Friends constantly going on holidays

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I'm 27 and have only been on one family holiday in my life, and that was just to go to my cousin's wedding in the UK. I have no idea how people take multiple trips every year.
 
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I'm 27 and have only been on one family holiday in my life, and that was just to go to my cousin's wedding in the UK. I have no idea how people take multiple trips every year.
Thanks @nana i feel for you. Holidays are a luxury. Everyone commenting about how many multiple getaways they go on per year should realise how lucky they are.
 
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I feel the same. I'm in my 20's - often I compare myself to friends who still live with parents and have loads of disposable income to go abroad, buy expensive things, always going shopping.

I have a friend who has invited me on an expensive holiday (long haul, expensive hotel) next year for her 30th and when I explained I wouldn't be able to afford it, she wasn't very happy. She said we could book with a travel agent and pay off monthly but she has only given me 6-7 months notice.

She lives with her parents and doesn't drive/have any real outgoings so all her income is hers to spend. I rent my home (with my partner) and I drive so have all the usual bills (rent, gas/electric, council tax, car insurance, home insurance, petrol) which doesn't leave me with a huge amount left over. I'm planning a holiday with my partner next year so obviously my spare cash is going towards saving for that.

Quite frustrating that she doesn't understand that I have other financial commitments and can't drop everything for her birthday. No doubt I'll still feel rubbish when I'm at home and see her pics of the holiday too.
I’m in a similar position to you but renting alone. Some friends of mine are similar to me and don’t have flashy stuff or holidays etc because bills. But the ones that still live at home are like “I don’t understand why X put her corsa on finance, why didn’t she just buy it outright?” Umm because we all live alone and have rent to pay and don’t have £10,000 sat in an account for a car to get to work in like you do in your parents box room paying zero bills! When I lived with my parents I went on a couple weekends away and usually one week away but it was always budget with hand luggage, the most extravagant was 10 days in NYC which all in cost me £1k.
 
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I am That Friend 😬

I travel multiple times a year, I enjoy exploring and learning about new places, I'm not an all-inclusive 5* hotel type, but each to their own.

Behind the scenes, travel is my way of decompressing in a very high-stress, high-workload job. I don't have children and am not intending to. I don't go to bars/pubs/clubs. I don't shop regularly. Mortgage repayments are low because I happened to luck out and marry a guy who already owned a place.

We all have envy about things. I have a friend who ghosted me years ago and now is doing well on IG. She's not mentioned on Tattle and I'm not even thinking of going there 😁
 
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We struggle to go on holiday because nobody wants to look after our demon dog.

And we don’t want to leave him in kennels incase he’s sad 😂
 
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I travel a lot. I never got to when I was a kid so I decided to prioritize it in my 30s. I'm married with no kids and one income but we moved abroad to have more chance of seeing the world. We have ended up finding we enjoy the more low key experiences rather than the fancy. So we have slowed down now and take fewer trips. Two of our favourite trips have been a road trip around the Balkans where accommodation was only around £40 a night and we struggled to spend more than £15 a night on dinner and wine. Another was a home stay in rural Romania. Loved it! So less jetting around and more laid back travel.

I don't regret it but also I know that if we'd stayed home we would probably own our own house and have kids now....roads not travelled and all that.
 
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I have 3/4 holidays a year with my husband. Those holidays vary from UK camping breaks with our dogs (don’t have kids) to 3 week exotic breaks which we spend months planning (don’t use a travel agent, go out of season etc)

What we’ve just spent on a 3 week trip in the far eat some people spend on a week AI in Spain.

Exotic, frequent holidays doesn’t always mean extravagant.
 
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This isn’t a personal attack on anyone who does holiday multiple times per year by the way. I’m more than happy for you, and what you prioritise to spend your disposable income on is completely up to you.

It’s more aimed at people who may not be in a position to do so, and how to handle that. I.e. mixing with friends who are luckier than you... it’s just disheartening when you work so hard and you can’t do those things.
 
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Oh we all do the comparison thing. I do get very envious I guess or at least feel inferior when I see friends babies or house reno things etc.
 
