Planning a summer of fun? Here's how to stop a holiday turning into a debt hangover

Aaaah, summer. Long, golden days of sunshine, relaxation, and trips away. At least, that’s the idea. In reality, there are also possible debt traps lurking to trap the unwary. Here are a few of them, and steps you can take to try to ensure you don’t end up with a summer debt hangover.

First, there’s the school summer holidays. As a child, you feel those six weeks will last forever. As a parent, you may feel the same, but without enthusiasm for the financial consequences. What with the potential costs of additional childcare, extra food and entertainment, you can soon find your normally balanced budget swinging out of kilter.

It pays to see what’s on offer in your area at low cost that can help. Many local authorities, supported through the government’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, offer a wide range of free or heavily-subsidised programmes, ranging from sports camps to cookery classes, nature activities to arts and crafts. Most libraries have free reading challenges and other activities running through the summer, too.

Read more:

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Your local ranger service, if you live near countryside, may well be offering some free nature-based activities. In more urban areas, many museums lay on excellent free activity-based sessions. So although there will be plenty of activity camp and childcare providers offering amazing services for a cost, there will likely also be some low-cost options available too. If you’re able to be off work yourself, then free activities with your children like walks or cooking together may be just as special and memorable as expensive days out.

As for holidays away from home, if you’re lucky enough to be getting away then this can easily blow even the most carefully planned budget. Before you know it, the lunchtime sandwich somehow turns into tucking into fish and chips. If you’re abroad, currency conversion estimates, data roaming costs, and tempting local food, drink and excursions can also knock you off track. This can see you turning to a credit card for unplanned purchases with a “worry about it later” mindset.

Planning ahead is worthwhile. Get an e-SIM instead of expensive data roaming, allocate a holiday “pot” within your banking app, and think through a daily spending budget in local currency. If you still come home with an unplanned credit card balance, or you’ve paid for travel and accommodation on credit, then make an active plan on how you’ll repay it so that you don’t simply allow it to run on indefinitely.

Finally, don’t forget about back-to-school-and-work costs, once the holidays end. For many families, the summer holidays mark the traditional timing for new shoes, new sundries, and quite often new uniform items too. Buying as much as possible second-hand or from generic suppliers can lower the cost of some of these. Budgeting for them before they happen is also a wise move. It’s always worth checking if your local council offers any grants for school uniform costs too.

If, despite your best efforts, you still find you’ve run up some summer debt, don’t panic. Make an active plan with a timeline for how you’re going to pay it back, without having to cut back on essentials. If it still feels difficult or unmanageable, a reputable advice organisation like StepChange can help you work out a budget and get back on track.

Vikki Brownridge is the chief executive of StepChange Debt Charity.

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