After two years of postponed exhibits and cancellations, music lovers are flocking to huge festivals throughout the nation.
Whereas festivals themselves are superb, the harm they inflict in your pockets isn’t. Journey, lodging, meals, admission and incidentals all add up shortly.
Simply check out 2022 ticket costs for some fashionable music fests across the nation:
- Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee: $350 and up for 4 days
- Coachella in Indio, California: $449 and up for 3 days
- Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois: $350 and up for 4 days
- Electrical Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada: $359 and up for 3 days
- Okeechobee Music & Arts Competition in Okeechobee, Florida: $350 and up for 4 days
Most ticket costs don’t embrace choices lile parking, tenting, meals and different add-ons, not to mention Insta-worthy VIP experiences or glow-in-the-dark rave followers.
While you tally every thing up, it’s straightforward to spend $1,000 per individual at a pageant by getting swept up within the second — or making rookie errors.
Save financial institution and benefit from the expertise with these professional tips about easy methods to afford music festivals.
Save Cash on Tickets
The earlier you buy your pageant tickets, the higher. You’ll must plan forward to get one of the best worth.
Presale Tickets
Presale tickets are probably the most inexpensive. They normally go on sale anyplace from 9 months to a 12 months earlier than the pageant.
You’ll want a presale code to get the cheaper fee. Some festivals, like Coachella, allow you to register for the superior presale on their web site.
Enter your title, cellular quantity and electronic mail, and also you’ll get notified with a code when the presale begins so you’ll be able to seize your early tickets.
It’s additionally straightforward to seek out presale codes on-line by Googling the title of the pageant + presale code.
Tier Tickets
Miss the presale? Purchase your tickets as quickly as attainable anyway. They are going to solely get dearer because the occasion nears.
Most festivals launch tickets in “tiers.” As one tier sells out, the following tier turns into obtainable — at the next worth.
For instance, when Bonnaroo 2022 tickets first went on sale, a four-day go price $299. However two weeks earlier than the occasion, the identical tickets price a whopping $350. And that’s earlier than an additional $67 in taxes and charges are tacked on at checkout.
Ought to You Layaway?
Many music festivals, like Extremely and EDC, allow you to arrange a cost plan so you’ll be able to unfold out the price of your ticket in installments over the following few months.
Most layaway packages embrace extra charges. They’re normally fairly modest, between $15 and $30.
In case your month-to-month finances can’t stand a $200 to $400 blow all of sudden, spreading the price over 4 or 5 interest-free funds is a stable different.
Simply make sure that to issue within the installment funds in your month-to-month finances so that you’re not caught off-guard by automated prices.
Rating Final-Minute Tickets
Should you’re keen to take a danger, you’ll be able to normally rating a last-minute ticket at a all-time low worth the day of the occasion.
Scalpers and festival-goers unable to attend the occasion might provide tickets at a steep low cost to recoup a few of their unique price.
Patricio Solano, 35, has nabbed discounted tickets for his buddies by way of pageant Fb teams and message boards.
“Within the days main as much as occasions, folks received’t have the ability to make it, and a variety of occasions you will get the passes on-line from folks at a fraction of the price,” Solano mentioned.
It’s by no means a assure although, and festivals are infamous for scammers. So proceed with warning.
Make a Competition Price range and Plan Forward
Begin mapping out your finances for the pageant as quickly as you purchase your tickets.
Which bills are you answerable for? Which of them are you able to cut up with buddies?
Determine how a lot cash you’re comfy spending all the pageant and divide that quantity throughout every day.
Overestimate how a lot you’ll spend. Festivals are filled with surprises — good and dangerous — so that you don’t need to come up quick on cash attributable to unexpected circumstances. Nobody likes to borrow cash from buddies or rack-up bank card debt.
Hold Your Cash Protected
Some folks like taking money to festivals as a result of it’s straightforward to make use of and will help you stick with a finances.
However money can also be very easy to lose. Particularly while you’re in a crowded, unfamiliar place and probably beneath the affect of, ehm, a energetic pageant ambiance.
Festivals are additionally infamous havens for dangerous actors who benefit from good vibes by stealing telephones, wallets and different belongings.
Should you’re hesitant to make use of money, contemplate bringing a pay as you go bank card or app-based financial institution card with an allotted finances loaded on it as a substitute.
Whether or not you go money or card, maintain your cash on you always. Purchase a fanny pack or a cash belt and get within the behavior of checking in your belongings all through the day.
You would possibly look to your smartphone or sensible watch to select up the tab if distributors settle for contactless funds. Some frequent methods embrace Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
Save Cash Whereas Getting Your Rave On
To procure your ticket — however you continue to want to determine easy methods to get to the pageant.
You’ll additionally must determine the place you’ll sleep and what you’ll eat with out going broke.
