Pennsic budgeting
Mar. 23rd, 2008 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassThis is for some of my SCAdian friends who have asked me how much I spend at Pennsic, and what I consider the cheapest "bare bones" Pennsic budget to be. (Tarius, I'm looking at you.)
Since I keep an itemized list of my spending at Pennsic, I've been able to break this down into categories, and I'm actually pretty consistent year-to-year. Please note that these costs are only on-site costs and don't count pre-reg or equipment bought before the event.
Also note: I generally camp with large-ish, established groups with meal plans and camp fees. Your mileage setting up a new, smaller encampment may vary.
Total costs: $450-525 + shopping money
- Hotels ($50-117): I stay in a hotel on the way down and the way back from Pennsic, splitting the drive over two days. This is half the hotel costs, assuming I'm splitting with my passenger / driver.
- Gas, tolls, etc. ($57-138): $138 was the price last year, when I wasn't splitting costs with a passenger. Figure $70-80 is about average if you're two to a car and splitting costs.
- Camp fees, troll-in, gear bought on-site ($68-112)
- Meals ($122-253): The low number was this past year, where I was on a very good meal plan and didn't eat "out" too much. The high number was the one year I *wasn't* on a meal plan, and wound up eating almost every meal in the food court.
- Snacks ($23-81): It's easy to go overboard on snacks, but it's possible to keep this number pretty small if you try.
- Shopping and classes: This number can pretty much be whatever you want. My first year, I'd saved up a lot and spent about $900 on shopping. Last year I only spent $300, mostly on CDs and a few other trinkets. I recommend bringing at least $50 of spending money, so you don't feel deprived. Anything more than that is up to you.
So there you go. The full two weeks of Pennsic can be comfortably done on $500 if you're not planning on shopping too much, and if you've got access to a good meal plan. In recent years, I've been bringing about $700 and that's been working out just fine for me. Consider yourselves informed.
Since I keep an itemized list of my spending at Pennsic, I've been able to break this down into categories, and I'm actually pretty consistent year-to-year. Please note that these costs are only on-site costs and don't count pre-reg or equipment bought before the event.
Also note: I generally camp with large-ish, established groups with meal plans and camp fees. Your mileage setting up a new, smaller encampment may vary.
Total costs: $450-525 + shopping money
- Hotels ($50-117): I stay in a hotel on the way down and the way back from Pennsic, splitting the drive over two days. This is half the hotel costs, assuming I'm splitting with my passenger / driver.
- Gas, tolls, etc. ($57-138): $138 was the price last year, when I wasn't splitting costs with a passenger. Figure $70-80 is about average if you're two to a car and splitting costs.
- Camp fees, troll-in, gear bought on-site ($68-112)
- Meals ($122-253): The low number was this past year, where I was on a very good meal plan and didn't eat "out" too much. The high number was the one year I *wasn't* on a meal plan, and wound up eating almost every meal in the food court.
- Snacks ($23-81): It's easy to go overboard on snacks, but it's possible to keep this number pretty small if you try.
- Shopping and classes: This number can pretty much be whatever you want. My first year, I'd saved up a lot and spent about $900 on shopping. Last year I only spent $300, mostly on CDs and a few other trinkets. I recommend bringing at least $50 of spending money, so you don't feel deprived. Anything more than that is up to you.
So there you go. The full two weeks of Pennsic can be comfortably done on $500 if you're not planning on shopping too much, and if you've got access to a good meal plan. In recent years, I've been bringing about $700 and that's been working out just fine for me. Consider yourselves informed.
