No Holiday for us - times are hard!

Just been speaking to my sister who is off to Turkey on her holidays today and I'll admit to feeling somewhat envious - particularly since Autumn seems to have arrived in the Cotwolds already and it's a particularly grey day here!  A week in the sun would be just the job.  Unfortunately money is tight in our household and we can't afford a holiday this year along with the accompanying cost of getting someone to look after the dogs - which frankly costs almost as much as the holiday itself.  I couldn't bear to put them in kennels so we usually get a pet sitter to come and stay in the house with them but this doesn't come cheap.

I've come to the conclusion that we must be old fashioned because we could of course pay for a holiday on a credit card as so many people seem to but w'ere not comfortable doing that.  I'd be worrying about how I was going to pay it back  - I think I'm lucky in that I didn't grow up in a time where people were happy to get into and live with huge debts as so many people seem to be now.  If  I can't afford it I don't have it!

For a lot of people it all starts with going to uni or college and then leaving with huge debts which will take them years to pay off - it's seen as the norm now.  The more debt you have the more emails and letters you seem to get from banks and other financial institutions offering you even more credit that you won't be able to pay off in your lifetime. We seem to have created a new breed of people who not only spend, spend ,spend but borrow, borrow, borrow to do it!  I have a friend who has huge debts and even though she has a good job she'll never pay them off - and yet every time I see her she has some new shoes or item of clothing that she doesn't really need! Madness.