Remember back when you were feeling flush and that festival lineup was KILLER, obvi making a ticket purchase sensible and necessary? Fast forward and you’re basically broke and you haven’t even booked accommodation yet. Don’t give up the dream just yet, but it might be time to buckle down with some quick hacks for fast savings.
Work Out What You Need
It seems obvious, but we all still need to hear it. If you don’t know how much you need to save, you can’t set a budget and you’ll never be stage-side in your fave denim short shorts with glitter on ya cheeks. Research accommodation, factor in the whole eating thing and of course think about travel costs.
Once you have a number, check out some tools like ANZ’s Savings Calculator that can show you what you’ll need to save each day, week, fortnight or month to make your savings goal in the time you have left.
Track Your Spending
You can budget all you want, but if you’re not holding yourself accountable you’re not going to stick to it. Apps like TrackMySpend are basically the fitness tracker of your savings. If you see those pointless extra spends, you can’t ignore them, right?
Actually Reach Your Goal
Ok so you have your savings goal, and if you’re anything like – well, everyone, really – you’ve left it to the last minute, so it might be time to get serious and think about unnecessary purchases you could cut. I know it hurts, but bopping along to your fave artists all weekend is worth it, no?
Make your own coffee. I know your skills probably don’t match that barista on the corner of your office, but you’ll still get a caffeine hit and save what, $5, $10 or more a day? Depending on your habit.
Meal prep. You’ll get to sample all the food trucks you want at the festival, so hold off until then and focus on making your own meals. The best way to do this is to plan ahead, including a shopping list so you’re not buying random things that seemed so necessary when you were hangry in the grocery store.
Avoid all shops. We know you’re strong, but are you strong enough to resist all merchandising Jedi mind tricks? No, you are not. So just avoid. Same goes for browsing online stores. Sorry, it sucks but it’s the only way.
Invite friends over instead of going out. When in super savings mode, you may go crazy. Maintain your sanity and your budget by inviting friends over instead of meeting them out. You can buy a bottle of wine for the same price as 2-3 pub beers, just saying.
Sell your unwanted stuff. You were going to anyway right? Don’t rely on this as a savings technique because the results are unpredictable, but it’s a great way to potentially add a few more dollars to your festival pocket.
Put your gym membership on hold. Health is important so don’t get rid of it, just switch to working out at home until after your festival to postpone membership fees. There are plenty of sweat-inducing, free workout vids to maintain your festival bod on Youtube.
Obviously, if you’ve nailed responsible adulting, you’ll be able to factor a few more treats into your weekly spending. Check other tools like ANZ’s Budget Planner to help you work out what you can manage while staying on track to be living your best life at that festival.
This article was sponsored by ANZ, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 234527 but it sure wasn’t written by them. Always speak to the experts before making financial choices, ok?
