Cash flow crisis?
Earn your keep. Organisations like the
National Trust offer 2-7 day working holidays costing from £60 a week including food and accommodation. Tasks range from herding goats to planting trees.
Go local. Staying in the UK keeps travel costs down.
Go last minute. If you are flexible, see what's available the week, or even the day before you go. Prices are slashed or just negotiate for last minute bookings.
Be a pet or housesitter. Holiday and make money while you're at it!
Ditch hotels. If you've got a family, holiday lets are cheaper than hotels, and you save a fortune by cooking for yourself too.
Do a swap. There are house exchanges in operation internationally where families swap houses for holidays.
Camp. Once you've bought the kit, it's super cheap and great fun, especially for families.
Travel by train or bus. Rail and bus networks reward the organised with cheap advance fares, offer family tickets and travelcards and they often work in conjunction with tourist attractions to offer ticket and entry deals. Day returns can often be excellent value too.
Do an expedition. Charity expeditions are often sponsored, and the sponsorship can cover the cost of your trip.
Need time out?
Take a sabbatical. Most companies have policies to allow workers unpaid leave to take career breaks. Alternatively, try negotiating to take all your annual leave at once.
Get transferred. If your company has offices abroad, get transferred so you can go abroad without leaving your career or your family.
Volunteer. With organisations like
VSO you can use your professional skills in a volunteer capacity to get under the skin of the places you're in.
Take the kids. Talk to their schools about extra time off or plan your trip during the long summer holidays. Experiencing different cultures can be very as beneficial to young people and it's educational too.