Getting There
![People sip on drinks while sitting in lawn chairs at a camp site at a music festival.](https://cdn.thepennyhoarder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/06130120/camping-festival-final-1024x683.jpg)
The place to Keep
- Many festivals have on-site tenting however you’ll be anticipated to convey your personal tents and provides. Discover out forward of time how a lot tenting passes price and what objects are permitted so you understand prematurely in case you can convey issues like your personal firewood and transportable range.
- Should you’re going with a gaggle, contemplate pooling your assets to lease an RV.
- An Airbnb will be a reasonable different to dear accommodations close to the venue.
- Should you don’t thoughts sleeping in a room with strangers, staying at a hostel can prevent huge bucks. You could get a free breakfast too and the chance to satisfy new folks.
What to Eat and Drink
- Should you’re not tenting on-site, search for lodging that embrace a kitchen. This manner, you should buy groceries, cook dinner for your self and lower your expenses on meals when you’re on the town for the occasion.
- It’s straightforward to splurge on meals and drinks at a pageant. Ensure to convey a CamelBak or a pair bottles of water with you, and take a look at these different tremendous easy ideas for saving cash on meals whereas touring.
- Should you determine to go away the pageant grounds for a scorching restaurant meal, don’t neglect to examine on-line meals offers earlier than you go.
- Set a food and drinks finances for your self on the pageant and withdraw money previous to the occasion so that you don’t overspend.
- Problem somebody to a pleasant wager on the beer tent. Should you win, the opposite individual has to purchase you a drink.
- Make your personal hummus, Lunchables, granola and different snacks to take with you.
- Double examine the pageant guidelines about meals and alcohol earlier than you go. You don’t need to spend tons of cash on booze simply to have it confiscated on the entry gate.
- Should you’re staying off-site, eat earlier than you go to the pageant and keep away from that $12 scorching canine and $15 slice of pizza.
How Fellow Penny Hoarders Save Cash at Music Festivals
While you need to know easy methods to get issues carried out, it’s necessary to speak to the consultants — that’s, the individuals who attend music occasions.
We requested a gaggle of devoted festival-goers on Fb for his or her finest money-saving ideas and methods.
- “Principally simply be keen to barter,” mentioned Brenton Rhein, of Orlando, Florida. “Speak to your neighbors and see what you’ll be able to pool collectively. Most individuals are keen to do that, and it’ll save everybody cash in the long term.”
- “Make issues and be artistic with every pageant,” Jeremy V., additionally of Orlando, recommends. “I at all times hand make issues as a aspect hustle, in order that I can use it for trades or money. I go away festivals with cash made.”
- “Plan meals along with your group and all pitch in on elements and labor. We made stir fry, bacon grilled cheese and an enormous breakfast on a regular basis. We didn’t spend a lot on meals contained in the fest, and spent possibly $80-$100 per couple on the groceries,” mentioned Alex Gallo of Woodstock, Georgia.
- “Don’t spend cash on souvenirs and merchandise on the pageant,” mentioned Solano, a Florida resident. “Most of these can be found on-line at a less expensive worth and also you run the danger of shedding no matter to procure on the pageant.”
- “We had a huge group,” mentioned Florida resident Courtney Lord. “[We] assigned sure snacks and drinks to singles and {couples} introduced meals. Everybody was answerable for bringing their very own case of water.”
- “Goodwill and DIY for outfits,” advisable Alexa Mucci, a resident of New York Metropolis. “A number of folks spend a ton of cash on their rave gear or pageant style, however you’ll be able to repurpose thrift retailer finds or make actually artistic stuff out of low cost materials and enjoyable greenback retailer stuff.”
Suppose Exterior the Field
Listed below are a number of different methods to save cash on music festivals.
Turn out to be a Volunteer
Festivals at all times want volunteers to assist with issues like distributing wristbands on the gate, promoting packages and cleansing up after the occasion.
In return, you’ll get free entry to the pageant. You would possibly even rating different perks like free meals and ideas.
“You normally work about 5 to 6 hours per day and get the remainder of the time to benefit from the pageant,” says Kelli Wheeler from Orlando.
Simply make sure that to enroll as a volunteer as early as attainable as a result of positions replenish shortly.
Write concerning the Competition
Provide you with an fascinating story angle and pitch it to a web site that is perhaps keen to select up among the price to ship a contract author to cowl the occasion.
Enter Contests
When all else fails, generally you simply must make your personal luck.
Bands, music venues and radio stations randomly give away free pageant tickets. You could have to be caller quantity X to get a pair of free tickets on the radio.
“I went to Okeechobee without cost as a result of I entered [around] 10 totally different on-line contests,” Mucci mentioned.
Give it a Google and add your favourite bands on social media so you’ll be able to study giveaways and contests.
Rachel Christian is a Licensed Educator in Private Finance and a senior author for The PNW. Lisa McGreevy is a former employees author at The PNW.