I live in the UK and the summer holidays here have just ended and the children are all back at school. I am horrified by the amount of money I have spent even though I have tried to do lots of free activities and stick to a budget. Do other people overspend in the holidays and how much of it do you think is down to pressure from the kids? Or, do you think price hikes in the holidays are to blame?
I don't feel pressured at all to spend during summer vacation. My daughter knows that I'm a single mother and can't afford to take her everywhere she wants to go. My daughter knows how much the rent on our apartment costs and she knows that I won't be able to pay it if we go to theme parks or concerts. Her other alternative is to go live with her father and his new wife, and his phone is disconnected and he has no food in the refrigerator. I do stick to a budget and we do go to free activities and picnics. That is how we survive.
Most parents spend more in Summer. You need to buy more food because kids are always hungry unless they are engaged in some activity. So even if you don't have to take the kids out, get them gifts or anything you'd have to spend slightly more cash than you'd usually do. It happens all the time. Best thing to do is save up cash for Summer [spending].
It's so, so easy to overspend in the summer, particularly when you have children. Even if you set out with a plan to do free things like visit libraries and go to the park, there are always things to spend money on such as ice creams and picnics to take out with you. Even food will cost you more because your children might get fed at school during term time. Even if you only go on one "day out" each week, the costs can sky rocket. Because of this, I try to save money in a pot during the rest of the year. All that I do is put in the odd pound coin here and there, but by the time the summer comes around I find that there is more than enough for a few days out, and we will also usually try to go on holiday at some point as well, which is nice. Tempting though it may be, if you don't have the money, don't borrow it - Christmas is just around the corner and you might find that you're not able to pay it back again in time before you're tempted to borrow even more.
