Quote:
Originally Posted by Auburn Annie
In 2002 I decided to buy tickets to Gord's concert originally scheduled for October in Syracuse NY because [a] it was as near as he'd ever been and [b] the date was close to our wedding anniversary and I thought it'd be a nice surprise for my husband. To my dismay, the venue was cancelled. Checking the Massey Hall dates that November we saw that the next day was the annual Santa parade. My husband thought our daughter might enjoy it; at 13 I thought she was way too old but she was enthused (because it was a trip to Toronto, not because of the parade, lol.)
Well. The tickets were $42.50 each, and we'd have a hotel stay overnight, too. But, what the heck, I ordered them.
And then 2 things happened almost simultaneously: I lost my job and Gord nearly lost his life.
And I held on to the tickets. Blind faith, bottomless hope, whatever, I hoped that one day I would be able to use them and I'd still have money enough for a hotel.
I was still out of work when Gord came back but, by golly, I reserved a junior suite at a very nice hotel near Massey and we made a mini-vacation out of it. Never regretted it. Paid cash.
I'm not one who travels all over and has seen 30, 40, 50 or more concerts. I've seen him twice, the first time way back in the day (1974) and the second time 30 years on.
My grandmother - who raised five kids during the Great Depression - always said, it's only money; it's what you do with it that counts. Making memories is up there for us. Your mileage may vary. As someone else posted, the artists' have their expenses too. Touring is not cheap. I do not know enough about it to say who decides what to charge at each venue. I expect that's something worked out between the artist's manager and the venue. Charge too much and you have empty seats; too little and you don't cover expenses.
I've been out of work (again) since October of last year - great timing, what? - but oddly enough, the closer I get to retirement (and this might be it, who knows?) the less I stress about money. This is in spite of having our daughter halfway through college AND getting married in two months. We took a hit when the market fell off a cliff last year, not as bad as some, but have largely recovered since March. But we've been reviewing our assets and pension stuff and know we'll be okay financially when my husband retires in 2012. Managing expectations is as important as managing money, which is where I think a lot of folks get tripped up.
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GREETINGS! Well, how about paying $52 to see a movie? Yep, go to the Orillia Beatles Celebration 2009 website, and there's a film to be shown in the Gordon Lightfoot Auditorium - price, $52 per adults! I'm lucky enough to be spending my birthday in Toronto and NYC this year, and here I thought that the Toronto International Film Festival was OUTRAGEOUS to charge over $19 for each movie you want to atend. Being the HUGE Beatles fan that I was and still am, I'll probably pay the $52, too , for theBeatles film (lots of rare footage....)
Your words really hit home for me - I was out of work for 10 months last year, and since February of this year. Against all reason, I decided to travel (hate that when you have the money, you don't have the time, and vice versa). Being single, and not having a job with a pension, like most of my friends, we're all resigned to the fact we'll probably have to work until we drop! So, yeah, I spent what was earmarked for retirement and right now, I'm happy I did - to get to travel and have mobility to see what I want to see before I'm relegated to having to travel with a group of senior citizens. ("Not that there's anything wrong with that"- the closer I get to my "seniority".
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So, I've managed my expectations - my major goal after this last, or next to last, trip this year, is to KEEP THE HOUSE and PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE. I do have crises of conscience, though, thinking about my grandparents, who raised 10 kids during the Depression, and managed to not only feed their kids but the friends of the kids who stayed up until suppertime, and also fed the hobos riding the rails - my grandmother found the "X" put someplace on their property so the next "hobo" would know the mistress of that house would share some supper. Guess what our grandparents thought of as critical and what we think of as critical is at least a ligjt year or two apart!
Besides, the world's supposed to end on December 21, 2012 (according to a History Channel show last night) so hey, NO WORRIES!
Best of luck to you, Auburn A! SherylKat
by figuring I'll have to work 'til I drop. (that is, if I can get a job that will allow me to do that!) My major goal is to keep the house! I