Husband Books European Trip Without His Wife After She Said They Can’t Afford a Vacation

For this family of four, their annual vacation most years has been a country-hopping train trip through Europe. But this year, the mom looked at the budget, and realized they couldn’t afford it. But instead of foregoing it, her husband went ahead and booked the elaborate vacation with the kids … without her.

The shocking dilemma was shared by a user under the name “Exhaustedpenguin” earlier this month on the London-based online parenting forum Mumsnet. 

The anonymous mom detailed that their family trips usually include a mix of staying on sleeper trains and 4-star hotels and that they always fly on a budget airline. “It usually costs more than a standard two weeks all-inclusive-resort-type holiday because of the cost of eating out, travel, etc, but we love it,” she wrote. 

But this year, they had to deal with “extensive” home renovations that added up to about $80,000. She added that they also have no savings and the cost of the renovation will be added onto their mortgage. 

The trip would be charged onto the husband’s credit card, making a huge dent for the family with two teenagers, one daughter and one son. “I have said we should just do a week in a UK cottage instead of usual holiday, to prepare for all the unexpected costs that the renovations will kick up,” she continued. 

Her husband; however, was firm that they are sticking with tradition and going on their usual holiday. Why? “He says he works hard and deserves a decent holiday,” she wrote.

The tension had been a source of argument between the couple for weeks and finally, he told the kids that she didn’t want to go on their family trip and told them they had to chose what they wanted to do. The situation ripped the family apart as the daughter decided to go and the son chose to stay with mom at home.

But that didn’t end it. The husband is now “constantly dropping digs at me in front of them” and saying that she doesn’t “understand how money works” and she doesn’t “work as hard as him.” Yet he refuses to compromise on a cheaper vacation. 

The daily aggravation was “unbearable” enough, but then he did the unimaginable: “Yesterday, I discovered that he’s booked interrail tickets for the three of them, ignoring my son’s request.”

Indeed, he went ahead and booked the entire family, minus her. 

That’s when she decided to turn to the forum, baffled with how to handle the situation. “My son is adamant that he won’t go unless I do,“ she wrote. “If I go, we will end up getting more in debt.” Under her post, she added a poll: “Am I being unreasonable?” Of the 1,183 who voted, 87 percent sided that her concerns were just.

Some commenters have been supportive, while some question other elements of the post, like the budget, with comments like, “You have no savings but go on this expensive holiday every year?” and “You have no savings but are adding 60k to your mortgage? That seems very odd to me.”  Another one added that even her alternative plan to stage closer to home doesn’t make sense. “I don’t know if you’ve costed out cottage holidays in the UK, but they may not be as cost effective as you imagine,” the commenter wrote.

While the poster has remained anonymous, her dilemma has been sparking conversations online.