The recent Fyre Festival debacle not only highlighted the fact that planning and organising a massive music festival is no walk in the park, but also brought out the best memes and insults that social media has to offer.
While there was no love loss for the hundreds of apparently ‘pampered’ festival goers, who incidentally shelled out up to $12,000 for tickets, it certainly drove home the importance of sound financial planning when heading out to a festival of this magnitude. You can be sure that more than a few of them got back home to a doozy of a Credit Card bill.
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As you’ve probably heard already, the entire experience turned out to be an utter nightmare for everyone who decided it was worth their time and money to travel around the world to a secluded island in the Bahamas in hopes of catching some massive bands and just having an all-round good time.
The festival promised a plethora of eye-popping delights that ranged from gourmet food, to fancy yachts and pristine beaches, with shimmering blue waters as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, the only thing that made eyes pop at the festival was the incredible lack of organisation, and of course the scores of stray dogs and random pigs that decided to show up and keep the attendees company.
But, let’s leave them to mope about in the sand for a minute. Let’s say you’re planning a trip to a festival abroad and you find yourself in a similar predicament. What would, or rather what SHOULD you do to make sure that you don’t end up stranded in the middle of nowhere, only to eventually make your way back home with nothing but the shirt on your back?
Here are 4 ways you could soften the financial blow and still come out of a debacle of this magnitude smelling like a bunch of roses.
1) Take Out A Travel Insurance Policy
One of the biggest issues Fyre Festival attendees faced was with the airlines. Many of them headed to their respective airports expecting to head to the festival in style in specially chartered 737 aircraft, but the only travelling they ended up doing was to the coffee machine because the flights faced massive delays.
To make matters worse, some ticket holders were asked to go back home because the festival had been overbooked and the island couldn’t hold any more people. In hindsight, that almost seemed like an act of mercy.
For the guests who actually did make it to the island, all they could do was watch in horror as their baggage was brought in on shipping tankers and unceremoniously dropped onto the beach at night, with barely a source of light to be found.
In order to avoid getting shafted by airlines, make sure you take out a good Travel Insurance policy before heading out to a festival anywhere in the world. A Travel Insurance policy compensates you in the event of flight delays or cancellations, lost or misplaced luggage, theft, accidents, hospitalisation and much more.
In short, don’t leave home without one!
Additional Reading: Why You Should Never Go On Vacation Without Travel Insurance
2) Get Yourself An Airline Credit Card
Not only did festival attendees have to suffer the ignominy of delayed and cancelled flights, many of them who landed up at the island were absolutely aghast when they found out that the 5 star accommodation that they had been promised turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of shoddily put together tents that were actually meant for disaster relief.
Well, you can be sure there wasn’t much relief from this particular disaster. However, with an Airline Credit Card by your side, you could attempt some form of damage control that could salvage your situation.
Airline Credit Cards are really handy travel companions since they offer discounts and cashbacks on flight tickets and help you rack up air miles, which can later be redeemed for various products. Some cards even offer insurance coverage as well, so you stay protected during your travels.
In fact, Airline Credit Cards could be a real life saver, especially if you’re either stranded at the airport or are looking for a place to spend the night. They give you access to airport lounges and also offer discounts or complimentary stay at hotel chains worldwide.
Certainly an attractive proposition, especially when you consider you might have to share your tent with assorted wildlife.
Additional Reading: Everything You Need To Know About Airline Credit Cards
3) Build An Emergency Fund
While most attendees literally paid a king’s ransom to make their way to the festival, there’s a good chance some of them returned home with nothing but sand in the pockets and an empty bank account.
If it wasn’t humiliating enough that the gourmet food that was promised eventually morphed into hastily put together cheese sandwiches that looked like they were manufactured in a shoe factory, many of the guests at the festival complained about thieves who would make off with wallets and purses in the dead of night.
This is exactly why you need to be prepared for financial emergencies such as this on your travels. You never know what misfortune might befall you, so always make sure you have substantial savings to tide you over when you get back home in case you end up either blowing all your money or losing all of it.
By diverting a portion of your monthly income towards building an emergency fund, you could cushion yourself from any hairy financial situations you find yourself in.
Additional Reading: Tips To Handle An Emergency That Costs More Than Your Emergency Fund
4) Be Cautious
As the old saying goes, ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’. While attendees were certainly taken in by the festival’s bold claims of an experience like no other, some of them had an inkling that something wasn’t quite right when the festival headliner Blink 182 decided to back out at the last minute.
That should have set alarm bells ringing, but by then it was too late for most ticket holders. In any case, if you do decide to make your way to a festival of similar magnitude sometime in the near future, make sure you do your research and find out if you’re actually going to get bang for your buck.
What you could do is wait and see how first-edition festivals like this one pan out, and instead invest your money in Mutual Funds or other investment avenues. After all, festivals are a dime a dozen these days, so you could certainly take your time and look to grow your wealth before heading out on potentially risky jaunts such as these.
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Keep these pointers in mind in case you decide to take a chance on attending an event organised by a dude with a shifty moniker like Ja Rule. You certainly wouldn’t want to feel the heat of another Fyre Festival-like catastrophe.
By the way, if you’re looking for some financial products that could certainly put out any financial ‘fyres’, take a look at some of our loans and insurance plans right here.