Report highlights Britain’s holiday overspend

A new report from National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has highlighted the extent to which British holidaymakers overspend while outside the country.

Close to two-thirds of people spend more than they planned to on holiday and in one-quarter of cases the results come as a considerable shock.

There are million of UK consumers struggling to become debt free, but almost one in five fail to look at their finances before they book a trip, NS&I reports.

Many people save up their cash specifically so that they do not have to count the pennies when they are on holiday but others do not worry about money while overseas because they have no idea how much they had in the first place.

“There is no doubt that holidays and spending while abroad are costing Brits a lot more than many bargain for, but people need to think past simply enjoying themselves and to plan their finances so there are no nasty shocks when they get home,” said Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I.

Meanwhile, a recent Friends Provident study found that thousands of fathers across the UK are risking debt management problems by spending sizable sums in order to appear “cool” to their children.

By Dan Mather