Taking a holiday when in debt?

Anastacia

bigmuffins wrote:

Sorry but I don't thing anyone 'deserves' anything that they cannot pay for!
.

Not big on human rights then i guess ?

Sparkle Monkey
Am I correct in thinking you will have almost cleared your debts by the end of your contract & the £3000 mentioned is the amount of your tax rebate not what you intend to spend on travelling ?
Maybe you could discuss with your dad whether he minds waiting until November for the repayment ?
If you owed an unmanageable amount then i wouldnt encourage you but the truth is you are getting through your debt really quickly & you are expecting a lump sum which would finish it off & so you have a debt free date in place, which wouldnt be radically changed by your travels.
I think it makes sense to go now not once you are back on the UK career ladder & who knows what it could lead to in your life.
Go ! and have a lovely time.

Panda

sparkle_monkey

Thanks for the recommendation lynzpower, sounds amazing! I can understand why you want to get back there, tbh I hadn't thought of Venezuala before.

sparkle_monkey

Hi Panda, Well it's not as good as it looks because I only have 3 paychecks left to get rid of all the debt and save enough money to go and cover all the costs of returning to uk.
I think I've reconciled myself to not going, I just don't know the best way to approach it with my mate. Because the remaining debt won't be that high I think she'll try and convince to me to just go anyway. I think it was ms_london who said about the freedom of not having to worry about debt when away and this is the kind of trip I'd like. I've never taken a trip without using the credit card at least a couple of times so I've no experience of that feeling!
Any suggestions re my friend? She's never known me to be careful with money but I've paid off £7,000 since I saw her in August so my spending habits must've changed!

Anastacia

Ah, not quite so good. I was thinking 5 & that you probably only owed a few hundred by then & that dad wouldnt mind waiting a bit ( i would for my kids ).

You might still need a CC for a few things, car hire & that sort of thing,but the difference is paying it off as soon as the bill comes.

Gish, they really must have, thats really good. Hopefully you'll inspire her but other than that I am not sure. Often these things come to you when they do not when people try to convience you.

Enjoy yourself, whatever you do

Panda

ms_london

sparkle_monkey wrote:

Hi Panda, Well it's not as good as it looks because I only have 3 paychecks left to get rid of all the debt and save enough money to go and cover all the costs of returning to uk.
I think I've reconciled myself to not going, I just don't know the best way to approach it with my mate. Because the remaining debt won't be that high I think she'll try and convince to me to just go anyway. I think it was ms_london who said about the freedom of not having to worry about debt when away and this is the kind of trip I'd like. I've never taken a trip without using the credit card at least a couple of times so I've no experience of that feeling!
Any suggestions re my friend? She's never known me to be careful with money but I've paid off £7,000 since I saw her in August so my spending habits must've changed!

I think that you should wait. If you go when you are debt free you can spend all of the money on what you like rather than feeling as though you shouldnt be spending it & hanging on to some money for when you get back. It wont be long before you are debt free. Your friend might not understand, but thats probably because she wont feel as though she could go on her own (or perhaps I'm wrong) - its your life, do what you want. xx

Broken_hearted

The sad fact in life is that most people are never debt free.

sparkle_monkey

luckily ms_london she is already traveling on her own, in New Zealand - a bit different from South America but I'm sure she will still go on her own.
I just feel stupid that I said yes and now have to let her down.
Instead of planning the trip I'm sat here looking at job sites, welcome to reality!

tesuhoha

Would she not be willing to wait for you for a few months. Could you not explain to her that you have decided that you dont want to be in debt all your life and you would like to take the trip after you have cleared what you owe. You could say that it wont take very long and then give her a date which you will definitely be able to make. Sorry if ive missed something about your friend but i havent got time to read all this thread. Ive read most of it last night but cant remember all the details about your friend.

sparkle_monkey

Thank you Hester, you said it perfectly. I know the lightbulb's not happened because I'm trying to reward my partial debt repayment with spending more money! I'm hoping I will feel better in the UK as I'm just quite isolated here. Japanese people definitely DON'T talk about financial concerns.
Tesuhoha - thanks for your suggestion, unfort my friend is on a sabbatical and has to be back at work before I will be able to afford to go.

tesuhoha

Could you not then, pay off your other debts and ask your dad to wait? You could go on your trip without worrying. He knows you intend to pay him because you have paid off so much already. If you explain your predicament to him, he will perhaps understand your wish to go now. I dont think its such a good idea for girls to travel alone and you will enjoy yourself much more if you have a companion.