Tripp'n Around replied:

Hi Melissa

I'm sure it must be very hard on your family when you don't get holiday pay.
We have my hubby's holiday pay paid as wages while we are away.
Because we do it that way my hubby's pay generally doesn't get touched while we are on holidays and we have enough to pay any other bills and a food shop until his next pay.
We did much of what you do now when we had house payments, bills and children worries.
One thing anyone can do is have a special savings/debit card or a Chrissy Club account just for holidays.
We have that as well as we save "x amount" of hubby's pay towards anything needed for the 4BY before we leave. We have a credit card for stuff we can or need to put on it while away. I raid the cupboards to use up some stuff in there and I usually start buying a few weeks before we leave mainly so as it is not too much of a "last moment" thing for me to do. We usually work out what we want to do while on holidays and we also put extra aside for those unexpected touristy things that we didn't account for. If we don't use it, it goes towards the credit card bill when we get home unless we spent on a "special treat for a few nights" on the return trip, if we come home a certain way.

Cya
Tripp'n
:)

old-plodder replied:

Must be something special about women in 4wd families. My better half is the same. As soon as she sees that glint in my eye and my 'feet getting itchy" for another trip, Colette (only the cat is called she as I am reminded) starts gathering tins and other food items for the pantry. Taken a few years but the car is reasonably well set up, and Colette has the grace to accept that there is always one little item I can add at the last moment to improve the car. Luckily my holiday pay covers us for expenses on the trip. If it doesn't we can't afford it.
Then we drive all day, with Colette sharing the driving, and still manages to cook a good meal when we stop. Amazing what can be pulled out of that larder in the back of the car. Ocassionally a bought meal is a treat. But the beer and wine always gets put in, plus a few special snacks so we always eat well as we watch the sun go down each night.

Now I suppose I should buy a bunch of flowers and take them home. Better not, Colette will get suspicious that I have been up to something (or want something for the car) because flowers don't happen too often.

The tripping is getting easier. This was the first year where our two sons are 'too old' to travel with us. So costs have gone down. Not tied to school holidays either. I think the next few years could be some good travelling years.

RussellV replied:

Hi Melissa

We use an ING account where we stick a sum in each week for holidays or emergency expenses. If you're consistent with putting some aside (I use a direct credit) it soon mounts up over 12 months! Then it makes things easier when you go on that big trip. Saving the coinage works well for us too - I hate the shrapnel anyway so it goes in a money box for a rainy day and you'd be surprised how useful this method has been!! When outfitting a vehicle one could go nuts but I usually add a bit here and there and eventually it becomes the well setup machine but it is hard in this department as I notice accessories and mods are really pricey and at times it's hard to see the value in them... That what methods we use and it seems to get us by!

Cheers!

GUPatrol replied:

Another tip for the fuel part of the holiday (if motoring).
Get a fuel card such as BP card or similar, choose to pay a little extra per month which adds up on your fuel account.
When on holidays you will use the card extra times drawing from the accumulated funds and not denting your cash flow.

Will

madcow replied:

We use the good old christmas fund account and have done so for years. Direct deposit out of the paycheck so you do not miss it. Generally speaking it covers the fuel and accomodation costs which is the biggest expense. We also load up the credit card to pay for these also. You do need to keep receipts and check each transaction to keep a track of where you are up to. A couple of times we have been overcharged and unless you check it you are usually miles away before you realise their mistake.

cheers

rolande replied:

Melissa,
We have found that the cost of food, etc is minimal compared to the cost of fuel, so usually try to make smaller trips rather than the one big one each year. This way we looks for places to visit closer to home rather than try to drive hundreds of K's to visit a spot when there are many others closer that we are yet to visit. Means less time between trips so planning happens constantly, and we see places we may have otherwise missed because they are in our own back yard.
Rolande

glenno(bris) replied:

You are probably refering to my post so here goes . I havnt owned a 4wd for twenty years and my current one i have had for only 12 months . So basically i had to start from scratch . I am buying my gear in priorities .
priority one . first aid kit , comms . ( some people might say fridge for beer)
priority two . How am i going to fix that tyre , and recovery .
So the way i get around money problems is to prioritise what i need to buy .

Footloose replied:

Some gear for the car can be bought s/h. Comms can be rented. A tent is cheaper than a motel. Driving at 90 instead of 110 will save fuel and you'll see more. Have a chat to the grey nomads in the caravan parks...they know all the cheap lurks :))

Big Kidz (Andrew & Jen) replied:

I am a pathetic creature - I cannot budget!!

So I have decided to do two things to make me save more than I spend.

1. Borrowed money to invest and have to pay the loan back and keep by bank balance from going into the red and getting hefty bank fees. This means I am saving for my future...it's non-negotiable really....the bank won't let me opt out of a repayment without a lot of hassle.

2. Pay more off my home loan each month that I need to - also a hassle to change the repayments so I can 'waste' more money, and at the end of the year I have a nice safety margin so I can take trips and re-draw......but you have to make the redrawing a big deal......no blowing it on normal living expenses.

Andrew

Bros replied:

Melissa,
I work heaps of O/T.
Cheers,
Bros.