How to holiday on no money ?

[greenstiles]

Really how do you do it..........

We managed to scrimp and sell stuff on ebay to go away on my wife's 1st ever holiday (her mother used to lock the food cupboards, so that kind of childhood) so she never had a holiday in her life.

Our 1st nipper is on the way, so we thought now or never for a holiday for just us before baby stuff.

We booked a cheap cottage in the lakes, and i sold a load of stuff for the train fair (wow not cheap)......but even though holiday is paid for, we have no spending money ! Should we just use our normal grocery money and eat all meals at the cottage and not go out ?

Or should we say sod it an use a credit card and have a good time and sell a kidney later ?

 

[cyfa2809]

Interested in this.

I see many people going on holidays in my age group (students) and wonder how they get away with living yet see the world. Some work damn hard but theyre usually the ones that save and dont go on holiday. Others, im not sure.

Either of the options you say are good, depends what type of person you are though.

To some a holiday is simply being yourselves in a different place but doing the same thing.
For others it is doing everything the other place has to offer.

 

[IDB1]

Credit card.. pay it off in time for next years holiday.

 

[gavinda]

Jut like you say, stay in and cook some nice food. Being together somewhere else can be holiday enough. Get a cookbook you've never used and have some fun.

I've git two little sods so I'm nOt going on holiday for a couple of years now. But I got nearly 7 weeks leave a year and it's bliss to just not get up and do the grind for those weeks.

Your holiday is what you make of it.








And get some drugs

 

[GT-Steve]

For me, a holiday is just getting away from the monotony of daily life, be it in the middle of nowhere only 100 miles from home, or some exotic beach somewhere in the world.

Due to financial constraints (and three kids) we've managed to have some really nice holidays the past few years, and they've not cost very much at all.

 

[greenstiles]

get some drugs !....well wewill be in the middle of nowhere

cyfa2809 perhaps we should getbar jobs in the evening to pay for our days out :shock: good idea

 

[silverclaws]

Holidaying in Britain is not something one can do cheaply, I have family in Scandinavia and they won't come here now, Britain is too expensive they say and that is saying a lot given their taxation, but to holiday in Britain one if they wish to holiday cheaply must treat it as normal daily existence but in a different location.

That is seek out the cheap shops, buy non branded foods, buy dried food as opposed to tins, (anything that involves weight seems to have risen in price of late, no doubt due to fuel costs). Beware of supermarkets, they are not always the best deal and certainly not cheap these days. And yes, eat in, going out will destroy your pocket.

Or you could use the credit card and worry about it later, but isn't that part of what got us all into debt.

I got rid of the credit card years ago and only exist on what I have, not what I might or might not have in the future, why create problems to age into, one is supposed to be making life easier, not harder.

But holidays abroad, I always found the out of season package holidays good for a cheap pocket, that was use the cheap flight, use the cheap hotel, but do your own thing when you get there and only use the holiday rep as a facilitator if things go wrong.

 

[cyfa2809]

The price of package holidays is often astounding. As cheap as they can be though its having that lump sum to spend. Youd save up for that. Soem families go once a year without fail.

I think a briton in britain shoudl do ok going on holiday. Cheap hotel near somewhere you haveny been and just go lose yourself. Our island does have quite a lot to offer.

Of course its still expensive but your going to be living here anyway?

Why not stay at a friends that lives far away?


Last orders?

 

[jax13]

find interesting places locally - speak to the locals when you get there too.

one thing i've learnt is that guidebooks, leaflets or brochures are often outdated as are personal experiences of people who were in the area a year or two before. find the local pub on night 1, chat to some locals 7 find out where the good farm shops, corner shops, hidden cafes etc are along with good, cheap / free places of interest.

you will never beat local knowledge.

oh, and try and avoid the credit card - i had every intention of paying off the £600 i put on one 3 years ago... i now have £1200 on it and it only gets used in emergencies. it is slowly coming down but it is just an extra weight that pulls you down.

 

[1duck]

Don't students get really heavily subsidised holidays? STA travel or something like that?

Anyway i wouldn't recommend a credit card, but perhaps you could scrounge a small loan from friends/family? instead of some useless kids toy ages 6 months to 1 year, which the kid will use once. Ask for the cash. better to keep the mother relaxed and happy whilst she can still enjoy herself...It's beneficial for the child no matter how recently pregnant she is!

I always think that british people are too ashamed (or polite) to ask for the money instead of accepting some pointless gift, if a friend tells me that they would rather have cash than something i was going to buy them i'm more than happy to give them it.

You could always consider pawning something...i always think pawn is overlooked as a means of finance, i prefer it to credit cards when i am properly hard up.