Family days out! Everyone loves them, but oh my God, how expensive have they become?
With the rising cost of living and day-to-day expenses, I have found that family days out are very expensive nowadays. They are supposed to be fun days, but when you have kids, you probably already know how quickly things can get out of control.
A family day out can be expensive before you’ve even walked through the entrance. These days, paying £25 or more per person for a popular attraction doesn’t seem unusual. And what makes it even more painful? Children’s tickets can sometimes cost almost as much as adult tickets.
So, if you’re a family of four, you could easily be looking at £100 just to get through the door.
But alright, you’ve paid for the tickets. You’ve accepted the price, handed over the money, and you’re in!
The Hidden Cost of Family Days Out
But once you are in, there begin the extra expenses, ice cream, face painting, hook-a-duck, games, souvenirs and every other little tempting extra that seems to appear exactly at the wrong moment.
Well, let me tell you, I experienced it just two days ago.
What should have just been a simple trip to the zoo turned me into a monster in my child’s eyes, just because I didn’t want to buy everything he saw.
Can I have my face painted?”
“No.”
“Can I do hook-a-duck?”
“No.”
“Can I have an ice cream?”
“Not yet.”
And then came another request, and another one, and another one.
By the end of it, I felt like I had spent more time saying “no” than actually enjoying the zoo.
He got quite upset, and that’s how we left the zoo.
Give Each Child a Day-Out Budget
My sister was with me that day, and she actually came up with a brilliant idea—one that I really wish I had thought of at the time.
Instead of me constantly saying no to every request, she suggested giving my child a set amount of money to spend on extras.
For example, I could have given him £10 for the day and simply told him:
”This is your money for the day, you can spend it on whatever you want, but when it’s gone, it’s gone.”
At the moment, I didn’t think about it properly. I was frustrated and too busy dealing with all the requests of, ”Can I have this?”
But later that day, my sister’s idea kept coming back to me.
I thought to myself ”Oh my God that’s actually a brilliant idea!”
It would mean that instead of me deciding what he can and cannot do, he would have to decide for himself and be in control of his own choices.
Want face painting? Yes, it’s your money.
Want ice cream? Yes, go for it.
And when he spent the £10 within the first hour!
Well…. the £10 is gone!
What I liked the most was that it turns a potentially frustrating day out into a real-life money lesson. Children can learn about budgeting, making choices, prioritising what they really want and understanding that money is limited- all while having fun.
No arguments, no feeling guilty for saying no, and no endless requests for me to spend more money.
What Does the Day-Out Budget Teach?
A day-out budget gives the children the freedom to make their own choices while teaching them that money is limited and they cannot buy everything they want.
Making Choices
They are learning to make their own choices and decide what is more important to them. Is it an ice cream, face painting, a game or perhaps a souvenir they really want to take home?
Prioritising
Children quickly learn that they cannot have everything.
Giving them a budget means they have to learn to work with a fixed amount. If they spend £4 on face painting, they now have £6 left.
Do they really want to spend another £3 on a game, or would they rather keep the money for something else later?
It teaches them that having money also means making responsible choices.
Understanding That Money Is Limited
This is one of the most important lessons.
When you give your child £10, that’s how much they have. You don’t have to rescue them by giving them another £10 when the first £10 has gone.
If they spend all their money in the first hour and later see something else they want, they have the opportunity to learn that spending decisions have consequences.
They might be disappointed when they realise they no longer have any money left, but that’s part of learning how to manage a limited amount of money.
Learning to Budget
Giving them a fixed amount means that they have to make that money last.
They might decide to spend £5 at the beginning and keep £5 for later. Or maybe they might spend £3 here and £2 there and still have some money left at the end of the day.
They are budgeting without even realising that they are learning an important financial skill.
Saving
Do they have to spend everything? No, they don’t.
If they have £4 left, remind them that they can take the money home.
They can either keep the money for another family day out and add it to their new £10 budget, giving them £14 to spend, or they can put the money in their savings jar.
I really like this idea because it gives the children another reason not to spend all the money just for the sake of it. They might realise that if they make sensible choices today, they will have more money available next time.
It also teaches them that saving money doesn’t mean you can never spend it. They can choose to save towards something they really want, or keep it for another day when they might see something they would rather spend the money on.
Final Thoughts
Family days out are about making memories and having fun; I don’t want my advice to turn a fun day into a lesson focused entirely on a budgeting or controlling spending. With the cost of days out continuing to rise, I think it’s worth finding simple ways to keep the extra spending under control.
Giving your children their own day-out budget could be one of those simple solutions.
Whether you choose to give them £5, £10 or more, the important thing is to choose an amount that works for your family.
Remember, by giving them a budget for the day, the choice is theirs.
- Children can decide how they want to spend their own money.
- They learn to make choices and prioritise what they really want.
- They learn that money is limited and cannot be spent on everything.
- If they spend their money too quickly, they can experience the consequences of their spending decisions.
- Children don’t have to spend their entire budget.
- Any money left over can be saved in their savings jar or kept for the next family day out.
For me, the biggest benefit is that a simple £10 budget can turn a potentially stressful day of “Can I have this?” into an opportunity for children to practise real-life money skills. And hopefully, it means Mum and Dad can enjoy the day a little more too!