White sandy beaches, crystal clear seas and stunning blue skies for as far as the eye can see…sounds perfect doesn’t it? It also sounds like nothing more than a dream for some people who aren’t as fortunate as others and have to make do with Blackpool rather than the Bahamas each year.
Of course there are plenty of people who are perfectly happy with staying in the UK for their holidays, and ‘staycations’ as they’ve become known are now really popular.
Since the recession gripped the whole of the UK we’ve been forced to tighten our wallets in order to save money for the essentials – food for the house, fuel for the car and of course, bills – and it’s become incredibly difficult to afford to go away on a family holiday.
Jetting off to warmer climes and sitting by the pool sipping cocktails has been replaced with driving to the coast and sitting on the beach licking an ice cream; but it doesn’t always have to be this way.
While many are made up just to have a few days away at the coast as a family or to go on a cultural trip to one of the many beautiful British cities with historic monuments and picturesque venues, you can still find ways of getting out of the UK for a summer holiday – and here are three ways to do it.
Newspaper vouchers
For what seems like forever, British newspapers have been giving away vouchers to put towards either flights or whole holidays.
Okay, newspapers aren’t as popular as they once were with people getting their news off the television or the Internet (in its various forms – laptop, mobile, tablet and so on); but it’s worth spending a few pence each day or week in order to collect the vouchers which could make the difference between a week on a Spanish beach and staying at home mowing your lawn, so keep your eyes peeled!
Guarantor Loans
Getting a loan isn’t an option for everybody, and understandably. Many are set against getting into any kind of debt and others may have been turned down previously by their banks due to their credit histories. In recent years, however, a new type of loan has emerged that has made borrowing smaller amounts much more viable.
A guarantor loan from a company like Buddy Loans involves getting someone, usually a close friend or family member, to sign the loan agreement with you stating that they would pick up the repayments if, for whatever reason, you fail to do so – like if you were to lose your job or you had to pay out a huge sum for medical treatment for example.
This means that lenders are much more likely to agree to give you a loan because they have two sources to reclaim the funds from, rather than making the assumption that you would be unable to repay it yourself.
Budgeting
Then, finally, and this is probably more likely for later in 2015 than next month, you could always learn to budget – or make the decision that you are definitely going to do so. Working out your household income and expenditure each month is the logical place to start.
By analysing how much you have coming in from salaries and any allowances or grants you’re entitled to will let you see how much you have; and then adding up your compulsory expenses – like bills, fuel and food shops – will give you another figure which you can subtract from your income.
This leaves you with a figure “to play with.” By taking that figure and working out how much you have to spend each day or week until your next payday will give you a budget, and you could put some of that aside to go towards your family holiday – whenever you choose to take it.
Obviously, the more you have available, the more exotic the holiday or the more spending money you might have. Either way, budgeting makes a lot of sense.
