Budgeting for holiday / special days out

Legacy_user

hi Folks,

Looking for some gems of advice on budgeting for holidays / special days out. I've realised that I never budget enough for these, so always feel short and watching the pennies which sort of ruins my enjoyment of the day.
So for next year's 6 weeks of summer, I am resolved to save more so we have some £££ to enjoy it.

What do other people do to cope with spending more during the 6 weeks of summer?
Do you have a standard budget you work to for a family day out?
We're a family of 4 - 2 adults, 1 teen and an 18 month old.

We're on a super tight budget at the moment, so we can put pots of cash away, but I'd like to get a system sorted so even if next year's just a little bit better, I'll feel like things are moving in the right direction.

Thanks Ramble

tori.k

I just add the cost into my household budget, we allocated £1500 PA but wont use all of it every year so it will add on to the following, we love travel but have to be strict with ourselves once we used budget it's gone and staycations it is.

nkkingston

I would start by calculating the cost of a day out to somewhere free nearby (park, beach, national museum, grandad's house, etc) on the basis you approach it the cheapest way possible. Cost of petrol, parking and a picnic. Put that aside each month, and then you can at least do that once a month. If you don't spend it one month, next month you'll have enough for ice-creams and a nosey round a gift shop, too. A few months and it's enough to go out for dinner. Six months of saving gives you a cheap day out once a week for the whole summer.

Nationally funded museums are free, and some local (but it depends on their council). A lot of places also do cheap days at certain times of the year (though never the summer hols!). A lot of big days out, like zoos and aquariums and theme parks, can be got cheaper with Tesco vouchers, so if the teen is determined to go to Alton Towers this year, work out if it's cheaper to shop at Aldi and save money, or shop at Tesco's and collect vouchers.

Whatever you do, don't be spontaneous! There are very few places out there now that don't reward you for booking ahead in some way (even if it's just less queueing). If you've saved up and booked ahead, then there are fewer painful surprises.

bettyboo71

Tesco clubcard points is a good one, as is nectar, boots, and every other loyalty programme - I am on them all and so am not really loyal to any. Boots might not seem so obvious but they don't just sell toiletries - if you have enough points to get 4 meal deals, that is lunch on a day out. You can also get some toys, games, etc - always worth catching the January sale when they will have novelty gifts etc.

Anything that seems to give you something for nothing is worth a look. I have an RBS rewards account which I pay £3 per month for, but our council tax alone gets me over £4 in rewards every month so all other bills are a clear profit. (After just 5 months, we cashed out almost £50 last week)
Of course that won't work for every one, but if you take a wee bit of time to look around all the little money-making and saving tips, and the freebie threads, there are lots of little things which will add up.
And there are often people like me who don't have kids but who will be eating the products that have codes for offers on them - so it is always worth asking if you see a good offer.

System

Thanks everyone. I think I'll just try and get £20-£30 in a budget pot each month and allocate it to holidays and see how we go.

Tori K - love the size of your budget - you must have lots of fun!!

tori.k

That's the whole year's entertainment/holiday budget im a hard cow, when it's gone it's gone, we did a family hoilday Jan/Feb that took most the budget for the year, so it's a year of picnic's and surfing as it's free

Money_maker

You don't need to have lots of money to have fun, though. The little one particularly will just enjoy 'free' days out at the park, beach, woods & forests, playgrounds etc. Teenagers can be a bit tricky...


Always take a packed lunch, buying lunch for 4 could cost as much as the entry price or more. Do water (or weak squash at a push) for everyone, you'd be surprised how much money is spent on lattes and bottles of soft drinks. If you have 'I want' children, then just give the gift shops a miss. To be fair, most of it is just overpriced tat which they're either bored with or broken by the time you get home.


Have a think about a National Trust membership, if you are close to some of their properties then you can save a fortune with days out to them even though the initial outlay may be costly. There may be other local attractions which offer a good deal on membership, I have a small zoo with a superb play and splash area nearby. Whilst the membership seems quite a bit, if I pay as you go then it would cost £34 or so for just the two of us. Having membership means we can duck in or out when we want, staying for a couple of hours or all day. Another local attraction has membership for a similar price but gate cost is £20 for two of us and there are always discount vouchers available online or in the primary school magazines so not worth doing.


Always check online for vouchers to print out and take with you. Have a look at the gardeners world website as they have a 2 for 1 card which can be used at many gardens, the magazine issue which it came out in (May I think) can be back ordered online too.


Buy a cheap tent, pop it up in the garden and have magical adventures there. Having fun doesn't have to cost the earth and whilst your teen will probably be bored wherever you go, your toddler will enjoy everywhere and anywhere enormously so long as you are with them.