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We holiday once a year abroad usually, a week somewhere in Europe out of season but always a decent hotel etc.
Thing is, I’d love to do more trips in the UK but by the time you’ve added up the train fare, hotel and spending money it’s so bloody expensive. We’re off to Cheshire for two nights next month and it’s actually gona cost the same as a few days in Spain. Lesson learned !

I have friends who holiday multiple times a year, skiing holidays, 2 weeks, sometimes more away here and there and I’m more jealous of their holiday allowance from work. I get 20 days plus bank hols and have to work it all out carefully!
 
I'm noticing that the majority of people on this site are from the UK and other parts of Europe. I'm in Canada, and to go pretty much anywhere in Europe/outside of North America is well over $1000, and that's just for the flight! I guess it depends on where you're flying from as well. It's definitely cheaper for me to go to Mexico than it would be for someone else coming from a different country further away.
 
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Thanks @nana i feel for you. Holidays are a luxury. Everyone commenting about how many multiple getaways they go on per year should realise how lucky they are.
I’m one of these people and I do realise how lucky I am. I’m single with no children and do have spare money to save at the moment, which believe me, is not a position I’ve always been in. (I was once in a lot of debt) I also don’t drink, shop in charity shops and love a bargain but travel and seeing new things are my priority and I’m making the most of my circumstances while I’m (not so) young, free and single.
I could compare myself (and sometimes do) to those who are happily married with children in a lovely home but as someone above said, comparison is the thief of joy.
 
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We struggle to go on holiday because nobody wants to look after our demon dog.

And we don’t want to leave him in kennels incase he’s sad 😂
I have never related to anything more in my life. I’m trying to find a boarder I like for my rescue we got last year. I’m more thorough with this than I was finding a school/childminder for my kid. 😂😂
 
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Just remember that the grass is always greener until you hop over the fence. Everyone has their problems and like someone said above you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Social media has a lot to answer for, showing the highlight reel and often not the reality!
 
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I guess the general consensus here is that many people who go away a lot are not earning loads more or getting money form their parents, rather they sacrifice other things like savings - certainly the case in my experience.

But expecting others to do the same is unfair. The worst example, one that I see a lot, is weddings in exotic locations. Sometimes the bride and groom don’t even have a family connection to the place. That seems very self centred and and inconsiderate. I’d definitely love to go to a friends wedding on a beach somewhere but it wouldn’t always be possible - and that applies to all guests. Even if the couple are understanding of those who can’t make it, I’d still be sad if I had to miss a good friends wedding when they could have just done it at home.
 
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I guess the general consensus here is that many people who go away a lot are not earning loads more or getting money form their parents, rather they sacrifice other things like savings - certainly the case in my experience.

But expecting others to do the same is unfair. The worst example, one that I see a lot, is weddings in exotic locations. Sometimes the bride and groom don’t even have a family connection to the place. That seems very self centred and and inconsiderate. I’d definitely love to go to a friends wedding on a beach somewhere but it wouldn’t always be possible - and that applies to all guests. Even if the couple are understanding of those who can’t make it, I’d still be sad if I had to miss a good friends wedding when they could have just done it at home.
I have to disagree with that, their wedding their choice!
 
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We travel a lot every year, with kids. Like others have said, we have a lot less luxuries than some people seem to (our last takeaway was in 2015!). I don't have a "clothes budget", I might buy 1 or 2 new things for myself every year. We have shoes resoled etc. I cook mainly vegan so lots of lentils and veg. Our weekend trips out tend to be hiking or something, so the only cost is fuel and parking. When we travel, I book everything seperately which has allowed us to have some incredible trips (California Road trip, African safari, Indonesia, lots in Scandinavia) but its all on a shoestring. We always self cater and don't splash out when we are away.

It's definitely possible without going into tons of debt or having enormous salaries. Honestly I think a lot of people would be shocked on how much money they haemorrhage on small, seemingly everyday things.
 
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Thanks @nana i feel for you. Holidays are a luxury. Everyone commenting about how many multiple getaways they go on per year should realise how lucky they are.
I’m sure they do realise how lucky they are. Implying otherwise it a bit presumptuous
 
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