‘Rich kid’ teen in tears on camping holiday

Hattie Garment, 19, from Hemel Hempstead, Herts, is used to luxury getaways to the Maldives at $3650 a head.

But as part of the show, she swaps five-star luxury for a budget break when she joins another family on their $328 wild camping weekend.

Peter and Louise Hayward from Bracknell, Berks, are both self-employed as a dieting consultant and a cleaner and between them have been saving for six months to afford the budget break.

It is their two daughters, Katie and Chloe’s, first holiday.

But while for the Haywards it is a trip of a lifetime, for Hattie it all becomes too much, breaking down in tears less than an hour into the holiday.

Having erected her tent on the Sussex camp site, Hattie takes refuge from the rain where she begins to sob.

“It’s not what I had in mind,” she says. “How do people have fun doing this?

“I’m a bit stressed right now. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.”

But her outburst leaves the Haywards baffled with Louise saying: “It’s definitely a strange concept to be upset on holiday.”

It is certainly a far cry from Hattie’s day-to-day life, with the teen’s dad funding her extravagant lifestyle.

She explains: “My dad funds my lifestyle, I’ve never had to keep track of money.

“Every month I’m spending £500-£1,000 ($A912-$A1825) on clothes, make-up.”

Hattie lives with her parents in their $3.2 million home where she doesn’t pay rent, and while she works, her parents give her $912 a month for her travel costs so she is free to fritter away her earnings.

Hattie admits a camping holiday would be her worst nightmare as she packs her suitcase full of $3651 worth of designer goods for the three-day break.

Meanwhile, Louise and Pete are busy packing up everything including the kitchen sink in order to make their $A70-a-day budget stretch as far as possible.

Collecting Hattie from a train station, the family are given the first opportunity to hear how Hattie’s holidays compare.

And they’re surprised to hear the teen bemoan her recent trip to the Maldives.

“There is literally nothing to do there” she tells them. “I did get a bit bored, there’s a TV but it’s all foreign.”

After the tents are pitched, the family gather round the fire where Louise rustles up a dinner from the food they brought from home.

Pete is cautious to tell Hattie to watch her trainers near the fire, and the Haywards are left gobsmacked to learn they cost between $1280 and $1460.

Hattie adds: “I’m trying to save. It’s hard, you see something that you want and I just buy it. I don’t think about what I do.”

Fighting back tears, Louise admits it’s “tough” to hear.

She says: “It’s quite tough to know for some people it is just that easy.

“I wish I could do that, but we’re dealt our own hands aren’t we.

“It’s a little bit uncomfortable to be honest. I really wish we could spend money like that. It would be amazing.”

But Hattie insists that there is nothing to be upset about.

“I guess she just has to think about it from a different perspective because I don’t have certain stuff to think about at the moment” she says.

The next day, after a rough night for Hattie, the family head to the farm after the Rich Kid has to cut short her two-hour getting ready time.

After learning that Hattie spends up to $3650 on a holiday, Pete is determined for her to learn the real value of money.

“I would never pay £2000 for a holiday no matter what it was,” he says.

“My girls, they transformed as soon as they got here. They’re having a lovely time. I hope Hattie can reflect off that, just see the enjoyment off simple things.”

Following their picnic lunch, Louise sets Hattie the challenge of finding an afternoon activity for them all as well as feeding the family on a budget of $41.

After realising that local attractions are out of the question, Hattie settles on two activity books for the girls and a family dinner — all coming in under budget at $37.

That evening Louise is keen to open up to Hattie about the difficulties they have faced with their daughter Katie’s autism.

She explains: “There are so many activities for kids like her to try, but there’s definitely a limit as to what we can do so far with our budget.

“You probably don’t imagine what kind of impact money can have on someone’s development, because it shouldn’t.”

Touched by the family’s story, Hattie spends her own money taking the two girls to the stables the next day.

And it seems that Hattie’s eyes have been opened by the Haywards, admitting that she would now take her own kids camping in the future.

Speaking of her experience, Hattie said: “I need to stop spending money on stuff I just want and don’t actually need. I’m definitely going to put that into practice.

“I would just chuck money around like it was nothing but now seeing a family first-hand and how much they struggle, it’s made me understand more about the value of money.”

And it seems that Pete has been inspired by their meeting too after learning that Hattie’s dad came from a working class background before starting his own business.

“I know there’s more I could do for my family,” he says. “Listening to how your parents grew up has inspired me to better myself.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission