If you want to discover what the cost of living might be like in the UK in 2040, take a trip to Switzerland where you can wander around supermarkets and enjoy the thrill of shouting 'Oh my goodness' as you ponder the cost of basic items such as butter and coffee (but stay away from the luxury items aisle as fainting is a distinct possibility).
And yet, here's the thing, many of us continue to go on holiday to Switzerland and still manage to have a very good holiday.
We inevitably spend a lot of time watching the pennies but it can still be a good trip. Zermatt was recently voted one of the five holiday experiences of a lifetime.
But for most of us, when it comes to a carefree sun-and-sand winter break, it makes most sense to choose a destination where the living is not only easy but cheap. Well, we'd settle for cheap-ish - we're not that desperate.
While the cost of living continues to rise every year, it will surely come as an unbridled delight to discover that, for the overseas holidaymaker at least, it is possible to head to a country where the price of holiday living is in retreat.
According to the Post Office Long Haul Report (postoffice.co.uk/longhaul2013), prices paid by holidaymakers are down in half of the destinations surveyed (and not just by a tiny fraction; for example, they've fallen by a third in Jamaica).
Of course, what you actually spend on holiday is only one part of the total cost of a trip abroad: the majority of the amount you pay is taken up by the cost of getting there and the price of your accommodation.
Shore winner: Camps Bay in South Africa, where costs have fallen
The fact remains, however, that it doesn't matter how much you pay to reach your destination and stay there, the prices charged at the resort for drinks and meals will significantly affect your overall experience (while I loved Zermatt, it took me a while to stop shaking after I handed over £20 for a pizza).
So it makes good sense to choose a destination where your holiday money goes further: somewhere where you get real bang for your holiday bucks.
Therefore, the trends highlighted in the Post Office Survey are worth observing. After three years at the top of the best-value rankings, a sudden 45 per cent price rise in Sri Lankan resort costs means that the Indian Ocean destination dropped to fifth place.
Resort prices in Sri Lanka have risen for the second year running, a fact largely explained by the island's return to the holiday mainstream following the end of the civil war.
A total of £54.45 for ten tourist staples in the country's capital Colombo, including a three-course evening meal for two with wine, drinks and suncream, was the biggest price rise in any of the destinations surveyed and 24 per cent higher than in Bali (£43.91), the outright winner.
Shore winner: Camps Bay in South Africa, where costs have fallen
Bali's rise to the top spot was due to the fact that 2013 prices fell one per cent to give the Indonesian island a clear lead over South Africa, where a 20 per cent year-on-year rise in the strength of sterling helped the country leap six places up the table of 32 longhaul destinations to take the runner-up spot.
At £49.57, prices for UK holidaymakers in Cape Town were 12 per cent lower than 12 months ago. It was sterling's rise in value against the rand that prevented the Far East from taking the top three places.
Instead Vietnam and Thailand took third and fourth place respectively in the table. After losing ground a year ago, a six per cent fall in Phuket resort prices (£54.39) has helped Thailand to close the gap on Vietnam. In sharp contrast, the Vietnamese barometer basket rose 18 per cent in Hoi An (£53.04).
Despite this, Vietnam remains competitively priced and has proved a 2013 success story as sales of its currency - the dong - grew 106 per cent year-on-year to top the Post Office's Fastest Growing Currencies league table.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were also in demand. On the currency front, while sterling remains weak against European currencies, the Post Office reports it has strengthened against many long-haul ones, especially Japan (25 per cent) and South Africa (20 per cent).
Let¿s celebrate: Parade time at Disney¿s Magic
Kingdom in Orlando, which was the least expensive of the five areas in
America surveyed by the Post Office
