The school summer holiday is upon us all and that can be good news and bad news, for me it’s great as my commute to work is only half as crowded as during term time but for mums and dads the pressure to find interesting things to do, find childcare and simply having them around the house can be infuriating!
But it’s not just that, research carried out by hotvouchers.com has found that the summer hols will cost parents an average of £2,523.32. The poll surveyed 2,000 parents and found that the cost of keeping the kids at home could easily pay for a luxury holiday itself!
Parents taking their children abroad for a week will spend £1,640.92 over that time but the majority of parents aged between 35 and 44 will be staycationing in order to save money. Once the trip is over a further £882.40 will have to be found to keep the kids out of trouble for the other five weeks and 40% of parents will be worried about not being able to find the money that the summer break is going to require, 13% are considering taking out loans to cover the expense. These will include:
Over £350 on food for the family.
£266.80 on trips to theme parks, zoos, farms and various other attractions.
£140 on other entertainment costs not including the £122.50 that parents have budgeted for toys and other goodies that will keep the kids busy.
A further £200 will go on clothes, swimwear, sun cream and beach goods that have to be bought before the week away.
Families who are travelling abroad are fixing to spend £1,042.38 on fares and accommodation, feeding the horde will set the balance back £180.27, over £100 more than if the family were eating at home. Then the trips and other excursions come in at £118.39, the souvenirs are set to cost £39.49.
But that’s just the projected cost, almost half of parents said that they consistently underbudget and end up spending more than they thought they would have to when were planning the vacation.
After collating all the figures Paula Felstead said: ““We were surprised to learn just how expensive the summer holidays can be, regardless of whether families are going abroad or staying in the UK.
“Families are obviously concerned about the costs involved, they still want to ensure they and the children have an enjoyable summer. It’s one luxury that most families will not sacrifice.”
Nearly half of the families who will be going away, either to another part of the UK or indeed travelling abroad will be paying using a credit card. That’s a convenient way to pay but it is storing up trouble for the future if you don’t keep up on the payments. One way to save money while abroad is to leave the cards at home and use cash or travellers cheques instead, budget properly and if the funds won’t stretch to it, go without! Failing that, send the kids to your parents and go on holiday without them!
Dan Cash is a feature writer and former financial researcher currently planning a luxury holiday of his own; a weekend in the garden with no kids!