As you prepare to shell out upward of $200 for a seat at one of Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour stops, here’s how to make room in your budget for the sudden splurge.
Each morning you’re bombarded with one retail sale email after another and by noon your inbox is flooded. Spring shopping season is upon us, and more sales mean (lots) more shopping. If you stop getting the emails, you’ll be less tempted to rack up on impulse buys this season and easily save hundred by the time Beyoncé comes to town.
It’s time to brown bag it, not “to-go” bag it. According to the Commerce Department, last March, sales at restaurants and bars overtook spending at grocery stores. Millennials spend an average of $174 a month eating out, while non-millennials spend $153. A whopping 87 percent of millennials admit they will "splurge on a nice meal, even when money is tight." Don’t be one of them. Vow to make more meals at home. Cutting the amount of times you eat out each month in half for the next 3-4 months could easily save you enough money to pay off that ticket. (Source: Restaurant Marketing Labs)
Did you know 54 percent of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee everyday? If you’re one of them, and you’re buying your coffee instead of brewing at home, the average price of an espresso-based drink is $3.45, while the average price for brewed coffee is $2.38. We did the math for you, and if you stop buying a daily coffee for just 10-15 weeks, you’ll recoup about $250, which should cover the bulk of one concert ticket. Problem solved. (*source: National Coffee Drinking Trends 2010, National Coffee Association)
Wi-Fi should be your new best friend now more than ever, there’s free Wi-Fi available to you at work, in restaurant and in coffee shops. Check to see if you’re paying for more data than you’re using each month. If there’s room to scale back, do so and rely on available Wi-Fi hot spots at home, work and beyond to help you make it work.
It’s tax season once again. If you’re getting money back, put aside your ticket money now, before you allot it to other things. This is guaranteed money you know is coming soon, so you can feel more comfortable swiping your credit card tomorrow when the Formation World Tour pre-sale begins.
The average woman spends $49 per pair of shoes and owns an average of 17 pairs of shoes. Force a little more flexibility in your wardrobe this spring and rework your favorite heels from last season and you’ll instantly find more room in your budget for a night with the Queen.
