Money Managing: How Do I Decide What Concerts I'm Gonna Go To?
Happy Monday! The inspiration for today's post was from a DM I woke up to this morning asking about how I still get to go to shows & how I manage my money. I'm going to be completely honest with y'all.. I'm not the best at money managing but I can definitely say I have improved over the past year alone.
A year ago, all of my money went to buying clothes & keeping up with the latest trends. The job I had at the time was the worst for me financially in a sense that I had this mindset with myself since I was selling the most current fashion & encouraging others to always buy the latest & greatest that I had to do the same which honestly I had no business doing that because I should have been saving money for things like buying a new car (that's a main goal of mine this year) so I can travel better for shows or even making it easier for me to visit family from out of town more often.
Over the years, my blog has turned into a million things! I almost go through phases with what kind of content I post catering to what my interests are at the time & what jobs I have too. While I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on clothes a year ago I also thought too for blogging that I had to so I could keep my blog relevant which I've learned isn't necessarily true. I constantly use to wanna have my blog like the YouTubers who do fashion hauls 24/7 & are always buying new things which is super unrealistic for my life right now at this moment (someday I want to have a cool sponsorship that will able me to have hauls more often).
If you view my blog often you have probably noticed that I showcase my most viewed posts on the side which is huge for me in deciding what type of posts I want to do! Sometimes my fashion posts will peak more during certain times of the year than others (especially during the beginning of spring I've noticed that's a huge time for people to look for fashion inspiration)!
Since leaving that job I've had huge wake up calls as far as finances go & that I needed to stop this buying new clothes all of the time thing! I'm a lot more selective now as far as fashion goes & if y'all have been wondering why I don't do fashion posts as often as I use to or why you don't see as many hauls as you use to is that I've been prioritizing my money better so I can attend more shows, pay bills, & save up for a new car!
You may be asking why I care so much about going to shows?? Going to shows truly makes me happy! I'm at my happiest when I attend a concert! It's personally my favorite form of entertainment to spend my money on. You may be different though! You may like to go see movies often & choose to spend your entertainment money on seeing the latest & greatest movies! I maybe go to the movies 3 times a year for the sole purpose that I want my main form of my entertainment money to be spent on listening to live music! Everyone has a entertainment budget & should have one so you can go out & do something fun with family, friends, or a significant other! Plus it's healthy for you!
My priorities for what kind of concerts I attend change pretty much every year! I started really actively going to concerts when I was 16 & I'll always be blessed that I had a mother who was really supportive of me wanting to go to a lot of shows! Since I wasn't paying for my concerts from ages 16-18 a lot of the shows I did go to were local just because of the prices & my mom could afford me to go to a show in town for $50 versus going to Houston & spending $200 total for the show, hotel, gas, etc.
From the very first day I started working at 19, every concert I have paid for has come out of my pockets! Now to answer the question of, "how do you manage your money so you can go to all of these shows?". I wished the answer was simple but I'm going to tell y'all a few main tips I have for prioritizing what concerts I choose to go to!
Tips on How I Decide What Concerts I Choose to Go to!
Tip #1: Prioritize What Artist You REALLY Want to See!
I've recently started doing this especially mainly because I do travel out of town for most of my shows this may be different for you if you live in a big city like Houston, Dallas, or Miami! I make a list of about 5 artists that I really want to see live! My list is forever changing because sometimes I listen to a really good album & really want to hear those songs live! The way I make my list is based on who's releasing new music that year because the artists who put out new music tend to most likely tour afterwards! Unfortunately, I don't live in a huge city or a huge concert city so this is why I mainly do this tip! A lot of the artists in my music taste would never come to my city LOL! Very rarely a artist I LOVE comes to Corpus. I'm going to share y'all my current top 5 list of people I really would spend money travelling to see (this list is forever changing)!
My Top 5 List of Artist I Want To See Live in 2020 as of 1/13/2020:
1. Niall Horan (I still have hope he'll release Texas dates but I'd for sure buy tickets to see him in Houston, Austin, or San Antonio)
2. Jacob Whitesides (Just because I love him & he has said after his next EP that he'll do a few shows so if he comes to Texas I'M GOING!! It's been 5 years since I last saw him live)
3. The Weeknd (I've never seen him live & I feel like he's going to release a new album & tour dates any day now)
4. Justin Bieber (I've already decided I want to see him in Houston this July but I'm just waiting for him to come out with ticket prices)
5. PRETTYMUCH (I'm not missing them in Texas again! I refuse! I've got to hear On My Way live)
Tip #2: Be Realistic With What Seat You Can Afford!
