The cost of living crisis is hitting families hard. While earnings are lagging behind inflation and the cost of the most basic of essentials is rising beyond what would normally be acceptable, millions of families have to cut back on those areas of spending that are not considered essential.
In many ways, families are learning to be more resourceful, learning the true value of the products they buy, making more home-cooked foods, and spending time together as a family. Living within a more restricted budget can teach you to be more creative with things you enjoy, and planning your family holiday is one of those areas.
While a luxury holiday in some far-flung destination may have to go on the back burner for the time being, there are plenty of ways that a family can plan a more budget-friendly week or two and enjoy a holiday that is probably richer in time together than any top-drawer experience.
Take the stress out of planning.
First and foremost, you want to eliminate stress from the planning process. To help you do this, we have highlighted some brilliant options below that will help you make your holiday choices. At this stage, make the primary decision about the type of holiday yourself—too many opinions could lead to an argument.
Instead, once you have fixed the type and destination, you can open the floor to ask the rest of your family what adventures they would like to plan. If they are of an age, they may want to each have one day when they are responsible for planning that day’s activities.
It is important, however, to stress any budgetary limits. Far from restricting your activities, this is a great exercise in learning how to be more creative with your time and resources. For example, something like strawberry picking promotes an outdoor activity that is both low cost, productive, and gives you a tangible result. For the younger kids particularly, it will be a day to remember.
Choosing the Right Accommodation
We have highlighted some sectors below where you can source some great accommodation that meet your budget.
Vacation Rentals: Depending on the size of your family, if you have based your budget on a cost-per-head basis, you may want to source accommodation through specialist rental sites such as AirBnB and Vrbo. Beware the school holiday premium, though. Holiday providers are renown for increasing their prices exponentially during school holidays as they know demand is greater during these times.
Camping and caravanning: Whether you go for the adventure of sleeping under canvas, or fine the middle ground by choosing to stay in a variety of residential caravan parks, this type of accommodation brings you right back to nature. The say that a change is as good as a rest – and staying in an alternative accommodation style adds to the overall excitement and sense of adventure – especially for younger children. And it is significantly cheaper.
House Swapping: House swapping as an alternative for holiday accommodation has grown massively over the last few years. Whether you decide to arrange a house swap with someone you know or do it through the certified website, you can be sure that this veritable ‘home from home’ will provide you with the necessary holiday vibes without breaking the bank.
Whatever type of accommodation you are looking for, make sure that you seek out any special deals. Often, hotels will run special promotions, or holiday companies will offer discounted deals if you book within certain dates. The more you can plan in advance, the more likely you will be able to stretch your budget that much further.
