Festival Season Money Saving Tips

The weather has been gearing up for the festival season and despite the early signs of a hot, drought ridden-summer it looks like it’s going to be business as usual for festival goers. With ticket prices ignoring the recession, anyone planning to make the most of the British festival scene this summer will be looking for ways to cut costs; here are a few clues on how to get more for your money amongst the mud, the madness and the music.

Festival free for all tips
Forget festival going and do some charitable work. Actually you can combine the two; many leading charities and organisations have stalls at the major (and some minor) festivals. Volunteering for these means you get a warm glow inside and, more importantly, a free ticket. You may also get food vouchers, which means more money for beer. Charity begins at home and then, apparently, it goes off for a lovely holiday.

When it comes to fine wines and beers you’ll need to buy in advance. For some reason the hippy free-for-all-culture that spawned the British festival doesn’t seem too bashful about charging an extortionate price for drinks, or anything else. The “bring your own” approach is tempered by “allowances” per head, but these are usually reasonably generous. Don’t take the Veuve Clicquot or the 1920 Bordeaux, in their original glass bottles as these will be confiscated, decant them into plastic bottles.

Your home from home during festival season doesn’t need to be a state of the art Yurt. Shop online for discounts on tents as the chances are they will only get one use. Festivals can be like the Kalahari or the trenches, depending on the weather, and even expensive survival tents will not survive. Most nights you’ll be sleeping in a field without a tent, or much in the way of consciousness anyway, so keep the camping equipment to a minimum.

Festival clothing should be bought in advance and bought using discount codes and vouchers, or from the cheaper end of the High Street. Stock up on light layers at low costs and don’t wear your favourite Prada top to the festival. If you do, you’ll find the maid will probably walk out on you when you get home, festival mud and designer gear don’t mix. You’ll need to pack sensible footwear as well; this comes in two varieties; flip-flops and wellies. Nothing else.

The cost of the ticket could have you saving for months and transport to the festival is not normally cheap. Shop online for discounts on train and coach fares well in advance and check out discount vouchers available online from voucher code sites. In addition, there are a number of car sharing schemes around the country, some operating on a national basis. This is a bit like hitching and a lot less like forking out for a train fare.

It can be a good idea to take cash with you; it can also be a bad idea. The upside is that cash machines at home don’t charge for withdrawals. Obviously festival organisers and banks have to make a dime somehow, so the machines at the festival will be of the variety that likes to dip their sticky fingers into your account and charge for the privilege. The danger is of course that you’ll lose your cash in a muddy field, or some other sticky fingers may become inquisitive. Probably it’s best to take some ready cash and keep it stored securely about your person and let the cash machines have a little fun too.
Before you set off this summer to the UK’s major and minor festivals, don’t forget to visit some of the UK’s leading voucher code sites to stock up on clothing, camping equipment and life’s little luxuries such as soap and Veuve Clicquot!

Written by The Spy, 23 June, 2012 - 02:04