“My son has come home with a letter about his summer school trip that he’s incredibly excited about. The trip costs £400, plus additional money for spending, which is something I really want to give to him.”
This Vault listener is four months away from being debt free after what she called a long slog. She’s a single mum, money’s tight, and the only way she can cover the trip is her overdraft. She’s already done the maths – it would put her back an extra two months. All her son’s friends are going, and as she said, “I know I’d get major mum guilt.”
“Should I use my overdraft to pay for the trip and risk the added debt, or should I explain to my son that we simply can’t afford it this year?”
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This one’s head vs heart
We immediately said this is a head and heart situation. Our head says no more debt, especially not when she’s four months from the end of a long slog, but our heart says just do it, because she sounds like a brilliant mum with a proper grip on her money.
This mum isn’t just chucking £400 on a credit card and hoping for the best. She’s modelled exactly what it does to her plan, down to the month. She can trust herself with this decision.
It’s also worth pointing out that wanting your child to fit in isn’t frivolous. Laura was at a charity ball where the founder talked about what they give the poorest children in the country – things like a JD bag, because the bag itself is a status symbol, and a Nike water bottle they can carry into school every day. It’s a small gesture that can help a child feel like they belong. So no, we’re not going to tell you that a school trip everyone else is going on doesn’t matter.
No judgement here, and no Financielle-jail. But before the overdraft, we’ve got a to do list.
Go and talk to the school
Ask the school first (swallow the pride, it’s worth it). Schools have options they don’t advertise: instalments instead of one lump sum, a hardship fund for families who need it, or a PTFA that raises money for exactly this. Holly and Laura are both on the PTFA at school and said if a family came to them struggling with a trip, nobody would think twice about helping.
It’s worth pushing on the price as well, it might not necessarily be a fixed number.
Then work through the rest
- Sell what you’re not using. Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, the lot
- Ask family. Grandparents often want to contribute, and if a birthday’s coming up the trip can be the present
- If there’s another parent in the picture, ask them to split it
- Check who’s actually going. £400 is a lot of money, and you might find fewer of his friends are booked than you think
Between those, you might land on a number you can pay without borrowing a penny.
If you do use the overdraft, treat it like the washing machine breaking
A one-off cost you didn’t know was coming, with nothing set aside for it, behaves like an emergency. It isn’t a new spend every week.
This all points to the real problem… there’s no emergency fund, which means any surprise costs turn into a crisis. In the money playbook, we put ‘build a mini emergency fund’ before ‘ditch debt’ for this reason. It’s annoying to pause your debt overpayments, but it stops you taking on further debt when surprise costs (like a school trip) appear.
After that, focus on sinking funds. School trips, dance shows, PE kits – a little put aside monthly takes the stress out of surprise costs.
So – would you dip into your overdraft for your child’s school trip, or does the debt-free date come first? Tell us in the community.
This content is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. If you need advice tailored to your personal circumstances, please speak to an authorised financial adviser.