Do you have holidays if in debt?

Siebrie

At the Camping Officiel in Echternach, which has a playground and a swimming pool, and is the starting point of at least two hike trails. Girls in the swimming pool, me with a book, husband on his phone, some sort of outing every day (even the 2-hour hike along one of the trails was an adventure, as neither husband nor daughters are used to anything ). It was closed for renovation last year, and I'm not sure they will actually reopen.

natlie

I haven't had any holidays since 2017, We do go for days out occasionally to Bath or Gloucester

trailingspouse

I won't be having a holiday this year. Might manage a few days with my son (he lives somewhere nice!) later in the year, but even the cost of the fuel to get there would give me pause at the moment.


I'm not in debt - yet. But my income is severely restricted for a variety of reasons, and the future isn't as certain as it once was. I'd rather draw my horns in completely than risk getting into debt for a holiday. I know that if that was a possibility then I wouldn't enjoy the holiday, and that really would make it a waste of money! Instead, I've landed a couple of summer jobs (one paid, one voluntary) that may lead on to more 'real' work - that seems like a much better use of my time at the moment.

Siebrie

Siebrie wrote: »

I really need a change of scene now and again, seeing and learning something new. We go visit my parents every other month (3.5hrs one-way), and on the way back I try to stop at a museum or forest for a couple of hours.

We go camping for long weekends (I don't last longer than that in a tent). Other than limited funds (we're not in debt), my husband doesn't see the need for holidays, although the week we spent in Luxembourg two years ago seems to have opened his eyes. This year, for the very first time since we met 12 years ago, we will go to Austria. I am sooo looking forward to some really high-up walks.

Anyway, as a student and when I started working, I had cheap holidays housesitting, sharing a flat with friends, visiting friends in different cities, visiting family, voluntarily leading hiking groups. Never all-in, hardly ever hotel, mostly self-catered flats or cottages, and tents. All cooking done on a 1-ring stove

And we're back! 12 days in Austria have cost us €1,100 for two adults and two children. Husband has a company car and a tank card for Belgium, and we did fill up three times in our own dime. It was absolutely worth it! We made four longish (4-6 hour walks), went to the peak of a mountain and had a snowball fight in the eternal snow, sat in gondolas and chairlifts, saw Europe's largest waterfall, went swimming in a posh-ish indoor pool and in an artificial lake, played with the farmer's kittens and admired the cows, played in their large uphill grassland. It brought us closer as a family, I am full of energy and am tackling the mess in the house. Today, I am planning to decorate our walls (paintings, pictures, etc.) with the help of dd2 (8).

Kentish_Dave

A lot of people are in debt because of too many “I deserve it” items or “it’s only a small X” decisions, and for many holidays will have been a part of that. If I were working my way out of a problem with debt then no, no holidays.

Poppy1984

I'm in debt and will be debt free in 4 years (but hoping to bring that date forward) I do have holidays but they are cheap mini breaks using sun £9.50 hols and it's all done on a very low budget. I do have a twang of guilt when I'm booking them and knowing I could pay that off my loan instead but it's a long haul and I think if I did absolutley nothing (I've already cut back so much) I would get in a low way and it would make the debt free journey feel even longer.

dan958

I would never buy a holiday if I was in debt. Then again, as a single person, the choice to do this is much easier than if I were to have children.

I turned down a holiday invitation recently as I am still trying to build up a decent emergency fund.

Grazeley

Similarly to another poster - I've been in a situation recently where I still hadnt paid for the holiday after the actual holiday - we went with my parents, it wasnt as enjoyable as we had hoped, and I still had to pay my mum back £1000 towards it. Was a nightmare!

When younger, I've also been in those situations where I've been selling stuff (playstation) for spending money, been on holiday waiting for a pay day for spending money, and spent the last day with just a tenner to my name. How ridiculous eh!

We now go camping in the UK - we did have to initialyl foot the tent and some other bits but we won't be going abroad for a few years (the kids are also too young to really appreciate a £3k package holiday, I've learnt that recently!). We use our weekly groceries allocation and take our food and cook. Its still a holiday.
However I do feel a bit judged when I say we arent going abroad and people are a bit like hmmm - the crux of debt I think feeling judged!

aimeemum

Grazeley wrote: »

We now go camping in the UK - we did have to initialyl foot the tent and some other bits but we won't be going abroad for a few years (the kids are also too young to really appreciate a £3k package holiday, I've learnt that recently!). We use our weekly groceries allocation and take our food and cook. Its still a holiday.
However I do feel a bit judged when I say we arent going abroad and people are a bit like hmmm - the crux of debt I think feeling judged!

We haven;t been abroad since our honemoon in 2008! We invested in a tent 3 years ago now and we haven't looked back. Take our own food, use the normal budget for the week, save up some cash for day trips and we're away. I think we've been at least twice a year since we bought the tent in summer 2016....Yes we have debts ut we want to see and do things with our children while they're little and we've had a fabulous time each and every time we've been away, and on very little money....one trip we had £10 spending money for the week and it was great!! Now our debts are dwindling the only thing that will change is we'll maybe stay a couple more nights than before,and we'll need to get a new tent in the next year or two so may get an air-tent as an upgrade

To be honest I can't see us going abroad anytime soon. I would like to take the kids to Disneyland Paris in the next 2-3 years and then to Florida before my eldest is too old to come on a family holiday (he's 10 in October so I have some time yet lol). Other than that, I think the foreign trips will happen when there's just the 2 of us - plus I don't think we'd want to give up the camping even then!

On_my_way

Willing2Learn said:

… and whether it an affordable part of your monthly budget after debt repayments, bills and all other contractual obligations...

I think that Dave Ramsey is saying that it in many cases, a holiday fund will not be affordable at the beginning of a debt-busting journey. And he is is probably correct in that assertion...

One of the great things about Dave is that he speaks the absolute truth and does  not waste a single word on making people feel better-he literally just wants to fix the bad situations for people.