Cost of Living and Glastonbury

[Crazyfool01]

with the current cost of living crisis , the bank of England raising Interest rates and Inflation at record levels , what are peoples thoughts on ticket purchase in oct and balance payments in April ? where will people cut cloth if they need to ? will it be gigs or festivals that go ? realising i missed a workers option so please give the general feeling amongst paying mates 

Edited August 4, 2022 by crazyfool1

[Crazyfool01]

Also I do realise this poll will be skewed as we are probably at the more keen end of the scale 

[moogster]

I already am thinking twice before buying tickets for gigs, and am always checking for second hand tickets. Location/transport costs factored in as gas and parking are, as we call it at home "the third ticket". I prefer to skip a few good but not mind blowing gigs and go to Glastonbury. 

[st dan]

If the ticket balance is due in early March as usual, then I assume a fair few will be struggling to afford it after paying the sky high energy bills that are expected from October - March. 

It would be better if there was an option to pay the full balance in October for those who have the funds available at the time of booking. 

[Funkyfairy!]

If I was buying a ticket I;d start budgeting now, and maybe ask for money for Birthday/Christmas to assist. I am defo cutting cloth differently (cost of living Plus living circumstance changes) and as an example have been out once since Glastonbury for a £20 Thai BYOB meal... no drinks out, no buying lunch, no buying coffee out at work, no meals out at all, and I am choosing to put that money towards other fun things. 

I would skip stuff to go to Glastonbury if I bought a ticket for sure 

 

[circus92]

If I am lucky enough to get tickets in October I will be there for sure.  Life is too short and I left it too late to go for the first time anyway.  Will just have to cut back on other stuff if need be.

[balti-pie]

I'm the annoying unseen option of working it instead - which does save a bloody fortune, tbf. The £280 on a ticket, £50 parking, showers and food tokens thrown in, and getting a couple of extra days on the mon and tues before everyone else turns up makes it a really easy decision thats only affected by petrol prices and food/drink etc.

Cant see me going on a punter's ticket for the foreseeable future, i just plain don't have what will be a good £800 at least for a week's holiday, when my partner has kids who would also love a holiday away - working glastonbury means its quite possible to take them away at another time as well. Sacrificing 3 x 8hr shifts is a very good swap in my situation. 

[Crazyfool01]

3 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

I'm the annoying unseen option of working it instead - which does save a bloody fortune, tbf. The £280 on a ticket, £50 parking, showers and food tokens thrown in, and getting a couple of extra days on the mon and tues before everyone else turns up makes it a really easy decision thats only affected by petrol prices and food/drink etc.

Cant see me going on a punter's ticket for the foreseeable future, i just plain don't have what will be a good £800 at least for a week's holiday, when my partner has kids who would also love a holiday away - working glastonbury means its quite possible to take them away at another time as well. Sacrificing 3 x 8hr shifts is a very good swap in my situation. 

yeah apologies for that ...theres always option s I think of after I post a poll ... working seems a more and more decent option  in these times , I wonder if demand for that will increase 

[gooner1990]

19 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

yeah apologies for that ...theres always option s I think of after I post a poll ... working seems a more and more decent option  in these times , I wonder if demand for that will increase 

Payment plans would help.

My Truck festival ticket for 2023 inc parking was £176 and that's on instalments £16 a month...much easier than everything in one hit.

 

Even if it was £50 a month would be easier.

[lazyred]

Glastonbury has a high priority for me, higher than a week abroad. Generally I'm cutting gig tickets before festivals. I'd rather gamble on cheaper APE or BST tickets than pay for Nick Cave or Springsteen tours

[JoeyT]

What are we anticipating overall ticket price to be for 2023?

Assuming it’s within £300 and looking at a £50 deposit in October you’re looking at around £250 to pay over the next 6 months so just over £40 a month.

[Sawdusty surfer]

Slightly off topic I know, but I can see the demographic of attendees changing markedly. Many  there have become noticeably more affluent in recent years and I suspect it will be even more so next year.

[philipsteak]

Another one who volunteers but not really a financial decision for me. I could afford it but happy to not obviously. If I did go as a punter I'd tick the bottom box but then I'm fairly well insulated from the cost of living. Not particularly well paid but my outgoings are very small so very much balances out. I live in shared staff accommodation (not where I saw myself but hey ho. It is what it is). My rent is about £250 per month including bills. I imagine that will have to increase sometime soon but even when it does it still won't be anywhere near what people's bills are going to rise by. And there's usually rumblings before a rise which I haven't heard yet.

I also don't drink so don't have that cost. My main expense is the drive down. And that's a fairly hefty one what with the 500+ mile round trip. 

[Skip997]

21 minutes ago, Sawdusty surfer said:

Slightly off topic I know, but I can see the demographic of attendees changing markedly. Many  there have become noticeably more affluent in recent years and I suspect it will be even more so next year.

Can't say I've noticed.

 

[Crazyfool01]

I ticked the last but one option .. I’m on minimum wage with some savings so would likely take a hit for one festival … it’s not something I think I’d be able to continue doing if costs remain as they are … I don’t do a huge amount of social stuff anyway so can’t really save a great deal there with cutbacks … seems like we are a demographic on the forum that fortunately in terms of the festival won’t be hit … but I do wonder if demand will be somewhat reduced from those with lower incomes or maybe that demographic have already been priced out 

[gooner1990]

31 minutes ago, Sawdusty surfer said:

Slightly off topic I know, but I can see the demographic of attendees changing markedly. Many  there have become noticeably more affluent in recent years and I suspect it will be even more so next year.

