Wade! Payne/Invision/APAlex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
By MAE ANDERSONNEW YORK -- As the air gets warmer and spring blossoms, the season of music festivals is upon us. From Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee in June to Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, music lovers across the country will soon begin to flocking to festivals, which can draw hundreds of thousands of fans.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and spend a bundle, on everything from tickets to accommodations to bottles of water. But with a little foresight, it's easy to cut down on excess spending and enjoy the music and excitement without breaking the bank.
Before You Go: Tickets are usually pricey, but If you plan enough in advance, you can at least shave off a little money and buy with early-bird discounts. For cheaper rates, consider if you want ! to buy a day pass or two instead of a full festival pass.
Camping is the cheapest lodging option of course. But if that isn't an option, or if you prefer to stay at a hotel, book your hotel first, before your airfare, recommends Andrew Young, editorial director, North America of travel site Travelzoo. The cheapest hotel rooms book up quickly, and flights can be more flexible.
Also make sure to check for a secondary airport in the region of the festival that might have cheaper fares. And if you have a day or two to spare for your vacation, come a day early and leave a day late, when airfare will likely be cheaper, Young says.
The more information you have, the more likely you are to make smart spending choices. Download the festival's own app as well as apps like Festival Ready, which includes navigation and weather forecasts. Yelp and travel apps like Travelzoo or Expedia can also help you find your way around or get last-minute discounts on spots around town.
Carpooling is one of the best ways to save, Young says, and there are even some hidden benefits when festivals seek to reward carpoolers. At Coachella earlier this month, for example, carpoolers with four or more people in the car could print out a sign for their dashboard that said "Carpoolchella," and were entered into a contest that could result in winning VIP tickets to Coachella for life and other prizes. Check with the festival you're attending to see if it does anything similar.
At the Festival: If you're committed to saving cash, consider volunteering. That has the obvious advantage of getting you into the ! festival free, but make sure you consider the drawbacks, Young says.
"Those lists often fill up quick, and depending on what's involved, you may see the festival from a distance, but you may get a little bit of off time," he says. "Whether you volunteer depends on what your willingness is to work during the festival."
The biggest money drain can be things that you could have brought if you'd just prepared in advance. Water is a big one. It can cost several dollars a bottle, and when you're out all day in the scorching heat, that can add up. Bring your own water, or if the festival does not allow that, bring a water bottle or CamelBak. Most festivals are required to offer free drinkable water, though it might be well water that doesn't taste the greatest.
Bringing snacks if the festival allows that can save a lot of dough, too. And make sure you have essentials like sunscreen and a hat, so you don't have to buy them at the festival at a markup. Young recomm! ends buddying up with fellow festivalgoers and dividing up wha! t to bring, so you don't end up with seven bottles of sunscreen but no Band-Aids.
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"Your daily habits and routines are the reason you got into this mess," writes Trent Hamm, founder of TheSimpleDollar.com. "Spend some time thinking about how you spend money each day, each week and each month." Do you really need your daily latte? Can you bring your lunch to work instead of buying it four times a week? Ask yourself: What can I change without too much?
1. Change your habits -
Remove all credit cards from your wallet and leave them at home when you go shopping, advises WiseBread contributor Sabah Karimi. "Even if you earn with credit card purchases, stop spending with your credit cards until you have your finances under control," she writes.
2. Leave your credit cards at home -
If you do a lot of online shopping at one retailer, you may have stored your credit card information on the site to make the checkout process easier. But that also makes it easier to charge . So clear that information. "If you're paying for a recurring service, use a debit card issued from a major credit card service linked to your checking account," Hamm writes.
3. Delete credit-card info from online stores -
Reward yourself when you . "The only way to completely pay off your credit card debt is to keep at it, and to do that, you must keep yourself motivated," Bakke writes. Just make sure to reward yourself within reason. For example, instead of a weeklong vacation, plan a weekend camping trip. "If you aim to reduce your credit card debt from $10,000 to $5,000 in two months," Bakke writes, "give yourself more than a pat on the back."
4. Reward yourself when you reach milestones -
"Establish a budget," writes Money Crashers contributor David Bakke. "If you don't scale back your spending, you'll dig yourself into a deeper hole." You can use like Mint.com, or make your own Excel spreadsheet that includes your monthly income and expenses. Then scrutinize those budget categories to see where you can cut costs.
5. Create a budget -
Sort your credit card interest rates from highest to lowest, then tackle the card with the . "By paying off the balance with the highest interest first, you increase your payment on the credit card with the highest annual percentage rate while continuing to make the minimum payment on the rest of your credit cards," writes Mint.com spokeswoman Hitha Prabhakar.
6. Pay off the most expensive debts first -
To make a dent in your debt, you need to pay more than the minimum balance on your credit card statements each month. "Paying the minimum -– usually 2 to 3 percent of the outstanding balance -– only prolongs a debt payoff strategy," Prabhakar writes. "Strengthen your commitment to pay everything off by making weekly, instead of monthly, payments." Or if your minimum payment is $100, try doubling it and paying off $200 or more.
7. Pay more than the minimum balance -
If you have a high-interest card with a balance that you're confident you can pay off in a few months, Hamm recommends moving the debt to a card that offers a . "You'll need to pay off the debt before the balance transfer expires, or else you're often hit with a much higher interest rate," he warns. "If you do it carefully, you can save hundreds on interest this way."
8. Take advantage of balance transfers -
Have any birthday gifts or old wedding presents collecting dust in your closet? Look for items you can or Craigslist. "Do some research to make sure you list these items at a fair and reasonable price," Karimi writes. "Take quality photos, and write an attention-grabbing headline and description to sell the item as quickly as possible." Any profits from sales should go toward your debt.
9. Sell unwanted gifts and household items -
If you receive a job or during the year, allocate that money toward your debt payoff plan. "Avoid the temptation to spend that bonus on a vacation or other luxury purchase," Karimi writes. It's more important to fix your financial situation than own the latest designer bag.
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