I know we all want to be front row but realistically for me at least there's no way I can afford front row for every show I go to! If a really good deal comes up for being really close, of course I'm going to take advantage of the deal! Just to name one of my best deals I have gotten on seats, for this March I'm going to a Christian tour called the Hits Deep Tour which I have gone to for the past few years & tickets usually aren't crazy expensive for Christian shows but this year TobyMac (the main artist performing) did a crazy flash sale for 20% off your ticket if you buy on the day tickets go on sale which pretty much covered extra fees! The tickets were about $90ish for 3rd row & with the 20% off it came out to around $75 for 3rd row at the AT&T Center which I found super insane! Of course I took advantage of the deal! I have a ton of other cool stories too of deals I've gotten but this post would be forever long if I explained every single one (I can do a separate post on that sometime). I know it's not always like that though, most of the time it isn't! Front row at big venues is usually well over $200 which personally I can't afford (if you can afford that & still be financially stable good for you though)! The older I get, the less I care about where I sit. Of course I try not to be way up at the top of balcony but if I truly love the artist & that's all I could afford I would do that! All I care about is if I'm at the show enjoying the music! I'd rather be affordable & attend many shows than spend all of my entertainment money on one show & have the best seats in the house which leads me to my next tip....
Tip #3: If You Want To Attend A Lot of Shows, Be As AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE!
In the past year, this was a main tip I used & I was in a better place financially by doing this so I could attend all types of shows! 5/12 of my months last year I was travelling out of town (they were all in San Antonio except for one) & I saw some pretty big names from Ariana Grande, Khalid, Shawn Mendes, the Jonas Brothers, & Post Malone. For Ariana Grande, the Jonas Brothers, & Post Malone my seats were in the balcony just because the seats for closer were way too overpriced! I still had the time of my life either way but from doing that I got to attend way more shows than spending $200 on floor seats for a big artist spending a huge portion of my money & road tripping for ONE ARTIST! For some artists I splurge a little more but I still make a budget for myself which leads me to my next tip....
Tip #4: Create A Concert Budget!
For every show this changes for me because I may be in a better place financially in January than I am in July! It also depends on how badly I want to see the artist! Venue prices may be different too. The NRG Stadium in Houston is obviously going to be more expensive than Concrete Street in Corpus! I'm going to go through my list I made in Tip #1 & tell y'all what my estimate budget is for every show!
Budget for my Current Top 5:
1. Niall Horan - $150 & below
Last time I saw Niall in 2018 my ticket price was about $120 with fees & everything & we were about 10 rows back! The venue was why we got that good of a price. It was at a outdoor pavilion in a suburb outside of Houston which tends to be cheaper than an arena or stadium! $150 is a little high for me but I really love Niall so I'm willing to spend that much!
2. Jacob Whitesides - $100 & below
Jacob's show is not going to be over $100! Most likely if I saw him live the ticket will be $15-$45. I am willing to pay for VIP passes for him which I'll get into my VIP budget in Tip #5!
3. The Weeknd - $150 & below
I bumped my budget a little higher for The Weeknd since I'll most likely will be seeing him in a arena & from my past 2 arena experiences my balcony seats were $105-$125. I definitely will not be super close for him but I've always wanted to go see him!
4. Justin Bieber - $125 & below
Justin's show will be more expensive because where I want to see him is at NRG Stadium in Houston! I really want to find a good deal for this show & I don't want to spend a crazy amount because last time I tried to see Justin Bieber, he cancelled at the last minute! $125 is pushing it a little bit but most likely I'll spend anywhere from $50-$105 so that in case he cancels again it won't be a huge loss!
5. PRETTYMUCH - $75 & below
A PRETTYMUCH show does not cost more than $75 usually so that's why my budget is a little lower! Most of their shows are GA & I'm just really going to hear my favorite songs live! VIP isn't a huge priority for them but if the VIP deal is REALLY GOOD (like less than $75 good) I would be willing to get VIP to get closer spots in GA!
Tip #5: If You Are Willing To Do VIP STAY IN YOUR BUDGET!!
I've heard so many stories of people spending $1,000 on VIP & meet & greet passes to only really get to be with the artist for 0.5 seconds! If you want the best VIP experience going to cheaper meet & greet events or even trying to win on the radio for free is my best bet! I've only paid for VIP twice in my life & that was for Austin Mahone (his VIP both times was $100 which wasn't too bad). My VIP experiences for Austin were AMAZING & I would definitely do it again! My VIP/Meet & Greet Budget is $125 & below! I WILL NOT SPEND OVER $125 ON MEET & GREET! Most of my meet & greet experiences have been through radio shows which I did a whole other post on that a few years back on how I have had amazing free radio event experiences!
Side note: I've only truly "won" meet & greet for a free radio event 3 times & I've gone to a lot of radio events!
Tip #6: If You Want To Attend A Lot of Shows But You Have No Money What So Ever Go to Free Radio Events!
I always loved going to free radio events when I wasn't paying for my own concert tickets (my mom liked it too)! Some of the artists I've seen for free that were doing these shows to get some exposure & now are crazy famous are Alessia Cara, Daya, Jordan Fisher, Jojo, Austin Mahone, & Ally Brooke. This tip is a tip I recommend to younger concert goers that aren't old enough to get jobs or they are in high school. A huge percent of people who go to free shows in my town are ages 12-19! I've also met some of my best concert buddies through those events! It's great to get to know your community & get to know people who love the same type of music you do! Every now & then going to a free radio event is fun for me plus I love the radio stations in my city & supporting them always brings me joy!
That was my last tip but if you found any of these tips helpful let me know & if you want more posts like these let me know as well! I hope y'all concert enthusiasts like me attend as many shows as possible & have a blast while doing so! Don't go too broke!
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