Festival Thriftiness: Top Tips on How to Save Money this Festival Season

So you’ve spent your hard earned money on the tickets, the tent and the clothes – now you’ve got to confront the high festival prices! Tallying up the cost of your ticket, drinks, food and travel can leave you feeling pretty blue, but thanks to SpiralUK.com, the go-to brand for festival bumbags and backpacks, has created a list of top tips to save you from splashing the cash this season!

1. A Fress Pass
We know festival tickets can be super expensive, so why don’t you offer to volunteer to work at a festival? In exchange for your hard work you get the chance to watch some of the acts. Just be prepared for the possibility of admin charges when you sign up to volunteer – some festivals take a refundable deposit to make sure you actually finish your shifts rather than sneaking off to catch the headliner!

2. Get Involved Before the Festival
Festivals need marketing, and leading up to the event, agencies will be searching for people to promote it on the streets. You could be involved in handing out posters and filling Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with hashtags and promotional tweets about the festival. Many festivals offer perks for taking part in the marketing, such as VIP upgrades.

3. The Cost of H20
So, you can’t avoid the need to drink water over the festival weekend, but you don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices everyday. Some bottles of water can cost up to £4! Why not take an empty water bottle with you, and make use of the free water stations around the festival by filling up the bottle and hydrating that way.

4. Cash Only
Go to a festival fully prepared. Think about how much you expect to spend over the course of the weekend and take that amount of cash with you. Using the ATM’s within the grounds can actually work out more expensive as they usually charge fees. Why not get yourself a bum bag to keep the money in too – that way you know where it is at all times and is kept safe.

5. Bring the Nokia
Yes everyone is social media mad nowadays, but if you are trying to keep your costs down, avoid bringing the iPhone. It may not cost you at the time, but if you lose it, which lets face it, usually happens at a festival, you’ll be paying for it in the long run! You’re only going to really need your phone for contacting friends when you all get lost and the battery is more likely to last the entire weekend without needing to charge!

6. BYOB
Check the rules on alcohol at the festival you are attending as all are different. You really don’t want to spend a huge amount of money stocking up for a booze fuelled weekend to be told you have to leave it all at security.

7. Last Day Merch Haul
Don’t bother spending any money on any merchandise or clothing till the last day of the festival. Vendors will be desperate to get rid of their final stock before the weekend ends and will reduce the prices.

8. Say NO to Programmes
Get your hands on a print-out copy of the line-up and map before you get to the festival. You really don’t want to pay out for programmes as soon as you get there. Especially when you know you can get that information for yourself for free anyway!

Avery Parker