So many folks I know will burn through their cash at cons. $1,000 on the hotel, $200 for food, $300 for merch, you get the idea. And it's okay to do that, everyone gets to spend their money however they want, but at conventions I like to play a little game. How little money can I spend while having as much fun as I can possibly have? For this to succeed I do have a few strategies that involve saving money on the badge price, hotel price, and food.
BADGE PRICE
Badges are super straightforward when it comes to saving money. Volunteering or hosting panels are offered by nearly every convention on their website. If it is not offered it’s generally not on the table, but it doesn’t hurt to reach out to the convention and ask.
When you volunteer you are generally assigned to a department, though occasionally you can pick a department or request one. If it is a random assignment, however, and you have certain needs such as sitting only or something, just let the con know. Closer to the con you would provide your availability when they ask, so don’t worry about that yet. You're generally expected to work between 8 and 14 hours broken up between few shifts for a full weekend badge, so don't worry about missing the whole con. If you want to take volunteering one step further then look into staffing. This definitely isn't for everyone, but most staffing gigs will cover your badge and hotel (you'll have to share with other staff members), and some cover food too. There are also the rare cons that also will pay their staffers, but these are super rare and the list of which cons pay are kept quiet so that they don't get a flood of applications from folks who are just there for the cash.
When you panel at a con, it’s important to keep in mind what the convention focuses on. For example, Momocon is an animation, comics, and gaming convention. This means that any panels related to say Harry Potter wouldn’t be accepted most likely, but a panel about Captain Marvel, who originated in comics, would be.
Keep in mind as well that badges tend to be cheaper the further out you buy the pass. The closer it gets to the con, the higher the price will get. So if you can plan nearly a year in advance and get the badges at those times, it will also help lower the badge price. Some cons nearly double the price between the start and end of sales, so it pays to plan!
If you're going with a large group of friends or know lots of people going, you can also try to get a group rate. This rate is often about 10% less than the regular badge. The major downside to this is all of the badges have to be picked up at once, meaning that whoever picks it up also would have to hand them out among the group as folks trickle in at the con. This could potentially be disruptive to your schedule since then they couldn't just meet you wherever you are inside, you'd have to go out to find them. Also, group rates are not always advertised on a convention website, so if you don't see them try emailing the con to see if that is something that they offer.
HOTEL
For hotels there is a variety of ways to pinch your pennies. The obvious and probably most popular is to share the hotel. If you do decide to share a hotel, do your best to not over crowd the room. This isn’t to discourage you from saving money, but rather because it is a safety and fire hazard and because some hotels have started to make their guests wear wristbands or will only give out a maximum amount of keys (so whatever the room limit is). If someone is not wearing a wristband, then they aren’t allowed into the elevators to get to the rooms. This could potentially leave you or a friend out in the cold. I've even heard a rumor that some hotel cons have had to move because the hotel kept getting fined for the rooms being over crowed.
If you do want to have a dozen of you and your friends sharing a space, look into Airbnb. It can be far cheaper per person. It may be a bit further away, but do you really plan on spending time there anyway? With an Airbnb you can get just one room, an apartment, a section of a house, or a whole house. Airbnbs can have whole kitchens, free parking, and other great amenities that also help cut the cost. These amenities will change between each location, but it’s something that’s great to keep in mind. I've even seen folks split an Airbnb and get a hot tub, a whole in-ground pool, an in-home theater, and more out of the deal. So it's definitely worth checking out.
FOOD
I already touched on it, but Airbnb’s can often have kitchens available for guests. You could bring in some basic groceries and make breakfast there, then meal prep some sandwiches or something to bring to the con so you’re not paying $12 for a 6 inch cheese pizza. I’ve meal prepped for cons with friends and spend about $1.50 per meal. At HolMat 2019 the meal prep included sandwich materials (so bread, deli meat, cheese, and mayo), fruit (we got apples, clementines, and bananas), cereal, milk, and drinking water. Each person was in charge of their own alcohol since not everyone drinks. The meal prepped food may not be the most Instagram-able meal, but it fills your stomach and gives you more money to spend on art and souvenirs. Pro-tip for the drinking water, instead of buying a pallet of water bottles, try getting a few large jugs of drinking water and bringing a reusable water bottle instead. The water bottle can be super personalized and fun, the water still clean, and that way you're being more eco-friendly and cheaper. The large jug comes to about $0.01 per fl oz and the bottles to about $0.03 per fl oz. So it's about 1/3rd the price with a lot less plastic. Honestly what you're paying for mainly is the extra plastic and the convenience. If you want something flavored, find one of those water flavor liquid drops that you like and just flavor the water in your bottle. It's cheap, yummy, and also less wasteful than a huge pallet of Gatorade or lemonade.
