My bank account is not looking too hot after the holidays and Holy Ship so I’m making it a goal to get my finances back in order. I need to start being aware of my spending so that I can save for my upcoming festivals this year. Here are some things I am doing to achieve my savings goals, limit my spending, afford living in Austin AND still go to music festivals. It is definitely doable and here’s how I plan to do it in hopes that it’ll help you. You can also read How to Save Money for Music Festivals for more tips.
First thing I will say is that you need to realize you CAN’T go to everything. Unless you make a lot of money and can afford to, the reality is you have to pick and choose what events to go to. No rave, event, festival is worth putting yourself in an unstable financial position. This is why I choose 2-3 “big” festivals a year (LiB, Electric Forest are my two big ones this year) and cut back on small shows (they add up!!) unless it’s an artist I haven’t seen or someone in my top artists.
Once you’ve figured out ideally what events you want to go to as well as your expenses, here are some things I’m doing to cut back on certain areas of spending.
Weekly Grocery Ad
I get the weekly grocery ad in my mail every week and every week I throw it out. I’m trying to be better about this and look at what’s on sale. Depending on what’s on sale, I’ll create my grocery list and meal plan based on that. I tested it out this past week and got my grocery bill around $40 where I like to keep it. I also meal prep my meals which can save you time and money.
See also: Meal Prepping for Beginners
Library Card
I got a library card! One of my goals for 2019 was to read one book a month and while buying books can add up, I decided to get a library card. I’m trying to turn my phone off at 9 pm and read before bed because it typically helps me relax. If you don’t like reading, you can try and find some audiobooks or podcasts.
Cancel Delivery Apps
I deleted my Uber Eats and Favor app at the start of 2019. If I’m better planning my meals and planning ahead, I won’t have a need for them. Of course some things come up. I allow myself to eat out twice a week so if I’m in a bind and can’t leave work and grab lunch on a day I forgot then I can make an exception. You can probably AT LEAST $100 a month by deleting these apps if you are a frequent user. Times that by 4 months and you have yourself an EDC ticket.
Remove Unnecessary Reoccurring Subscriptions and Payments
Last year, I realized I was paying for two Amazon prime accounts on two separate emails. Luckily they were both the student rate so I made sure to delete the account I wasn’t using. I’m keeping track of monthly payments I have and deleting unnecessary. I use Canva Premium ($12/month) for my graphics, but just purchased Adobe Creative Cloud (~$40/month) for video editing, but I also plan to teach myself Illustrator and Photoshop (since it’s included in Adobe Creative Cloud) so I can get rid of Canva. Take a look at your spending and see! Do you have charges from apps you don’t use? Are you really utilizing that Fabletics subscription or Hello Fresh subscription?
Sell Rave Clothes I Don’t Wear Anymore
Shameless plug: I’m selling my gently worn or never worn rave clothes on a separate Instagram (@vwascloset). I’m doing this to clean out my clothes to make a little money back on some items and since it’s taking up more space. Highly recommend you do this with rave clothes and non-rave clothes. If some items might not sell, you can always donate them. I’m going to make a pile for donating and a pile for selling.
Promoting Festivals, Media Passes, Influencing, etc.
Last year was the first year I was able to get four free tickets to festivals (Seismic Dance Event, Freaky Deaky, Origins and Decadence Arizona). I was able to do this through promoting festivals with a promo code or link and media passes. This saved me a good chunk of money. If you’re interested in going these routes, look at their website and follow their social media. They typically announce if they are looking for ambassadors or promoters which can provide an opportunity for you to get a free ticket.
Understand though that you won’t just be handed a free ticket. For promoting, you have to create promotional posts on social media, network with festival goers and sell a certain amount of tickets to get the ticket. Makes it much more rewarding that way though. For media passes, if you don’t have a blog or website, connect with other sites and blogs and pitch to them that you’d like to cover an event or festival. Most likely they will have 1-2 passes to give, but be expected to do a pre and post-coverage write up on the event.
I hope these tips can help you save more money so you can enjoy the events and festivals you want in 2019. Let me know if you have any tips to share!
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