How do DFW holidays work?

CBI

In the past I've always spunked a load of money on a credit card (including buying travelors cheque's as a cash advance :eek: ).

I'm just about to start a DMP with CCCS and with little money and no currently holiday plans I'm looking into what I can and can't do. So thought I'd start this thread looking for suggestions. If you're a DFW do you even go on holiday? Do you look for cheap deals, do you raise the cash to get the holiday you want and if so how guilty do you feel about it afterwards when you could've paid off some more debt?

Burlesque_Babe

I go on holiday once a year. For the last 4 years I've booked the flights a year ahead by grabbing them as soon as they become available or by taking offers for free flights in the paper. Bournemouth to Alicante can be snaffled for 1p plus taxes if you are vigilant and book far enough ahead!! I then spend a few months looking for a hotel and doing a short list by using the review websites. I then grab a deal when I see one, usually around September. It is just the 2 of us, so I don't know about deals for children. Don't ever use a travel agent - you'll save a fortune doing it yourself! this is the first year i'll be debt free and going on holiday - we go next month, but I wouldn't go back to just choosing something without researching it thoroughly. You also need to be very flexible with dates.

The Sun £9.50 holidays are very popular on DFW and I'm hoping to grab one for the Autumn, I think they do them across a weekend in October or November.

rayday2

CBI completely off topic but you use the phrase "spunked a load of money" now to my horror down the motorway the other week we were talking about winning the lottery and if we had the big win my hubby turned round and said he "would spunk the first million away"

Well I was a bit jaw hung then it turned out he meant spend I am assuming this is a regional thing he comes from Middlesbrough I had never used the phrase that way and had different ideas what I thought he was spending his winnings on!

grace

I havnt had a holiday in years....there is two of us and two dogs (big dogs)..and the kenneling is horrendus...plus I dont have a car at the moment...so thats it really...I did manage to escape for three days last year back to Ireland ...but was able to stay with friends so just had the flight to pay for... plus i won €100.00 at the races off a €5.00 stake...so that was my flight money back...

rayday2

I have holidayed last year in Skegvegas I paid it monthly direct to the accommodation they did not say they took monthly payments but each month they got one and sent me another inovice back lol

I ebayed for spending money.

This year we have gone for a sun special to be honest with 3 children 4-5 days is my maximum tolerance of holidays. They are 11, 7 and 2 so that is a huge age span to keep entertained and I come back needing prozac and a holiday!

grace

rayday2 wrote: »

I
This year we have gone for a sun special to be honest with 3 children 4-5 days is my maximum tolerance of holidays. They are 11, 7 and 2 so that is a huge age span to keep entertained and I come back needing prozac and a holiday!

You deserve a medal I dont know about anything else...I dont have kids...just the hounds and a cat and some gold fish and my OH (who is like a kid)

CBI

rayday2 wrote: »

CBI completely off topic but you use the phrase "spunked a load of money" now to my horror down the motorway the other week we were talking about winning the lottery and if we had the big win my hubby turned round and said he "would spunk the first million away"

Well I was a bit jaw hung then it turned out he meant spend I am assuming this is a regional thing he comes from Middlesbrough I had never used the phrase that way and had different ideas what I thought he was spending his winnings on!

:rotfl:

Dunno when I first used/heard the term, but it's not something that comes out very often.

churchrat

hi
we've run our own dmp for about 6yrs and to be honest we don't really have holidays, although we have 3 kids and pets so our circumstances may be different to yours. What we have done though is to house swap with family and friends. we have been to rome, ireland and scotland plus lots of places in england. this means that we have someone to feed cats dog and hens and we do the same for them. I think it takes alot of trust tho, once we found DD calling all her cant-live-without-bestfriends and the money we left for the phone bill was nearly as much as a "proper" holiday would have been. I would hate to come back to a big bill left by house swappers.
we can't stand holiday camps, but there are good deals out there if you look hard. and we always book way in advance if we fly anywhere, but that is rare. I like to think we are a very "green" family!!
good luck

bowz25

hi
started dmp june 07 before that we never went abroad always went to butlins skegness (but thats too much now we are on dmp)
we went camping last year for few days, last time i went i was about 10 so was a bit unsure. The weather was not great even though it was august but we all enjoyed it and the kids were happy. Went back for a weekend again in september. Its camping for now for next few years.
take are bye for now
good luck with dmp

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well, we haven't had many holidays in the past couple of decades, 'cos we always knew we couldn't afford one (although we managed to build up debts anyway!:mad: ) But since being a DFW we have actually had more holidays, but cheap and carefully budgeted for

This year we are going to Scotland to stay with a relative. We try to book the flights a year in advance to get them very cheaply, and fly on the cheapest day (tues or wed often). so no accommodation fees and we give the relative the money we would normally spend on food at home. We have to hire a car at Edinburgh to get up to the highlands but this year we are planning on swopping our tesco vouchers for Avis vouchers

So apart from that it is just spending money. We use tesco days out vouchers as much as possible and try to go to free places a lot, like picnic by a loch, etc.

We have had some very good, but cheap holidays this way :T

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

i think quite a few people save up their tesco clubcard vouchers and exchange them for holiday vouchers (haven, butlins, cosmos, virgin etc.

although im no longer in debt - money is tight as im on maternity leave - so oh and i are hoping to take baby on a haven holiday in september.

for £125 tesco vouchers we can afford a week in a prestige caravan with haven

definately worth shopping at tescos and collecting points for - especially all the vouchers that go around

hth