Holidays - are you really in poverty if you can't afford one?

crutches

having been so poor that i've counted out the bus fare in coppers to go to town to sell books to pay for food for us all,chopped up furniture to burn and stayed in bed because its too cold to get up I consider a holiday a want not a need!
however perhaps what people need is a "rest" from cooking,cleaning,financial worry, poor housing etc? Most people cannot afford 24hr relief from that!

freebie_junkie

yeah i agree- thats what my hol will be a bit of a break from all of the surroundings taht fuel my condition.

bonnie_2

i should imagine that most people who go to these luxurious resorts, are courtesy of bank loans and credit cards how many would save up and pay for them.
i hate having nothing but then i looks at all these snobby people going on about their lastest holiday,car and gadgets and wonder how much debt there in.

Prudent

I do love going on holiday, but wouldn't consider myself in poverty if I couldn't.

My first 'proper' holiday (not just visiting friends) as a single parent was a two night break to a travelodge in a local city.
The room cost £5.00 per night on fiver frenzy deal, so £10 total. I think we got that back simply in the free newspapers, shampoo, tea, milk etc provided.
The first night had a picnic meal brought from home and then used some cinema tickets I had won for a free trip to the cinema. Went to Macdonalds afterwards for donughts and coffee. The next day we visited the local pool and a wildlife park (freebie tickets from internet). Lunch and tea that night bought from tescos using mainly coupons. We had a girly night in the second time and did facials etc with Boots coupon freebies. Day 2 we visited free attractions. Daughter was 10 and it was perfect for her.

I think that even with petrol the break didn't cost much over £20, and it was great fun. I was really struggling financially at the time and felt proud of our break.

freebie_junkie

bonnie wrote:

i should imagine that most people who go to these luxurious resorts, are courtesy of bank loans and credit cards how many would save up and pay for them.
i hate having nothing but then i looks at all these snobby people going on about their lastest holiday,car and gadgets and wonder how much debt there in.

when i was little my mum and dad were mates with this other married couple who seemed to have eyerything we had a semi and one small car and went on caravan holidays to wales, me and my sister didnt have branded clothes and only got big presents (like toys etc) for christmas and birthdays (we might have gotten sweets or soemthign small at teh weekend as a treat) but tehy had three cars, (an austin martin, a range rover and usually another), a huge detatched house and they went abroad every year twice, their two girls had designer clothes despite both being under 10 and tehy a bedroom each full of toys plus a play room bursting to teh seams, and i was laways really jealous till i was older

i found out that my parents owned their home outright (no mortgagae) and teh other family? the mum said to me "we dont own one brick of taht house" they were living on credit, the "never never"

i grew up to believe in work first, buy second. my holiday isnt bought on credit and neither is any of my furniture. everything i have i can be proud to own.

shelly

SammyD wrote:

I read this week that one in three families are in poverty because they cannot afford a one week holiday once a year...is it just me, or does anyone else find this definition of poverty a bit strange?

I find it more than strange.....I find it ridiculous!!


Our last "big" holiday was a week in Spain in 2002. Last year we went to Torquay for 4 days. I would never consider us to be in poverty just because we haven't holidayed every year. We haven't been abroad for nearly 4 years purely because there were other things we wanted more. We were saving up to pay off our mortgage early and had an extension built on to our house.

These days people have more important things to do with their hard earned £££'s.

jo_b_2

If I chose to work full-time, then I would be able to afford one or even two holidays per year, as it is I've chosen to work part-time so that I can spend more time at home with my three year old son.

I would rather have a better quality of life overall than work long hours just to pay for holidays! And I would never consider going into debt for the sake of a holiday.

We are getting married over Easter and our honeymoon will be three nights in Scotland. Are we officially poor because we can't afford the full week?

freebie_junkie

how could you enjoy teh holiday with the thought of that credit card bill waiting on your mat when you got home?!

calleyw

As has been said poverty to me means not having clean decent clothes on your back note I did not say designer names. Going to bed hungry every night. Being scared to put the heating on because you know you can't afford to pay the bill when it comes it.

Having a holiday away from home is a luxury. Growing up I had one holiday with my parents as my dad if a farmer so going away was not easy. We had plently of day trips. I had my first aboard holiday about two years ago and that was a huge push the boat out for us as we to OZ for three week. Loved every minute and was worth every penny we had saved and both worked hard for it. Got married on the cheap and had a 3 day honeymoon a few years before as we could not afford anything else at the time. And we lived in a tiny little one bedroom flat to save as much money as we could.

Poverty means many things to many different people. And we all make choices. Some of smoke, some of us drink. Some of have wide screen TV's up to the minute gadets like MP3 players etc.

To me being rich in life and experiences out weighs any material goods hands down. Expectations are way more than when I was young (I am only 33 by the way)I mean I don't even own a tv. Am I poor because of that. No, I believe that I rich as I am not dicatated to by a piece of electronics that sits in the corner of the room. As sad as it sounds my husband and I do things like play board games and go for walks and read books.

Yours


Calley

sarahlouise210

last year we had one week in Cornwall ...mainly because I felt really guilty that my DD`s friends were having holidays right left and centre and she did not seem to go further than Sainsburys... anyway,, the caravan was £800 for the week (grrrrr summer holiday prices) then we had to pay for the inevitable costs of days out when we got there..food..etc etc. It ended up costing an absolute fortune and TBH was a strain to enjoy. Sad but true. In years gone by (previous relationship..more money)we have gone to Florida..now I cannot compete with that. I hope that my children will realise that the places we go and things we do that cost little money but give them memorable life experiences are worth so much more than the expected annual holiday.