Research: Many willing to go into debt to cover the cost of the summer holidays
Many parents in the UK fear they will spiral into debt as a result of looking after their children during the summer holidays, a new research has revealed.
Some 38% of parents with children at school say they will end up in debt, with one in seven (15%) saying they will be more than £500 in the red by the time the holidays are over.
And with many feeling the pinch of the recession this year 31% say they cannot afford to go on a family summer holiday. However, 11% admit they plan to take their children out of school to go on holiday during term time because it is cheaper.
Turn2us, part of the poverty charity Elizabeth Finn Care, commissioned YouGov to carry out the survey to find out how costly the summer holidays will be for parents in Great Britain with children aged 4-18.
Parents who took part in the survey said they will cut back on paying for their children to take part in certain activities during the summer holidays, with 22% saying they will not be able to afford to take their children to the cinema and 19% predicting they will not have the money to take their family to the seaside for the day.
Matthew Sykes, Chief Executive of Elizabeth Finn Care, said: “Our research shows the apparent willingness of families to go into debt to cover the cost of the summer holidays. Some 16% of parents say they will use their credit card to cover the cost of the summer holidays, 14% will rely on their overdraft and 8% will even feel the need to borrow from family members. Worryingly, 1% will even borrow the money from a door step lender offering ‘quick fix’ loans and risk owing huge amount of interest.
“At the same time we know that £16.8 billion of welfare benefits went unclaimed from 2007-2008 and for those in genuine financial need they can visit our website, Turn2us, to see what benefits they are entitled to and see if they are eligible for grants from one of the thousands of grant-giving charities listed.”
The research also revealed that 32% of parents will not have the money to treat their children to a day at a theme park, 16% will not be able to afford to take their children swimming and 16% will not have enough money to pay for their children to attend activity clubs.
Turn2us helps people in financial need access the money available to them – from welfare benefits, grants and other financial help – through its comprehensive website (www.turn2us.org.uk).
