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Hey do you put yourself on a limit for how much u spend, if so wat?? i try to spend no more than 60 dollars on food the 4 day (including thursday)15 dollars a day ^^ , and no more than 200 in the art room and 300 in the dealers room. doesnt always work though o-o xD lol how about u?? ^_^

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SUCH a conundrum, since money is so tight for me.

I figure no more than $100 for food/amenities, hotel will be $285 with help from my roommate, and no more than $200 in the DR. Travel with hotel parking will cost about $70 split between the three people in our group, pre-reg is $50, and cosplay/rave outfit plus accessories will cost just under $100.

So that makes the grand total about $800 doesn't it.

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Hopefully I'll be able to hold myself between $50-$100 for the whole weekend.

I always go a little crazy on buttons and stickers, though. And wind up with an action figure or plushie that I wasn't planning on.

No one really carries the stuff that I want to find, anymore, so sticking to a budget isn't as hard as it used to be.

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Well, let's see, I spend $150 (that's my 50% of the price) on the hotel right off the bat, then you figure, about $50-$75 for food fri/sat/sun (bring your own it's a lot cheaper), that left me with a lot of money for the artist alley, overall, I probably spent $1000 haha, I won a lot of auctions.

This year, hopefully I'll be putting up art at the Art Show.

Now just to figure out what to cosplay as since I'm retiring edward...hmmm

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My convention budget looks a little like this...$276 for hotel( 3 of us staying there but I'm paying for me and my g/f)...$30 for greyhound... my cosplay limit is $150(probably will all be used :ph34r: )...estimate of $50 for pre-reg...$75 for food (Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun)...$20 for cab incase we dont wanna walk after the con, but our hotel is close now....and I wanna be able to bring about $200 to spend in the dealers room and art gallery. Bings me to $801 ^_^ ..not too bad considering I have no new books to buy for my last 2 quarters of school..and I'll just be saving money up. ^_^ ...Lol quit WoW too so thats an extra $15 a month in my pocket :blush:

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I spend about $150 for the weekend, without paying for a hotel - $15 or so for parking (I bring too much stuff to take the light rail from a free parking lot and it's not worth it), maybe $50-60 for stuff from the dealers' room (there's very little I want anymore besides an Otakon t-shirt and whatever cool new merchandise we have), and the rest for food and little miscellaneous expenses.

I don't have a lot of time to spend money at-con. :ph34r:

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Last, last year hotel was probably approaching half my cost (my guess is a little over $300 of around $800 total I spent on the trip), so budget for other things was a little bit looser in comparison to that.

I guess the only places at the convention itself that I really set any sort of mental spending limit was in the dealers room since one can go crazy in there. I think I tried to offset that by bringing a wad of cash with me and, with one exception, basically told myself that once the cash runs out, then that's it.

As far as food and stuff, I brought breakfast stuff with me to the hotel so I didn't have to spend extra on that, and I made sure to eat at places which I knew weren't ridiculously expensive (I usually ate at Arundel Mills mall after I came back via the light rail since my hotel was at BWI. The only real exception was when I hit the Hard Rock).

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Aside from hotel costs, I try to keep my sepnding within $250. About $60 for food (at least one real meal a day) and the remainder for artist alley and the dealer's room.

It goes without saying if I decide to use the credit card, but that's usually only on something I MUST have (or last minute spending on Sunday =P).

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I'll probably use my credit card for what I can and then use the money I have saved to make the payment. It's just as easy and I have a way of keeping track of where my money went. :ph34r:

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I've been trying to get the budget hammered out ahead of time this year. I have 4 rooms at Holiday Inn at 189 per room per night (though my group splits the room cost). So that'll be about 70, 50 for registration, 150 for gas there and back. I usually bring peanut butter, bread, pocky, and beef jerkey with me and only buy one meal while I'm there. I'll probably spend 300ish on weapons in the first hour or so then take it all back to the room and get into the costume.

