Holiday Strategy For The Middle Class

Holidays are hailed by all regardless of age, gender, or profession. Perhaps because as they say, change is as good as rest. Holidays are attributed with fun activities and enjoyment, reason why employees and students alike always look forward to them. This is the only precious time one gets to catch up with friends and family, otherwise life would be all work and no play.

The absence of Holidays at a consistent interlude definitely has a negative effect on health and has more often than not led to nervous breakdowns. This is because short holiday and leave breaks are an opportunity for rejuvenation. No wonder employers never mind giving their employees paid leave, because employee’s lack of productivity puts the performance of the company at stake.

How Long Should a Holiday Last? As much as factors like nature of work, budget size, and the family’s favorites determine the kind of holiday to go for, research has shown that people experience happiness or fulfillment after the eighth day during holidays. This research was conducted by Finnish university on 54 holidaymakers all through the period of their getaways, assessing the fluctuations of their contentment with the progress of the vacation.

Therefore, as Jessica Bloom, a research team member would rightly put it, "It could be that eight days is the ideal to fully gain the benefits of a holiday”.

Can you afford a Holiday? The cost of holidays, especially in Kenya, has always been misconstrued. That’s why it is common to find people engaging in other activities like farming in the name of rest. It’s not only hefty pay cheques that afford a decent holiday, it takes proper planning.

Any working class individual can afford a holiday without squeezing out their finances. To save for a holiday, first set a budget and then break it down into small savings. Remember, holiday savings is not meant for emergency. You need to have set aside some regular savings towards this course.

Is Employment Leave and Holiday any Different? Although there is a thin line between these two, fact is, there is a difference. However, leave days could be used for holiday purposes. There are different types of leaves. Study leave, vacation, sick leave, or even maternity leave. In other instances, like for a duty leave or leave of absence, you might be taking some time off the office to carry out official duty elsewhere. Holidays too are of different natures for example state, national, and global holidays like Christmas. You don’t need to make an application at work for such holidays, as they are compulsory. The very word “holiday” advocates no involvement of work and it’s a period of refreshment at home or away and has often been used interchangeably with vacation.

Off-Peak Holidays can be Advantageous Many times, because of financial and time constraints, people are torn between taking a vacation during the peak season and off peak seasons. Here are some benefits of off-peak vacations. During off-peak seasons, airlines, Hoteliers, bars, and restaurants offer deals to attract customers due to the limited number of customers. Therefore, you can take advantage of the discounts and offers available during the off-peak season.

During off-peak you have more flexibility as you can get your choice destination without compromise since the popular sites and hotels are almost never fully booked in advance. If you’ve visited top city tourist attractions, theme parks, water parks, or museums during busy months, then you know how stressful waiting lines can be. Avoid all these by taking your holiday during off-peak when majority of the people are not likely to travel and you are likely to get first-class service at a lower cost.

What Percentage of Your Income should you allocate to Holiday? The amount of holiday savings to put aside depends on your holiday budget, your level of income, and number of vacations you desire to take within the year. It is, however, advisable to spend a maximum of 1.5 percent of the annual family income towards vacation expense.

#JuneOdero