Agreed, you've only got to look at the scramble each year for glamping (official and unofficial) to see that.

[glimmers_of_hope]

Glasto is such a high priority for me I would find a way to pay for the ticket... but it is so expensive now that people who might have been willing to give it a try a few years ago might not, or might not be able to get a group of people together who can all afford it.

It will definitely have an impact next year with the people who can afford to go. 

I think there are already people spending money on credit cards for holidays this summer that they committed too post lock down before the cost of living increases which they are unlikely to be able to pay off. 

[efcfanwirral]

I'm a 100% definitely in voter there, for many of the reasons mentioned - cut back on other stuff will be a necessity anyway, both my birthday and Christmas comes in between deposit and payment time so a bit of money there helps. Being self employed it may of course change, but I'll still prioritise Glastonbury over almost everything else if I'm lucky enough to get a ticket. 

I think in terms of actually being able to get hold of them that October will be as hard as ever as its a deposit plus the biggest bills won't have actually come out yet, but I anticipate a big resale with more putting them back than ever when reality kicks in. 

Another aspect to throw out there - festivals are expensive enough as they are. As inflation hits, supply chains struggle (which would be made much much worse if the Taiwan/China thing comes to anything), business energy prices go up while custom goes down, how expensive will things be at the festival?  We noticed some of the food prices at Kendal Calling were much higher than we've seen before, and we were saying that the cost of living issue has barely started yet, so how much could a meal be at Glastonbury next year? There was a burrito for £12. What are we looking at next June?

[gooner1990]

10 minutes ago, glimmers_of_hope said:

Glasto is such a high priority for me I would find a way to pay for the ticket... but it is so expensive now that people who might have been willing to give it a try a few years ago might not, or might not be able to get a group of people together who can all afford it.

It will definitely have an impact next year with the people who can afford to go. 

I think there are already people spending money on credit cards for holidays this summer that they committed too post lock down before the cost of living increases which they are unlikely to be able to pay off. 

I booked a holiday to New York pre-COVID that then got moved three times, we are now going next week (on Monday)

The hit now on my wallet is horrendous as my outgoings are a lot higher and info from a friend who lives there who we will be meeting up with is like here all costs (tourist attractions, public transport, food, alcohol etc) has all shot up so I now need more spending money....but I now have less disposable income than I did a year ago due to fuel, energy bills and 'cost of living' etc.

I desperately want to go as it was for my 40th (which was last year) and my girlfriend is very excited as she's never been before it will be a trip of a lifetime for us..... but I've had to cut right back on other things at the moment to ensure I have enough money for it which I wasn't anticipating a year or so ago when we moved the dates. 

[Meerkat]

I’ve definitely cut down on gigs, and would like to go to Glastonbury as it is good value for money especially as my music tastes aren’t that niche so gig prices added together would be more than a ticket price.

However, it’ll probably be a choice between Glastonbury and a summer holiday. I haven’t been abroad since 2019 and have been to Glastonbury 4 times before so would be tempted to lean towards the holiday.

[st dan]

3 minutes ago, Meerkat said:

I’ve definitely cut down on gigs, and would like to go to Glastonbury as it is good value for money especially as my music tastes aren’t that niche so gig prices added together would be more than a ticket price.

However, it’ll probably be a choice between Glastonbury and a summer holiday. I haven’t been abroad since 2019 and have been to Glastonbury 4 times before so would be tempted to lean towards the holiday.

Yeah I’m in the same boat - opportunity cost is going to play a big part for a lot of people I think. 

[The Nal]

11 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I booked a holiday to New York pre-COVID that then got moved three times, we are now going next week (on Monday)

The hit now on my wallet is horrendous as my outgoings are a lot higher and info from a friend who lives there who we will be meeting up with is like here all costs (tourist attractions, public transport, food, alcohol etc) has all shot up so I now need more spending money....

Was in NYC in April. Off topic but just an FYI.

The best stuff in NYC is free! Walking around Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, The High Line, Central Park, Grand Central, NYC Library, Chelsea Market, Times Square, Bryant Park, Upper West Side, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall St, Battery Park, 9/11 memorial and even The Staten Island Ferry. All free. Subway out to Williamsburg is a couple of dollars. Boat from Williamsburg to Dumbo was $2.75, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from there. You don't need to spend a lot if you dont want to.

 

Err but yeah, Glasto. Such good value for money when you consider the price of going to gigs individully. Big gigs especially. No interest in them anymore. Too expensive, too much hassle.

[Jay Pee]

I appreciate this may be really obvious and possibly patronising to some and I really don't mean it to be.

My advice is open a Monzo account or similar as a slush fund for Glastonbury.  I plan to cut back a couple of pub trips each month (maybe 70 quid) and pay into Glastonbury Piggy Bank and be really disciplined about it. The account can be locked so you can't blow on other stuff 

I've done it for a few years and it is such a relief to check the balance in May and see several hundred quid sat there. You can even set up little saving pots in Monzo for Glastonbury, and other stuff.

 

Again I understand some may not have the wriggle room but if you do have some spare cash to do this or can make sacrifices its a good vehicle to help with that.

[fred quimby]

1 hour ago, Sawdusty surfer said:

Slightly off topic I know, but I can see the demographic of attendees changing markedly. Many  there have become noticeably more affluent in recent years and I suspect it will be even more so next year.

This

[Ayrshire Chris]

Glastonbury still represents great value compared to many gigs. But I recognise that for many next year is going to be difficult financially, the reality of the increases in gas and electricity prices has still to hit home.