That's my plan right now anyway.

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Budget? What budget? People go to Otakon with a budget?

I knew there was a missed memo somewhere.

The room & food are requirements, and there usually isn't anything in the dealer's room I (A) am interested in and/or (B) cannot find elsewhere for much cheaper, so con really hasn't been a problem with budgeting ... it's the regular semi-annuals I need to get a better handle on.

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And what kills me even more with this whole budget thing is I have to make sure I have enough money for FanExpoCNA just 2 weeks after Otakon. ^^;

You go to that too? XD

Maybe a "Yearly" budget would be more appropriate where you could split it up between conventions. Like, "ok i go to 3 conventions - That should be $2000." And then you decide from there what you "need" to buy such as hotel space and food (yes this is a need!), subtract it from the total, and then divide the rest amongst the merch you want to get that year. Of course, nothing is 100% plannable, so it's always good to have a reserve of 10% of your total spending.

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Since Otakon is a very long trip for me, I starting saving the moment I get home from the convention. Coming from Florida, I try to spend 200 or less on my plane ticket. Sometimes that doesn't always work. Then about 400 on the hotel and about 100 bucks for food.

Now that all of that is out of the way, there is the dealers room and Artist's Alley. Last year, I spent a good 1200 bucks in those two alone.

But like I said, I save every penny that I can when I go to this convention. Its one of the few awesome cons!

But usually, I dig into those funds when I am booking a flight and that saddens me some. Why must flying be so expensive?! *cries*

But there you have it! XD

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to be honest, i've never had a real budget for otakon..i would always go to the cheapest restaurants in the area, hotel situation wuz always about 80-115 bucks, and i don't really buy anything besides the occasional street fighter shirt, figure, or poster. i mainly go there to geek out, chill w/ my boys, watch some anime, game it up, and b-boy *break dance*. however, i may have to set up a 400-500 dollar budget. i def saw some nice stuff i would wanna buy in the dealers room, hahaha. :)

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Otakon is like a bit of a vacation for me, so as far as food and such goes, I dont really budget. I stay Thursday-Monday morning and generally have between 2 and 3 sit down meals and the rest eat at the food court area at Harborplace. We cram about 10 people into one room, which generally brings the hotel price down considerably, even with staying the extra night on Sunday. The internet used to be free when the hotel was Wyndham, but last year we went ahead and paid the 10 dollars a day for it at the Sheraton.

When it comes to the Dealer Room though...I really dont spend hardly anything. I kind of came to this conclusion of not REALLY needing any more stuff cluttering my living space and generally collecting dust...I just can think of better things to spend my hard earned money on lol. Besides with the internet nowdays, it's not like the early days of my con going where dealer rooms were pretty much the ONLY way to get your hands on stuff. Now I only buy something if it's an incredible deal or something I absolutely MUST have. Sometimes I spend more in the Artist Alley since you can find more unique stuff there.

So I think I spend somewhere in the area of 200-250 dollars in total (well not counting like, what I paid to pre reg).

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I put aside $400 for Hotel + Food + Gas already. I've never gone before, but in the upcoming months I'm planning on saving another $500-$1000 for the Dealers Room and whatnot, being as me+all my friends are sure we'll want to buy an insane amount of stuff being our first convention. Figuring $1000 minimum, $1500 tops. Also though, a lot of people go to multiple conventions and stuff. This is the only one we're going too. <_>

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I put aside $400 for Hotel + Food + Gas already. I've never gone before, but in the upcoming months I'm planning on saving another $500-$1000 for the Dealers Room and whatnot, being as me+all my friends are sure we'll want to buy an insane amount of stuff being our first convention. Figuring $1000 minimum, $1500 tops. Also though, a lot of people go to multiple conventions and stuff. This is the only one we're going too. <_>
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Budget for otakon hotel 3 nights =450.00

train= 132.00

Food bring along=10.00 a day

spending= 300.00 1 rule i have, if I buy it. It absolutely must fit in the suitecase that i am carrying if it doesn't then it wasn't meant to be at all. I seriously have to consider my limits since i will be dolling out for a new car this year, and insurance and taxes. Plus add in the cost of college.