Another food tip is to bring snacks. I’ve never been to a convention that won’t let you bring in granola bars, almonds, fruit, and other variety snacks. With these snacks try to stay away from anything super sugary or that is almost all carbs. Those snacks will leave you hungry again in an hour. Also stay away from any snacks that need to be refrigerated unless you’re carrying a cooler around too. String cheese is great and all, but warm string cheese is a snack imported from Hell. I love to put some almonds and cranberries in a bag or bring some clementines with me. Another option I love but that is a bit more pricey is beef jerky.
In most dealers halls you can buy snacks as well. While I myself am guilty of buying these snacks, practice self control and don’t buy the $5 box of pocky like me. Do what I say and not what I do. Before you buy I also recommend walking around, a lot of vendors right at the door have higher prices, and the further in you walk the better deals you can find. Walmart and other grocery stores that have an asian food section will carry the basic snacks, and for more specialized asian snacks hit up your local asian market. Better prices, and often more a better selection too.
Now, I'm not saying to not buy food at a con, I'm just recommending that you are smart about your con food. That you make sure each meal isn't $25 plus a drink and tip every time. At HolMat 2019 I got delicious bao from a food truck that the convention had brought in. I got it on a Saturday, and it cost approximately $12.50, not including a drink since I had my own water bottle on me. The rest of the week I lived on cereal and sandwiches, so the bao was a real treat. And I had also budgeted for it, so it wasn't like I was spending more than I could afford. It felt good to buy it and I was more excited than I normally would have been (hence why I decided to take a picture). At Ichibancon 2020 I stayed at home since I lived so close to the con and instead treated myself to food truck food. All together at Ichibancon I spent about $50 on food between 4 meals, so far less than a hotel. It also meant that I didn't have to spend time to leave the convention, drive home, eat, and come back and try to find a new parking spot on Friday and Saturday. To me that was well worth the $50 I spent on food. It also gave me the opportunity to eat something different for each meal. I had Japanese stir fry, brisket and mac and cheese, and boneless chicken wings, all spread out throughout the weekend. It was fun, yummy, and I didn't collapse.
If there aren't really any good options for food trucks you can also try Uber Eats or Postmates. Uber Eats has some places with delivery as low as $0.99 per delivery. And if you can even just get a group of friends to all order together that delivery fee could be even cheaper. Uber Eats and Postmates also have some super diverse options. Just in the area of Charlotte that I live in I can get Thai, american (think burgers and pizza), Vietnamese, Indian, Latin/Hispanic, Chinese, southern food, Japanese and Ethiopian.
I want to take a very brief moment to remind you that you do have to eat and drink (water) at a con. You can't survive off of Japanese cakes and alcohol. So please actually budget for or bring food.
MERCH
Ah, every con go-er's biggest weakness, the true Achilles heel of every weeb and nerd. I personally don't find myself wanting to buy too much large stuff like prints or plushies or costumes, but I have a large weakness for pins, charms, tshirts, and other smaller items. They add up. I have no tips for the bigger and more expensive items, but for the small items I will take pictures of everything I want, look at them before bed, and then sleep on them for a night. Then the next day I'll decide what I do and don't need or really want that much. I buy far less with this method and it helps me to really come away from a con, happy with what I got. Before I did this I made some purchases that, looking back, I was super unhappy with and that I've already gotten rid of.
For dealers specifically, I take a picture of the item and see if it was being sold on Amazon or another retail site for a better price. A lot of dealers at cons will up the price tremendously. This is because they know that many attendees are willing to pay for the convenience and experience of buying something at a con. But I've found some items selling for tons less online. I once saw a hoodie being sold for $45 at a con, but then found the same hoodie for about $20 off Amazon. Obviously some online listings will not be as high of quality, but this one was listed from the actually original company whereas the dealer at the con was selling knock offs. So yeah, just check online before you buy.
Photoshoots
Before I get into this one, please do NOT try to be a cheapskate and underpay your photographers. If they have their price set as say $10, don't try to offer then $5, or even $8. Cosplay photographers already price themselves super low in most cases. Usually they make about minimum wage off a shoot, between editing software subscriptions, affording the con, and the time spent shooting and editing. In fact, I encourage you to tip your photographers.
But, if you want to learn how to save some cash on photos, then start looking for photographers months in advance. Find whose styles you like and then follow them. Some photographers hold giveaways or have discounts and sales throughout the year. Some photographers choose to open up a limited number of free bookings. Keep an eye out for those deals. Do still tip, even if it's just a dollar, but your tip makes sure they know how much you appreciate them.
Also, consider booking a group for a shoot. If you and your friends are all cosplaying together, try getting some of them together to book a group shoot. Often times photographers will have group deals that make it far less expensive per person. Plus doing a shoot with some friends can be fun, and you can all get pictures together!
And for those of you who are photographers and cosplayers, look into doing a shoot swap with another photographer who also cosplays. It can be super fun and a great way to get some photos of your cosplay!
Again, there is no one right way to spend money at cons. This is just how I am able to make each con cost less than about $250 for me each time. If you have any additional tips then drop them below! I'm always down to learn and save some cash!