2011 Make or break time

peaceandfreedom

the_harrys wrote: »

DD1 came home tonight with details of a ski trip for next year which of course and of course "all her friends are going" - it is £1350!! I don't know how a school (a normal state school) can justify even trying to plan such an expensive trip and expect parents to pay so much, especially in this economic climate.

Our perfectly normal state school runs a ski trip every year too and it is also prohibitively expensive - certainly a good 50% or more of the cost of a family holiday for all of us. None of mine have ever been on the ski trip. As well as the vast cost, I'm afraid I don't see it as in any way educational. To be honest, I think it's a bit of a jolly for the teachers (though I know they work extremely hard when they're on the trip, absolutely no rest at all).

I prefer to pay for my kids to go on trips that might just be useful as well as fun - like a French trip to Paris (costing around £400).

millionaire_in_training

:o my dd went on a ski trip with her school. Was £750 so not as bad as yours would be. My mum helped me out with it i.e. paid half . DD saved her pocket money and aunties etc gave her some money too. £1350 is absolutely shocking though

the_harrys

That was kind of your Mum. I know it would be a great opportunity for DD but I think that a ski trip to Europe in a 2*/ 3* accommodation (instead of to the USA in a 4* hotel) would have been just as fun for a lot less money so many more families might have been able to afford it.

Good news from the taxman (that's a first!)- my OH has overpaid his tax so we are due a rebate of a few hundred- that can go straight off the debt when we get it.

I must get started on the diet- my biggest jeans are digging into me as I write and I have nothing to wear. Day 1- 29 lbs to go. If I lose 2-3lbs a week I could be gorgeous by the kids' May half term so I can actually enjoy being on the beach with them.

the_harrys

Can anyone tell me how to subscribe to a thread?
I can't seem to find it and keep losing the diaries I look at (including mine ).

chevalier

If you look under thread tools at the top right of the thread, subscribe is on the drop down menu there.

As for having wealthy parents and sister, who expect you to do everything they do, the thing to learn is not to put the family first - ie the one you were born into, but to put the family you have born yourself first instead.

this is a very hard thing to do and practice. It is about accepting that you are now an adult with responsibilities, not someones daughter or sister, doing what they say.

I don't mean this in a harsh way, but it is very easy to stay in the roles you have been assigned in families and not change them.

So this event in April, is it just a get together, or is it a wedding or whatever? If the former, then just say sorry you aren't availble as you feel you should not take time off when your jobs aren't secure. 'So sad we have to do this but in the economic climate....... I am sure you understand' and then keep on saying it and keep on and keep on .....

Or just be blunt, and say sorry we can't afford it, and no we aren't just saying this, we really can't afford it. We are still paying for the Christmas that we all had. And we couldn't afford that either.

Good luck families suck sometimes!
chev

the_harrys

Found it- thanks Chev.

The "event" is a birthday- trouble is we are expected to go away to an expensive hotel to celebrate and do expensive activites, and often it is overseas (not this one though) so we also have airfares x 5. They just don't do average- it is not on their radar. I have been avoiding for the last couple of weeks as my parents are overseas but are due back soon so I must face up to it soon.

peaceandfreedom

the_harrys wrote: »

The "event" is a birthday- trouble is we are expected to go away to an expensive hotel to celebrate and do expensive activites, and often it is overseas (not this one though) so we also have airfares x 5. They just don't do average- it is not on their radar. I have been avoiding for the last couple of weeks as my parents are overseas but are due back soon so I must face up to it soon.

Just say NO. You've got to do it, learn to say no to these big occasions you can't afford. Think of the better uses you could put that money to. Be strong. :cool2:

millionaire_in_training

Poor you. Must be difficult thinking about this. I am very lucky that my mum helps me out but I have also had to have 'the conversation' with her at times as she will make barbed comments about things. i.e what a shame ds doesn't have latest trainers,, clothes etc. I just told her my purse does not stretch to that type of thing and if it bothered her so much then she could wire in and buy them for him :rotfl:. Sometimes she does .

I didn't realise that the ski trip was in USA!! That's just ridiculous and totally alienates the kids who are less fortunate in the school. Disgusting to be honest. Maybe the school just dont want to provide these trips and are pricing everyone out of the market. They can then say they offered but no-one took it up. Just a thought.

Good news from HMRC

peaceandfreedom

millionaire_in_training wrote: »

I didn't realise that the ski trip was in USA!! That's just ridiculous and totally alienates the kids who are less fortunate in the school. Disgusting to be honest. Maybe the school just dont want to provide these trips and are pricing everyone out of the market. They can then say they offered but no-one took it up. Just a thought.

To be fair to the schools, the ski trips usually take place in the Easter holidays. This year, Easter is very late which means that the European resorts may not actually have much snow. Places in the US like Colorado are more likely to have decent snow late in the season.

Also, thanks to the low value of the pound against the Euro last year when these trips were booked, the US was only slightly more expensive than Europe anyway, though of course you lose a bit of ski-ing time due to the extra travel time.

millionaire_in_training

They could come to Scotland we still have loads of the horrible white stuff. More here today. ..............I really must learn to ski