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$100-$150 in the Dealer's Room if I can actually make it there. There isn't much I want these days aside from random plushies....so I don't spend a lot

$50 in the Alley...more if I find stuff I like.

$100-$140 on air fare

$20-$32 round trip Super Shuttle from BWI (I do not take the Light Rail because I carry too much crap on me for the weekend)

I don't spend much at con because I am usually working. Since I am in Baltimore Wednesday-Monday, I tend to spend more money on food, drinks, and shopping in the Inner Harbor.

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Ah, I allocate anywhere between $200 and $300 for the con. That does not include transportation, but does include food and Dealers Room shopping. I actually didn't get to spend all of it this year becasue most vedors hadn't restocked their goods after the Expo and Comic Con, and I couldn't get a certain Bouso Shinki figure that I wanted badly! Other than that, that's all.

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Man, I'm almost afraid to post on this thread...

Otakon is probably the only interesting activity I do throughout the year and probably my only real vacation. With that in mind, I go a little overboard. I don't like eating cheap food, buy a good portion of the things I see that I like that's on some kind of sale and I'm probably the only one in the convention that requires a large room on a high floor that has a view of the Inner Harbor (which cannot be consistently guaranteed on con rate rooms). So without breaking down what was spent on what, for Otakon 2007 I spent roughly $1800. I think for Otakon 2006 I was at $1200. Can't remember the years before that.

Before I graduated last may, I just used internship money from the summer to pay for it.

Now that I have a real job what I actually do is have a separate online savings account (go ing direct!) for Otakon that I deposit money into every paycheck. Then at con time I'll swap the funds with a checking account (so I can use a check card) and whatever I have is my budget. I do that so I can essentially buy whatever I can afford without endangering the rest of my life. Being on a strict budget ruins the fun for me...

Though for reference, my first con (Katsu) my senior year of high school I had like $300. So I guess I'm just getting progressively worse...oh well.

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Well, this'll be my second time going to Otakon, and last year, I noticed that the Dealer's Room had nothing of particular interest. I got one sword, which I bought on the last day for $15. And that was it. Other than that, I spent nothing, save for $3 on some FFVII & Kingdom Hearts fanart. I paid nothing for my hotel (family essentially gave me the cash for it) and so majority of my money went to food. I'm glad things worked out like that last year, considering I'd gone to Japan a few weeks before.

However, I don't think that'll be the case this year, so I'm gonna actually look for a job this time! I know we're going to be paying $95 each for the hotel, and then the cosplay costs run around $120 - $150, so that'll be about $245 worst-case scenario. This time we're living off ramen & Easy Mac.

No doubt we're going to have to do some better planning next year.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I realized my snarky comment earlier, while it gave an idea of the kind of money I spend at Otakon, was not an answer. Here's what I plunked down in 07.

Transportation: less than $10 total for MTA passes and one short cab ride back from Lutherville LR Thursday to get my friend settled at my place briefly...it's good to be a local.

Hotel: $120ish, because we roomed with friends in the Hyatt, though since we stayed at my place Thursday night and Sunday night, it could have been much worse

Food: $50+, CalTort, Aramark, and Light Street Pavilion mainly, with a couple trips to Tir Na Nog (Thurs dinner) and Burke's on Light St. (Fri breakfast)

DR/artist's alley/USPS: Untold hundreds, probably around $250 with a little here and a little there

Supplies: Being press and all, I spent a few bucks here and there for a notebook, pens, and whatnot

Otakon is usually the last con for my summer, so I can splurge away.

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I try really hard not to spend any money at all...because once I start I find it hard to stop ("O...well it's only $20 more....." 30 times...ugh).

