8 ways to save money at FinCon
I'm a first-timer but I found a lot of ways to save money at Fincon. Frugal people are gonna be frugal, no matter where they are!
Even if you never go to Fincon, some of these tips could apply to any conference you might attend, and hopefully they'll get you thinking about ways you can save when you travel.
1. Share a room.
A single room at the FinCon hotel is pretty pricey, but sharing a room cuts the price in half.
I put out a request on the FinCon Facebook group and found a roomate pretty quickly that way.
Having your own room is lovely, of course, but honestly, I spent almost no time in the room. I pretty much just slept there, and that's not worth paying full price.
My friend Whitney was smart and got herself two roomates, which cut her hotel costs by two-thirds!
2. Don't bring/rent a car.
Walking + public transport did the trick just fine, and that was much, much cheaper than paying to park a car in a city.
Also, I logged a lot of steps on my tracker watch this way!
3. Bring snacks and a water bottle.
Snacks and drinks at the hotel were stupid expensive.
I went to Aldi before the conference and picked up some packable, unrefrigerated snacks, which came in super handy.
(bananas, trail mix, granola bars, and beef jerky)
I snacked on these and also ate them as breakfast for a few days, since breakfast was not free at the hotel.
4. Drink water while out to eat.
I ate out for lunch and dinner because it was a great way to talk to people outside of the noisy hotel. Definitely worth paying for.
But I ordered pretty inexpensive meals and I always drank water.
5. Buy food from stores around the hotel.
My friend Cassie (from The Thrifty Couple) and I bought things like cut fruit and cheese from the nearby Rite Aid. Not as cheap as the grocery store, but cheaper than the food at the hotel!
6. Take advantage of the free food at FinCon.
Some of the parties included food, and several brands that there also had happy hours with appetizers. Free coffee was available on multiple days as well.
If you're into alcoholic drinks (I'm not, as I'm a serious lightweight), those are readily available at parties/brand events.
If you already paid for your ticket, you might as well get the free food!
7. Use the FinCon app to get cheap food ideas.
Fellow attendees were regularly posting when they found inexpensive places to eat near the hotel.
2500 finance-minded people are bound to come up with some great ways to save money at FinCon.
8. Buy your ticket in advance.
Immediately following Fincon is the best time to buy next year's ticket at a deep discount.
FinCon allows you to transfer your ticket to someone else, so if something comes up and you can't attend next year, you can always sell it to someone else. That makes buying ahead feel much less risky.
What did I miss? If you travel to Fincon or any other conferences, share your tips in the comments and help us all out!
P.S. In case you missed it, here's my FinCon19 Q&A post, complete with lots of FinCon photos.
I have travelled to two conferences with my daughter. I always go to a supermarket to buy food and drink. It is good to have snacks.
Last time we hired a car fro two days and made to sure to visit sites such as Port Arthur. Miss B is a French, English and social sciences teacher and I was determined she would not leave Tasmania without seeing something of our past.
This time I spoiled myself. I have always wanted to have crepe suzette and they were available at the revolving restaurant at the hotel. I loved the experience. The whole trip changed Miss B change her approach to her very strict vegan diet. She has relaxed her rules and although she still eats vegan 95% of the time.
You mentioned food from the drug store and I wanted to add that big city drug stores are also a source of cheap souvenirs if you need/want one. On recent trips to Chicago and NoLa, we hit up CVS for shirts, postcards and a few gifts and scored about 75% off comparable items in traditional souvenir gift shops.
That's a great idea!
Especially if you go to Hawaii! Macadamia nuts and chocolates, rubber slippers (aka flip flops or zoris), woven beach mats, T-shirts and other touristy things are much less expensive at local grocery stores and CVS, and Costco for Macadamia nuts particularly.
So here's a bunch of frugal people staying at hotels where drinks are $6.50 for a 12-ounce can - was this a frugal test? 🙂
I've had to travel for exactly one overnight business conference in my life. I took my husband along as he was familiar with the area, it wouldn't change the hotel room price, and I was the only one who had to get a room since it was held at our main office and the rest of the attendees worked there. We definitely packed snacks and drinks of choice in a cooler. While I was at the conference, he found a Salvation Army store just down the road from our hotel and bought three nice shirts for about $5. He needed some more shirts for church, so that worked out well. We also found an Earth Fare (grocery store) nearby and ate from its deli and hot bar a couple of times. I was given meal reimbursements, so the main thing was keeping the meal costs under the limit and separating out his costs from mine. I also was reimbursed for gas and mileage, so I took my car, as I was only driving from northwest Florida to Birmingham, AL. I was able to park at the hotel and our main office for free, of course, but that wouldn't be true in all situations.
These are definitely good tips for travel, especially bringing some of your own food, because the urge to snack can be expensive. What is it about traveling that makes us hungrier?
I am guessing that not a lot of FinCon attendees bought those cans of soda!
Whenever I travel, I like to grab food from a nearby grocery store. I buy slightly fancier food (the nice cheese/meat from the deli, whatever beverage I want ignoring sale prices, etc.) while traveling to deter myself from wanting restaurant food as much. It's not the cheapest, but it still saves so much money over eating restaurant food.
That's a good idea!
Definitely hit up grocery stores for meals! Especially in big coastal cities.
When we lived in Seattle, if I was out and about with the kids over lunch unexpectedly, the salad and hot bar at pretty much every grocery store would rival any restaurant in the Midwest. My favorite was Whole Foods - they usually had a deal where for $5 you could get 5 good-sized scoops of a variety of vegan salads. I'm not vegan, but they were tasty, and it was plenty of food for me. The kids usually just wanted fruit and they would split a piece of bread and some cheese (you could buy cheese by the ounce). I could sometimes get the 3 of us lunch for right at $10, and it's hard to get lunch for an adult for under $10 from anywhere in Seattle (that isn't McD's), including food trucks.
