Planning to save up for concerts, merch? Here’s a guide for you

ANNOUNCEMENTS of concerts, fan meets, and other music festivals of local and international artists have been constantly populating social media feeds. Live shows are back, and many are raring to attend these. 

Aside from these, there are also album releases and sales of official merchandise, such as photobooks, vinyl records, apparel, plush toys, and new versions of lightsticks for K-pop fans.

With these back-to-back announcements, expect the incoming “Benta ko na kindney ko,” “Kaya pa ba?” and “Sandali lang naman” tweets, as fans start to think how they will afford all these.

One netizen even asked on Twitter, “Curious ako dun sa mga laging umaattend ng concerts like andami n[i]yong pera??? Anak ba kayo ng jueteng lords?”

But really, how do they do it? 

Young fans Eula Celestino, Jerome Cordova, and Carlos Bendaña shared with republicasia how they balance their finances to afford tickets and merch, and provided some tips that might help others to save money. 

Set a budget

Celestino, a 25-year-old licensed architect, said she has a percentage breakdown that she tries to follow to budget her living expenses.

She said 60 percent of her budget is allotted for her basic expenses that include food, transportation, and other necessary bills.

Her leisure expenses such as lunch or dine outs get 20 percent of her budget. Another 10 percent goes to her personal savings, while the other 10 percent is for her funds for concert tickets and merchandise.

“If I have extra from my basic and leisure expenses, I try to divide them into my personal and merch savings,” Celestino said.

Incoming college freshman Cordova, 17, said he saves money by not spending it on items he thinks are unnecessary. His school allowance is usually spent on food, transportation, and other group project contributions.

Corodova shared that he has a P200 budget a day for school. P20 will go to his jeepney fare, P50-P100 for his lunch, and P5-P30 for his school contribution. Sometimes, he saves his meal allowance whenever he brings packed lunch.

“When I get home, the money I saved from school will be put inside my piggy bank because it really helps me a lot to save up money and not to be [tempted] to splurge it [on] other things,” he said.

This is the same budgeting strategy for Bendaña, another incoming college freshmen.

The 18-year-old student said he has a P500 school allowance per day. P250 is allotted for his service as his mode of transportation to school. He doesn’t usually spend on meals at school since he brings his own food, but when he can’t, he only spends P50 for snacks.

He saves the remaining amount so that he can afford merchandise.

Have a goal

Setting a goal can be a motivation for a person to keep saving up, which both Celestino and Bendaña do.

Since she’s familiar with the price range of concert tickets, Celestino said that she saves for at least the price of a general admission ticket, which usually costs more than P2,000.

“If I really want to go higher, I lessen my merch buying and increase my savings,” she said.

For Bendaña, he always makes sure to always have an extra P1,000 because that is the usual price of limited albums that he prefers to buy.

“I usually just do not buy anything that is not really needed or important to be able to achieve my goal of having [P1000],” he said.

Tap other sources of funds

But these fans don’t just rely on their savings. They also find ways to have additional funds.

Cordova shared that he earns money through selling his decluttered merchandise such as albums and photocards. He had a collection of 35 albums by Korean and western artists, which are now down to more or less 25. He also had around 250 photocards that have all been sold.

“[N]akakapagipon ako by also selling the merch that I own, basically buy and sell when it comes to merch,” he said.

Celestino, on the other hand, opened an online sticker and pins business, where she sells K-pop lightstick stickers and pins. Sometimes, she also sells them in toy conventions. 

Like Cordova, Celestino said that she also decluttered some of her K-pop merchandise collection and sold them on Twitter.

Thumbs up from financial adviser

This is what licensed financial advisor Jayrice Bombales called an abundant mindset. 

It is when people don’t fully rely on their savings, but also find ways to grow their money through investing or having additional sources of income by taking on side hustles.

The daily salary of minimum wage earners in the private sectors in Metro Manila has increased by P40, as approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in June.

But with the current costs of goods and services in the country, Bombales said saving money alone would not be enough.

“Iba na kasi yung expenses ngayon kesa nung old times, kaya kailangan mag-aadjust na rin tayo. Kung ‘yung salary natin ay minimum, kailangan na gumawa ng paraan to have more [income] para deserve natin ‘yung mga luho natin,” she said.

She also said people cannot always deprive themselves of the happiness they think they deserve, which could include going to concerts or buying merchandise, just because they don’t have enough funds to afford it.

“Para sa’kin kasi it’s also a form of self-love if you reward yourself, if you make yourself happy. So I don’t want the Gen Zs and millennials to feel guilty [about] that, but kailangan nga na magkaroon ng abundant mindset and to find another source of income para masuportahan ‘yung luho [nila],” she said.