In the end I usually end up spending $400-500 and owing my friend $150 or so.

Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff

$50 for food

$60 for the train home (we get a ride down, yay freeness!)

$160 for the hotel room

$400 or so for Dealers, and maybe Alley if I end up there

$30 for another bag to haul back all the stuff I bought from the Dealers

$700 total

Edited by rabbit
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I always start with an idea of how much its going to cost...then it seems like I always forget a detail such as last year, purchasing gasoline for the intense roadtrip. That was like a bonus $300 that I had forgotten about. Damn you gasoline! So I ended up spending more then I thought.

I suggest a checklist. with an approximation of how much everything is going to cost. That way you don't end up in debt. or overdrawing your account. Or waiting in line at the Bank of America. Always have a buffer of at least a $100 that way if you need to buy a extra tank of gas, a meal, the sweetest plushie you've ever seen. You have some cushion zone to fall back into.

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I don't keep a budget.

Early in the year, I put away my money for the hotel.

the past three years, it's always worked out that I get paid the first day of the con, and I have direct deposit. So my room is laready paid for, I make sure to bring money to eat and stuff with for thursday. I also make sure to work as much over time as possible, so that check that's deposited in my checking account at Friday Morning is usally about 1200 bucks.

But I never spend more than 400. I always go with over a gran, but I keep a list of what needs to be pruchased, and get that out of the way first. After that, it's smooth sailing, just keep a count of my reciepts.

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Hm a budget...I usualy try to keep myself from spending no more than about $200 in the dealer's room it may be even less this year seeing as a few things may happen and that I gotta save up for other stuff.

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But con-wise, about $50 or $60 for food *I usualy pack alooot of snaks*, $100 on travels*train car ect.), and whatever amount for the room *Usualy from around $150 to $200*.

Its all about remembering to only spend money on the stuff you REALLY REALLY Want, like for example..

A super rare ultra art book $200 or..2 Plushies,5 keychains, 6 manga's, 3 dvd's,5 dounjinshi's, and a t-shirt for the same exact price, it depends on what ya really want but in some cases Also look around the vendors many times and also remember, if you see something and its too much or you saw it cheaper at another stall then either get it cheaper or WAIT till Sunday to get it. If its something you don't really need but you want it but you want something more elsewhere then put the one item down and wait to get it sunday if the price got knocked down. It always happens. Or do what I do and only get either what you Absolutley want or something you know you can't find online easily and its something you really really want and its at a decent price.

All I got last year were...3 doujinshi's, 2 t-shirts, 3 plushies, 4 cell phone straps, and 1 manga and all together it was about a little over $100. Like I said it depends on the person and what they want to do.

I hope that didn't confuse anyone...it is 2 am in the morning So I hope i didn't ramble and that that advice helps X3;;

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  • 4 weeks later...

Wow you guys put me to shame! I've never actually made a budget for the otakon weekend....

Ive been to otakon 3 times now and the only thing I did money-wise was go with whatever is in my bank account ^_^. Last year, however I was broke as the joke because I had a loser summer job and most of my $$ went towards cosplay making. but for otakon 07 it was like this:

$14 - traveling to and from washington, dc via bus/2 trains

$35 - hotel.... me and 5 friends crammed into one hotel room ^_^

$40 - food..... I was dumb and didnt bring ANYTHING to eat, not even water

$50 - dealer's room..... compared to you guys $50 is nothing, lol

$30 - harry potter midnight party.... bought the book

total = $170........ not including my coplay which was about $100

I really want more money so I dont have to be cheap and pass up stuff in the DR because I cant afford it. :::sigh:::

As far as food, when you cosplay its a lot of fun to eat out..... like at the food court or McDonalds for breakfast. I have fun stories about those times. Money adds up when you do that but I think its worth it

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Wow you guys put me to shame! I've never actually made a budget for the otakon weekend....

