It looks, feels and, I dare say, smells the same as my normal wallet, right down to the worn patches so why does it behave differently when I’m on holiday? On an average day the old wallet is the voice of budgetary reason. Take it on holiday, though, and it becomes the tunnel in a fiscal great escape. Our recent holiday in Margaret River is a perfect illustration of the holiday wallet phenomenon.

Take, for example, a 250g block of chocolate that now sets you back around $4.00 at the local supermarket. Not a single block will make its way into the shopping trolley unless there is a heavily discounted special on chocolate. Drive down to Margaret River, however, and one has to visit the Margaret River Chocolate Factory where Normie Wallet happily releases $7.00 for an even smaller block. Bear in mind that there’s a Margaret River Chocolate Factory twenty minutes from our house. We only go there to taste the samples (and not once have we seen an Oompa Loompa). The original Margaret River Chocolate Factory, however, has a chunk of my hard earned money.

The chocolate factory is not the only establishment to become bosom buddies with my wallet. Normie opened time and time again to part with its contents. In return we have fridge magnets, souvenir spoons, computer games and a lot of calories. We came back with more baggage than we took to Margaret River.

But that is the point, isn’t it? We go on holiday to get away from the pressures and monotony of everyday life. All the troubles and stresses just slip away and we can forget about them for a short while. The children are growing up fast and I cherish the times we spend together.

We had a wonderful time in Margaret River, my family, my wallet and me.