Festival Season on the Cheap

We all know festivals can be expensive – from forking out for your ticket, right through to buying food and drink to tide you over once you’re actually at the event: everywhere you turn it can seem like someone is trying to get you to part with your cash, and you might start to feel like you need a financial advisor to help you balance your carefully calculated weekend budget.

But there are ways to do a festival on the cheap – and as the festival season is well and truly upon us, we’ve come up with ways to save money on five of the most expensive areas.

Food

The best way to save money on food at a festival is simply not to eat festival food! Bring enough snacks and easy to prepare meals to last you the whole weekend, and feast before you leave the campsite in the morning and again when you stumble back to your tent at night. This way you won’t pay a ridiculous price for sub-standard festival food – and your stomach will thank you along with your wallet!

Drink

For anyone on a budget, the ridiculously overpriced arena bars could result in you blowing all your money on the first afternoon. As with food, the best solution to that is to bring your own – imbibe at the campsite, or if you’re feeling daring and want to drink whilst you enjoy the music, sneak a few drinks into the venue itself.

Location

If mainstream festivals are too expensive, why not find an up-and-comer - either at home or, for an extra holiday feel, abroad. European festivals just starting off sometimes offer discounted prices to UK based residents in a bid to spread the word. The acts might not all be to your liking, but we all know that festivals can be just as much about the company and atmosphere as the music. 

Clothes

There’s no point in taking expensive clothes to a festival, as there’s a good chance they’ll get ruined. Stick with clothing that you don’t mind never seeing again – and if you need to buy wellies especially for the occasion, think less Hunter and more Primark.

Travel

Although we all love to travel in comfort, convenience and speed, this isn’t always a cheap way to go. On the way back at least, chances are you’ll be out for the count for most of the journey anyway – and after a few nights in a tent, kipping on a bus seat will be comparative luxury!  

Liberty-Belle Howard is part of the content development team at Local Financial Advice, helping people feel confident about their financial futures.