Rich Roadie: Roadies have a terrible habit of spending a huge percentage of their income on the road. Productions spend most of their time in touristy areas of the world, so it makes sense that we fall into their money traps. We could all learn to save money better under these circumstances.
9 comments:
As someone who has wanted to work on the road but is concerned I would end up spending more money then i am making. I am so happy I stumbled across this article. As a college student who lives in a dorm without a kitchen I can definitely see how the cost of meals can add up. Like most college students those at cmu have a meal plan however without s meal plan I could definitely see how costs could add up fast especially with so many new places to explore. As someone who grew up traveling I definitely agree with the person who wrote the article's opinion to explore the great outdoors as it is often both a more economical and entertaining way to spend a day. I definitely think that one can live a life on the road without breaking the bank but I feel like it does take more planning and budgeting then traditional living.
Theo Kronemer
I definitely wanna work tours at some point in my career, so Ifigured this article would be helpful. I like that this list isn’t just like “spend less money by buying less things.”It actually provides useful strategies to get the most out of our touring experience. Eating out for lunch instead of dinner and looking for happy hour deals are both great strategies to save money while still being able to eat out and try the cuisine wherever you are touring. Saving money by making attraction reservations in advance is also a very smart method. It can also save a lot of stress when on tour if you already have your day planned out. If the tour is over the summer, I think I could have a great time doing outdoor activities to save money. Hopefully I would also be able to find ways to do laundry for cheap. I know hotel laundry can be super expensive.
I never imagined how much being on the road would cost. I always figured that would be a great way to save money because you wouldn’t have to pay for much. After reading this article I realized how wrong I was. I think a few of these are obvious, like hotel laundry, but I also can imagine after working how tired a person could be and how difficult it would be to have the energy to go out and do your laundry. I can also see how difficult it would be to save money on restaurants or bars, especially if you want to socialize with your colleagues. I imagine making it to happy hours would be difficult if you have to work till late. One could suggest gathering in someone's hotel room but that might be cramped and it would take the joy out of socializing and getting out, especially when you spend all your time together.
I like to consider myself a penny pincher and I liked the tips in the article not even for on the road work but just in general. I’d like to imagine there are gigs which cover a lot food and sleep expenses and I don’t think I’d take on a gig that didn’t unless the pay of the gig took that into consideration. I never considered that since a lot of tours go through big tourist cities and areas that the technician and crew would have to pay the consequences of paying big tourists prices for food and sleep. Obviously that’s what the article tries to combat, and I especially liked the tip differentiating hotel laundry services from utilizing the hotel’s laundry machines and the massive difference in price. Also the tip about shopping at grocery stores rather than eating out is a nice tip but I think it depends on a lot of factors such as how close you are to a grocery store, how much time and energy you have everyday to cook for youserl, etc.
I can see how food would easily add up and eat a large percentage of your budget. Not being able to really cook to make your own meals easily gets both frustrating and expensive. The article pointing out the complimentary breakfast and catering is also a good option, but I’m sure that either of those gets old at some point, especially if you are on tour for several years. Buying tickets online not only saves money but is the norm, that’s good. I do love outdoor activities, hiking, swimming, picnics – I love all of these things and it’s just a nice bonus that they are usually inexpensive. I liked the airport tip. I feel as though it's difficult to not spend a lot at the airport, even a snack costs much more than it would elsewhere, and especially with how busy airports can get it’s hard to not be there for multiple hours…
As someone who is considering the touring theater industry, I never considered how expensive it can be to live on the road. I’d definitely thought about how being on the road can save you money, like from not having to pay rent most of the time, but I’d never thought about all the ways you’d be spending money that the average person, who is not living on the road, would not be spending money in. I had never even thought about how expensive it would be to go out for dinner every night. Of course, it makes perfect sense. While this article gives great tips on how to avoid spending money unnecessarily, like going grocery shopping and making your own food instead of going out for all your meals, it can still be very hard to save this money. Cooking in a hotel room for example is not easy and can seem very tedious, especially when all your friends are going out.
If I’m lucky, I will be on the road early in my career. It's an experience I want to have, but finances have always been a concern for me. I’m glad this article popped up to read. These tips make so much sense, and encourages both little changes and big changes one can make to save money! I’m hopeful that these will be things I can do not only while traveling, but also in everyday life. Taking food to go for example is so easy and can be implemented easily. The souvenir tip in particular was fun. I think souvenirs centered around memories are so much more enjoyable than gift shop gifts anyway, so this kind of gave the cheap-o side of my brain some validation which was nice. Overall this article seemed to say mostly that everyday costs pile up to be very pricey. So finding ways to stretch money short term will impact long term savings. Which I love.
I think this article translates perfectly for spending habits we possess on and off the road. After observing these tips I realize that I do not follow many of these tips which is really concerning if I ever wished to start traveling more, and when I need to travel in my career. Since these tips can be adapted to anyone who doesn't travel as well. It serves as a great way of analyzing how well do we budget our money and how it effects our everyday lives and decisions. Especially when traveling, it is important to do your research and prepare carefully on how much money you wish to spend. When your not stressed about money it helps make your entire traveling experience more enjoyable and relaxed. I would like to travel frequently within my future career, so I will absolutely keep these tips in mind and prepare very intricately.
Reading this article makes me realize how much roadies could learn from the trucking industry. I have a few high school friends who are now over the road truck drivers, and in a lot of ways, this article touches on a lot of the stuff they do to save money. Of course, not all of it applies to trucking, like the section about airports or entertainment, but it’s still an interesting connection. And in that sense, some of these are tips for a better lifestyle in general. I like that this article highlights outdoor activities. In this case, it’s to save money, but it makes me think that a similar article could be written about staying healthy or good habits to keep on the road. It’s easy to start eating like trash and stop doing physical activities when you’re travelling, so when you travel for work, you should have a plan to keep up a healthy lifestyle.
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