There’s no denying it: conferences cost money.
Though we do our best to make FinCon an accessible event, costs like airfare, housing, food and swaggy-brand-t-shirts can add up quickly.
Before you know you it, you could easily be $700-$1,000 in!
Ouch.
We thought it’d be a nice idea to compile a list of resources, travel hacks, and money-saving tips to make your #FinCon18—and all future FinCons—more affordable.
And let’s face it. You’re probably a money-saving #MoneyNerd just like us!
How to Save Money on Traveling to Conferences
Some of these tips might be #FinCon18 specific for Orlando, but most of them can easily be applied to other conference travel!
Tip 1 – Save money on airport parking.
Trying searching using apps like Parking Panda to find the best parking rates, or book a one-night hotel stay at a hotel that allows free parking for guests. Call the hotel before booking to confirm the free parking. ParkSleepFly.com can book the room for you.
Shoutout to Veteran FinCon attendee Lee Huffman from Bald Thoughts for this tip.
Tip 2 – Pay for airfare or housing with miles or points.
If you’re not already a travel hacker, this might not help a lot for this year’s conference in Orlando, but it’s certainly an incredible way to save money on future FinCons.
While the #FinCon18 conference hotel isn’t a part of any large hotel rewards programs, you can always use credit cards like the Capital One Venture Card to pay for your room with points.
In general, FinCon is always in cities with decent airport hubs, so booking flights in your favorite rewards program or with your preferred airline should never be an issue.
Tip 3 – Use our airport shuttle discounts!
Did you know we’ve reserved a discounted rate for Orlando airport shuttles? Here’s the link with the discount built in, and you can also use the code M3JFU at https://www.supershuttle.com/.
Here’s the savings breakdown for Orlando travel with that code:
- SuperShuttle Shared Ride: $2 OFF One Way or $5 off Round Trip
- ExecuCar Sedan: $5 OFF One Way or $10 off Round Trip
- ExecuCar SUV: $5 OFF One Way or $10 off Round Trip
Don’t miss these two more details for scoring the shuttle discount:
RESERVATIONS: For special reservation questions, call 1-800 BLUE VAN (800-258-3826). If you call in your reservation instead of booking online with your discount code, a $3 call center fee applies.
DATES AVAILABLE: We have provided a few extra days of discount for those who arrive early or leave later. Your discount covers Sept 20th – Oct 1st. The code is live for booking now!
Tip 4 – Buddy up and split fares for all transportation.
Sharing rides saves cash!
Uber, Lyft, airport shuttles—all of these can be split with fellow FinCon-ners, friends and strangers alike.
There are a few ways to make this happen:
- Do not be afraid to ask people you meet at the event!
- Use the official mobile app for FinCon to message people or post ride-share requests.
- Quickly hop in the FinCon slack channel and post requests.
“Hey! Is anybody else going to the meetup tonight from the Rosen and wants to split an Uber/Lyft?”
This post in Slack could save you $6 alone. Worth it.
Tip 5 – Buddy up and find a roommate!
Whether it’s at the Rosen Shingle Creek or at a local AirBnb, splitting the cost of housing is a no-brainer.
This list is accessible from the FinCon Community Facebook Group and will prove especially helpful if you don’t know a lot of other attendees yet.
Snagging a roomie is also just fun!
How to Save Money on Food:
You gotta eat at conferences, but you don’t always have to go broke doing it.
Tip 6 – Pack your own snacks.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner aside, you will need snacks. You’re going to be busy. Very busy.
- Connecting with other influencers
- Attending various meetups and breakout sessions
- Closing sweet deals with new partners
These take energy.
Be sure to pack healthy, protein-rich snacks you can keep in your bag or pocket.
If you don’t have space in your luggage, you can likely find another FinCon-ner to carpool with to a local grocery store the day you arrive. Once you’re there, stock up for the rest of your stay.
Tip 7 – Partaking in adult beverages? Alternate with water.
Lee Huffman, FinCon veteran, from Bald Thoughts is back with more advice:
When mingling with a drink in hand, have a glass of water in between adult beverages. Not only will this save you money, but it will keep you hydrated, so you’ll be productive in the morning (aka #NoHangovers).
Money-saving aside, this is just a smart health tip.
Also, outside of avoiding hangovers, this tip allows you to stay connected at the party and also maintain a healthy focus on what you’re really going to FinCon for: having fun while learning and building relationships that’ll grow your business.
Tip 8 – Eat healthy. Even on vacation.
Yes, most people consider conferences a mini-vacation. Yes, we’d absolutely encourage you to “live it up” in Orlando.
However, there’s a strong chance you might be going to meetups and informal “Hey! Want to come with us to this restaurant?” get-togethers. The possibility of eating six meals a day isn’t entirely slim.
#puns!
Maintaining your regular eating schedule and diet (more or less) is a healthy choice both physically and financially.
Tip 9 – Come to the sponsored events and enjoy free food.
This won’t be available for every meal, but several of our incredible sponsors are putting on evening dinner and party events, where there is usually at least some sort of free food.
If you prefer not to stress over breakfast, lunches, or snacks—purchasing the Food Pass upgrade is a must.
If you prefer to not think about where your next meal is coming from, you can always upgrade to the Food Pass, which will provide breakfasts, lunches, and snacks on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Plus coffee. Lots of coffee. The Food Pass will also keep you caffeinated throughout the event.
Here Are Some More Ways to Save in Orlando and on FinCon:
Tip 10 – Planning to experience Orlando? We’ve partnered with VisitOrlando to provide some discounts around town.
Orlando is king of the “stuff to do” cities, so we’ve partnered with VisitOrlando to bring you a few discounts for FinCon attendees.
Say “hey” to the Mouse for us.
Tip 11 – Conferences are a write-off!
If you have a business—even a sole proprietorship—you can claim educational conferences like FinCon on your next tax return.
Just be sure to save receipts physically or digitally. You also want to pay for airfare or housing using your business account if you have one.
Bonus non-money tip: Pack cough drops and chapstick.
Here’s a great conference tip from Gwen over at Fiery Millennials:
Consider this part of your FinCon survival guide.
Back to you, FinCon-ner. What’s an additional way you save money attending conferences like FinCon?
Please let us know in the comments!
Comments
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Remember to have fun when you’re at the conference and make the most of it. So much of what you’ve spent has already been spent, like transportation and lodging and the conference pass, so don’t start looking for small ways to cut costs at the risk of missing networking opportunities, etc. Try to maximize the value and not focus on minimizing the remaining cost.
This is the cheapest airport parking option I’ve seen for my local market. They have partnerships all over the US – https://www.airportparking.top.
They don’t have their own lots. Rather, you make an online reservation and are assigned to an offsite airport parking lot with a 24-hour shuttle. Reservations can be canceled.
In Denver, it’s $4 a day and we’ve used them at least 10 times. It provides a significant savings to our annual travel budget.
Looking forward to meeting everyone! First time for this podcaster.