a holiday every year. They start saving for it as soon as they get back from one. Once they have enough money to pay for their half board accommodation, she keeps an eye on their website for the bargains to come up. This year they're taking Mum with them, so there'll be 3 adults and 3 children half board at Butlins, Mon-Fri for around £500. AND no debts because of it either.

BTW, I voted C as it was the nearest to what I've just said.

[jackieblack]

Originally Posted by Mozette

Being 'desperate' for ...whatever... was possibly what got them in debt in the first place

My thoughts exactly!

Our family earnings are nowhere near £35000 (I wish!) and are never likely to be but the only debt we owe is our mortgage because we just don't buy things we can't afford.
We have been lucky to have some lovely holidays in the last few years, by saving hard and going without other things. For us it's a question of priorities. Our priority for the next few years is showing DD a bit of the world before she's too old to want to come on holiday with Mum & Dad anymore, and to be able to do that we drive a 10 year old car and have put off home improvements such as new kitchen/bathroom, have an old tv, don't subscribe to 150 tv channels we'll never watch, etc etc etc

If they really need a holiday, and I completely accept that we all reach that point from time to time, they should do it the cheapest way possible ie camping, that's why I voted b.

[Sami_Bee]

I voted A but I'd say really it would be something between A and B really.
As a child I went on only 3 real holidays all of which were camping/caravan my parents couldn't afford more so we would visit family and friends for a week and have cheap days out. Spending time as a family is IMHO much more fun than a holiday that I would spend hiding in the shade because I'm so darn pale

[mdr86]

Hehe, I would just go camping in UK anyway!

[FairyElephant]

Sadly, camping in the UK is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be. You CAN still find basic sites which are reasonable, but they are getting much harder to find, and not all suitable for families with kids.

TBH, we used to go camping a lot, but in the last 2 or 3 years especially have found that it can be cheaper to grab a last-min break abroad if there are more than 2 of you going - mad as it sounds!

Many campsites seem OK when you first look at the price, but then there's often an extra charge per person for more than 2 people per unit, charge for awning or gazebo, charge for 'pup tent' if your tent is not big enough for all the kids as well... we've been quoted £50 per night for 2 adults & 3 kids at a site with just a few extra amenities (I'm not talking heated swimming pools & entertainment here either!).