A family's 'one ray of light' has been extinguished as the rising cost of living makes going away on holiday impossible.
Alex Handley is so worried about how much money he will have to pay to cover rising bills it has had a large impact on his mental health, causing him to feel "anxious" and "down".
The 32-year-old used to take his family away on three holidays each year - usually two trips around the south of England, and one abroad.
The Aylesford, Kent man would scrape and scrimp each year to afford a big blow out trip, doing online surveys to earn extra cash towards the holiday.
Before Covid jetting off to Spain, Portugal and once even Egypt had been major highlights for the family, who used budget airlines and last minute deals to make the trip work for them.
This year Alex , who runs an online business, has had to tell his kids - Jonathan, 6, and Marissa, 3 - that they won't be able to go away at all.
"We've had to cancel absolutely everything this year," Alex told The Mirror. "My energy bills have nearly quadrupled. All the money I save goes to the energy bill now.
"Council tax has gone up, the price of food shopping has gone up from £60 to £90 a week. All the extra money I've tried to track and follow, the miscellaneous savings I used to make, are now being eaten up by everything else.
"I used to pay for my 6-year-old son to go to clubs over the holidays, but I've had to get rid of these."
He said that for a few years the family's holidays were "becoming a tradition, part of our life", and they became "one thing to look forward to every year".
He added: "I will try and earn extra, do these £1.50 surveys. I always had the momentum to earn and save for our family holiday.
"It's the one thing we looked forward to most. A little piece of heaven, the one ray of light, that little bit of luxury, that bit of escapism."
Now holidays are beyond their financial means, that dream has been "kyboshed".
"It will be the same next year, because everything costs so much and is rising," Alex continued.
"My expendable income has been eradicated. My three-year-old was going to get a baby passport and go away this summer, but we can't.
"Our daughter missed out on her first holiday abroad because of the cost of everything. We were saying 'Marissa soon it's your go to go away', but now we've had to tell her it isn't happening."
"My son said 'daddy are we going away this year?' I had to tell him no.
“The stress is making me anxious and getting me down. I am concerned about my mental health.”
Alex looked at a holiday this year, but found that a trip to Spain that cost the family £600 before the pandemic is now £950.
"Everything, including flights, is absolutely extortionate now," Alex added.
Many families across the country are currently suffering from rising prices, with supermarket receipts forecast to rise 15% over the summer - a 40 year high which has hit lower income families disproportionately hard.
With inflation edging towards 18% next year according to some modelling, and the cost of budget airline tickets likely to keep rising, big holidays away may prove the reserve of fewer and fewer people.
Alex has found some relief with a new app called Nous, which links up to his bank and helps him track his in-goings and outgoings.
"You put all your details in, link it with your bank, it tracks all my usual spending," he said.
"I have found it really useful. It forecasts where things will increase for me. It shows me where it is going to hit me hardest."
