Norfolk Mum Plans Six-Week Summer Holiday for Two Kids on Just £200

Mercedes Smithson has £200 to get her two children through the six-week summer holiday. For a family in Norfolk, that is the whole budget for activities, days out and treats, and she says she has made peace with how small it looks to other parents.

The figure comes out of a bad stretch earlier this year. Smithson, an NHS assistant practitioner who works full time, says she hit rock bottom: she borrowed money from her mum, leaned on credit cards and cashed out her wages early just to get by. Rising bills had pushed the family's finances out of control despite her job. She and her husband, Joel, 35, decided to take hold of the situation, and the summer holidays were where they started.

"I knew something had to change – we couldn't keep living in our overdrafts every month," she told What's The Jam. Setting the £200 limit felt frightening at first, she said, but it has since taken a lot of pressure off. Her view is that the children don't need expensive trips; they want time with their parents and a bit of fun.

So far the money has stretched further than the number suggests. She has paid £16 for swimming at the local leisure centre and £1 for a kids' meal at Pizza Hut. The rest has been free or close to it: beach days with homemade picnics, paddling in the river, the library's summer reading challenge, and meet-ups with friends in local parks. The family lives about 30 minutes from the coast, which helps, and they have also used local splash pads, baked with what was already in the cupboards, and run treasure hunts using a free geocaching app. Council events have joined the list. Smithson calls local events a lifesaver, since they are often free and let the children meet others.

There is one big treat planned: a day at a theme park, paid for with £40 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers and her Blue Light Card discount. Otherwise she aims for one paid activity a week, and sometimes none. She says the children have not once complained or asked for anything expensive.

Smithson says the planning takes work, but she enjoys hunting for bargains and free entertainment, describing it as a little game. Seeing the budget stretch while the children stay happy, she says, is worth the effort, and it has taught her what matters.

She shared her approach online through the account @mumlifewithmercedes, and says the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Other parents have written to say they are doing the same or thinking of trying it, and some have swapped tips of their own. She says she wasn't expecting so many messages and finds it comforting not to be alone. As for anyone who might be quietly judging, she says she doesn't care, calling the budget the smartest move given how expensive everything has become. Being open about money trouble, she adds, has been hard but has helped her connect with others.

The piece is a first-person account, and it offers no wider data on how many families are making similar choices. What it does show is one household's plan, with its figures, still being tested as the summer runs on.