While people are free to use their money however they want, Bombales also advised them to balance their spending to avoid compromising their financial future.

Plan your spending

Conscious budget planning plays a huge part when it comes to saving money, the financial adviser said. 

This allows people to track all their spendings by listing down their expenses up to the last peso, she said. 

Being always reminded of a certain amount they are aiming to save can help them cut other unnecessary expenses from their list, she added. 

“I-list down talaga nila kung ano ‘yung kaya nilang tipirin. Para lang mabawasan nila na, ‘Ah eto pala ‘yung hindi masyadong importante’ or ‘Ito pala pwede ko pang tipirin.’ Doon sila magiging conscious sa mga bagay na pwede pa nilang i-adjust in order to achieve their goals,” she said.

Another thing about saving is that people need to be mindful of time, she said. If they are saving for a concert ticket or a merchandise that will go on sale in December, then they should start conserving their funds early on, she said. This will also help them avoid borrowing money from others for their own leisure and entertainment, she said.

Other people also have their own expenses to shoulder, which means they cannot always lend money to others, she noted. 

Dos and Don’ts

The financial advisor shared some tips that might help those who are determined to hit their savings goal.

First on the to-do list is to surround themselves with people whose mindset is to also save money. The influence of these people can help them stick to their goal, Bombales said.

“Kung ‘yung kaibigan mo magastos, syempre aayain ka niyan, ‘Uy kape tayo sa Starbucks.’ ‘Di ba parang ang hirap humindi? Kung magastos yung circle mo, mapapagastos ka rin,” she said.

Next is to surround themselves with people who talk about money because they can pass on knowledge to others, especially about managing their finances.

“Kapag meron kang mga kaibigan na gumagawa ng business or nag-iinvest, or mga may insurance, somehow, nahahawa ka sa kanila,” she said.

“It’s a big factor that you have friends or people around you [who] talk about money, [who] encourage you to also do well with your personal finance,” she added.

There is also a right formula that people should follow to effectively save money. 

Bombales suggested doing the “income/fund – savings = expenses” formula. 

This way, people can spend their remaining money on their other expenses guilt-free. If expenses come first, it would be hard for them to save up. 

What are the things to avoid, then? The financial advisor has one answer: Being impulsive. 

Do some careful thinking first about whether or not you should buy a certain item that is out of your budget plan. Temptations are always around us; it would become a financial hurdle if you let yourself be drawn by it.

“Kung bibili ka, pag-isipan mo ng mga seven days. Give yourself time. Isusulat mo palagi ‘yung mga pros and cons para talagang right ‘yung decision mo and hindi mo pagsisihan in the future yung mga purchases mo,” she said.

Bombales also advised everyone to never lend out an amount of money that will hurt them if it’s not returned, which may also lead to loss of trust in the borrower.

The financial adviser also emphasized that people should not disregard their values to the point that they would snitch money from their parents or take advantage of their friends just to save funds.

“Baka sa sobrang pagtitipid mo, nanggugulang ka na ng kaibigan mo. ‘Yung lagi ka na lang magpapalibre. May goal tayo pero still, we also have to consider na ‘yung friends natin may pinagkakagastusan din yan,” he said. 

Why save up for concerts and merch?

Some say that the ability to purchase concert tickets and merchandise is a privilege and a luxury, as not all fans can afford it.

The prices of official merchandise range from three to four digits, while concert tickets are from four to five digits. But what’s in these that fans keep making great efforts to acquire?

For Celestino, attending concerts and collecting merchandise helps her enjoy life a little bit more. 

It’s the excitement she gets whenever she unboxes merchandise, hoping to pull her bias’ photocard. It’s the feeling she gets when lining up for concert tickets, meeting new friends from the same bias group, and seeing her idols perform live on stage.

But it’s not all about the concerts and merchandise. Having interests, she said, could actually help a person prioritize and handle their finances well. 

“I learned that I don’t need to buy everything and attend all the time. I just need to prioritize what ‘budols’ to say yes to,” she said.

Bendaña, meanwhile, buys merchandise as a token for his achievements, particularly in school.

“Although I know it might be a waste of money [for some], for me, it is still fun collecting these products to support my favorite idols,” he said.

In the case of Cordova, attending concerts and  jamming with other fans have a positive impact on his mental health. It’s also comforting to see his idols perform live and fulfilling to hear the crowd’s loud cheers, he added.

And collecting merchandise is a way for him to express support to his idols.

For these fans, these are all worth the expense.