Ive been to otakon 3 times now and the only thing I did money-wise was go with whatever is in my bank account ^_^. Last year, however I was broke as the joke because I had a loser summer job and most of my $$ went towards cosplay making. but for otakon 07 it was like this:

$14 - traveling to and from washington, dc via bus/2 trains

$35 - hotel.... me and 5 friends crammed into one hotel room ^_^

$40 - food..... I was dumb and didnt bring ANYTHING to eat, not even water

$50 - dealer's room..... compared to you guys $50 is nothing, lol

$30 - harry potter midnight party.... bought the book

total = $170........ not including my coplay which was about $100

I really want more money so I dont have to be cheap and pass up stuff in the DR because I cant afford it. :::sigh:::

As far as food, when you cosplay its a lot of fun to eat out..... like at the food court or McDonalds for breakfast. I have fun stories about those times. Money adds up when you do that but I think its worth it

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ha ^_^

the only reason i was being so thrifty was because that's all the money I had - but I was still determined to go to otakon. I still had a blast - despite not buying much and I didnt get anything from Artist Alley.

this year will be different. i like the advice a guy posted awhile back saying that it deposits some cash into a savings with each pay check. i think im going to do that

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The only thing I really limit myself on is food as far as a budget goes. I don't need to go out for a nice sit-down dinner when I could grab a bite at the food court and go right back to the con with an extra twenty bucks for anime stuffs ^^ I always tip 20% when I go out to eat but I prefer not to go anywhere I have to tip when I want the money for something else. Any other time maybe, but not at Otakon!

Otherwise, I work hard for my money and I don't feel bad spending as much as I can bring! This year I'll be able to be even more free with my money because I'm getting a great deal of money I've been owed for a long time, so with five digits in the bank, I won't mind buying even more than I did last year ^^

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well, i'm spending on about $150 for hotels, splitting with my roommates, i try to stay under 200 for my outfit, pre-reg is around 50, and i bring whatever else money i have, and spend it. last yera i spent around 120, but i want to spend at least 200 XD

too bad i don't have that much, since i buy videogames religiously

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well, i'm spending on about $150 for hotels, splitting with my roommates, i try to stay under 200 for my outfit, pre-reg is around 50, and i bring whatever else money i have, and spend it. last yera i spent around 120, but i want to spend at least 200 XD

too bad i don't have that much, since i buy videogames religiously

Edited by SailorV
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Well my budget is 5K. I usually come home with 3.5 to 4K, but if there's some really rare stuff I want, I'm ready.
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well, i'm spending on about $150 for hotels, splitting with my roommates, i try to stay under 200 for my outfit, pre-reg is around 50, and i bring whatever else money i have, and spend it. last yera i spent around 120, but i want to spend at least 200 XD

too bad i don't have that much, since i buy videogames religiously

You oughta hit GameStop or pawn shops, you can get pretty awesome used games there including a lot of new releases that are perfectly fine (many times mint condition!) that people just needed quick cash for. That saves a flippin' fortune as far as buying video games and DVDs. I just bought volumes 2-5 of Azumanga Daioh at GameStop for $20! Gotta shop smart, not necessarily less, that's what I've learned ^^ Shop smart, shop S-mart *teehee*

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That's a really good idea! Plus, an emergency might strike when you least expect it so the money is good to have around for THAT too. I'll probably bring around that much this year too, just in case ^^
Edited by Darthy Storms
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That's a really good idea! Plus, an emergency might strike when you least expect it so the money is good to have around for THAT too. I'll probably bring around that much this year too, just in case ^^
*pokes Sailor V* Gotta have a big budget for all the Sailor Moon, Doctor Who, & Torchwood stuff I collect! *Sailor Haruka rox my sox!*

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I call it good if I can get there, stay, and be back for around $350-400, and I'll usually round up a spending budget to total everything out to $500. It's a good, round number, and as I'm not really a mecha person, I find there's less and less that I really need in the Dealers' