MUST KNOWS FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST HOLIDAY
HOW TO SAVE IT Get saving early if you would like enough money to go on the holiday of a lifetime in a few years’ time. Let’s say you want to save up €20,000 to fund such a trip for you and your partner. It would take just over three years to save up €20,000 — if you save €500 a month; or just over eight years if saving €200 a month. HOW TO BORROW IT Ideally, save rather than borrow the money for a holiday. Otherwise, it could cost you thousands in interest. Should you wish to borrow though, AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank all offer personal loans for holidays. Shop around for your loan.
It costs between €3,272 and €5,496 in interest to borrow €20,000 for a holiday over five years, depending on the bank. The cheapest banks for a five-year personal loan of €20,000 are KBC (interest rate of 6.3pc or 7.3pc), Bank of Ireland (6.8pc interest) and Ulster Bank (6.9pc or 7.9pc interest). It costs either €3,272 or €3,931 in interest to borrow €20,000 over five years from KBC (depending on whether or not you have a current account with KBC); €3,515 to borrow the money from Bank of Ireland; and either €3,591 or €4,120 with Ulster Bank (depending on whether or not you have a Ufirst account).
Some of the most expensive banks for a personal loan of €20,000 are Permanent TSB (10.5pc interest) and AIB (8.95pc interest). It would cost €5,496 to borrow €20,000 from Permanent TSB over five years. Banks usually allow you to repay larger once-in-a-lifetime holiday loans over a few years — though you may need to repay a small holiday loan over a year.
Avantcard also offers loans for holidays but its holiday loans must be repaid within two years. Avantcard charges 8pc interest on a personal loan of €20,000 — as long as you have an excellent credit record. (Otherwise, the interest is higher). Credit unions usually offer holiday loans too. SINGLETONS Holidays of a lifetime can be tricky for singletons — as the prices quoted by travel agents are often for couples. Solo travellers often get hit with single supplements. Consider booking through a travel agent which caters for singletons. Sarah Slattery of thetravelexpert. ie recommends Insight Vacations for escorted tours. LAPLAND Lapland is a once-in-alifetime trip which young families often embark on. A family of four can expect to pay at least €4,000 for a short trip to Lapland — with longer trips being more expensive. For example, a four-day trip to Lapland this December for a family of four costs €6,400 with visitsanta.
ie. That price includes flights, transfers, accommodation in a log cabin, meals, activities, and a meeting with Santa.