A fellow lightweight!
It looked like you had such a good time at FinCon.
I was sent to Portland, Oregon, for a conference, and added a day and a half in Seattle to the trip. My employer paid for the flight, so I flew to Portland. After the conference ended, at my own expense, I took Amtrak to Seattle, and flew home from there. I thus got to see two places in a part of the world where I've never been, and might not get back to. There was no extra cost to my employer. In other words, make the most of your big transportation costs if you can.
That said, conferences, like vacations, can be exhausting. I am a big believe in letting myself have down time as needed. I plan ahead from the conference schedule what I wish to attend, prioritizing what is most important, which might include socializing. But if a person is too tired, listening to one more session isn't going to mean much.
Yes! Mr. FG has done this a few times...extended his stay. His company didn't care; they were paying for a round trip flight anyway.
Love your tips for travel, thank you
Buy a cheap styrofoam cooler so you can buy milk/yogurt/whatever for mornings and keep it in your room. All hotels have ice machines but bring gallon zip-top bags to put the ice in if you don't want everything dripping wet.
That is a great tip! The hotel we were staying in charged a fee for having a fridge in the room, so I just wrote off keeping cold items in my room. A cheap cooler is a fantastic idea.
That's a great idea, especially the Ziploc bags for ice. I hate how everything gets soaked in a cooler.
I travel to conferences twice a year with my company and I do all the same!
- Share accommodations at an AirBnB with other gals from my team
- Pack snacks (nuts, oatmeal cups - I don't usually buy those but they're still way cheaper and you only need hot water, available everywhere, protein bars) and water! My refillable water bottle gets refilled at the airport
- I treat myself to ONE dinner out when I travel. But I order the smallest thing because no normal adult human needs the portion sizes available in restaurants LOL!
- Share Ubers/Lyfts with other gals. If we aren't staying close enough to walk that is.
- Absolutely no travel tchotchkes
- My credit card which gets paid off monthly and so I pay NO interest but earns air mileage is used to get cheap airfare
I have a limited diet and can't eat pastries and such at "Continental" breakfasts, so I pack a homemade seed based hot "cereal" mixture in a jar, one for each day and just have to add hot water. If they have cheese or hard boiled eggs I grab a few of those.
I always take a commuter cup to those conferences. The little china cups they serve coffee in are small and cool too quickly and I hate paper waste. Plus my cup is bigger (but not so huge as to be rude about it!). I also have a little set of bamboo utensils. Since I don't eat bread, if sandwiches are served I can eat the filling with a knife and fork. And of course I carry snacks that don't have to be refrigerated.
Couple of other ideas?
1) If you have expertise and can plan a year ahead, why not submit a proposal for a panel or presentation? Participating at a higher level. Most conferences offer at least free or discounted admission for being a participant, keynote, panelist, etc. And some even pay! I've rec'd from $150-$1,500 for being a panelist and workshop leader.
2) Sometimes I plan to go to conferences nearby friends and family, and then I can add on a visit and possibly stay with them, instead of at a hotel. You might even check with fans, long-time fellow bloggers or frugal friends to see if they have a spare room?
3) Of course this depends on the conference but sometimes I do a "fringe" conference where I go to the conference city BUT do not pay for the entry! Instead, I meet up and network with fellow attendees for dinners, drinks, meetings set up beforehand. I go to any off-site events and lectures that are open to the public. Like sometimes there is a bookfair or showroom.
4) I offer to write about the conference for a website or newspaper (which means I get free press-pass entry and/or paid for the article).
5) I "work" the conference, at a booth or table for a company or publisher I work with. Which may mean partnering with someone who is selling a product or books or I offer to fill in for them while they are away from their booth.
I went to a conference in Las Vegas a few months ago. Although room-sharing opportunities were abundant, I really prefer the privacy of my own room. Plus, I am a light sleeper so sharing a room with a possible snorer/sleeptalker/restless sleeper was just out of the question for me. With fees and taxes the room at the conference hotel was around $225 night. I stayed at a hotel across the street for only $80 night. I don't think I missed much by not staying at the conference hotel and even if I did, it was probably worth it to save $580 over my 4-night stay - and it was still cheaper than splitting the cost of the conference hotel room with one other person (although I met folks who were splitting their rooms between as many as 4 people).
That's a huge savings on the room! And just across the street? I would have done the exact same thing.
In this case, the hotel across the street was no savings at all. I think there are no hotels in DC that are $80 a night!
We travel a bit to attend rabbit shows. I try to get a room with coffee pot, fridge and microwave. Then we buy groceries and cook in the room. One time we were driving to. Week long show. Hotel was affordable but no fridge or microwave. I have an SUV so I bought a cheap used firm fridge and microwave, took them and a card table and set up my own kitchen! Saved us tons of money and we’ve used the fridge and microwave more than once. We also try to find hotels that at least give free breakfast. Most hotels don’t care if you take food to your room so usually we r able to get breakfast and lunch out if it. Sine higher priced hotels have a kitchen in the room and offer free breakfast and “light hot snacks” at night included in the room cost. We have found the evening hot food to be more than enough for dinner. Things like a soup and said bar, chicken strips and salad and even pulled pork sandwiches. Also it includes beer and wine!
If there is no fridge you can keep things cold in the ice bucket. I also pack lots of ziplock bags, a set of silverware, small paring knife and instant oatmeal and breakfast bars. If we r driving I also take plastic tubs to store food and leftovers and a small ice pack to go in the lunch box. If there is no fridge you can freeze it in a bucket of ice over night. You can also fill the sink with ice if you need more “fridge” space (just use the tub to wash hands and brush teeth) or fill the trash can in your room with ice.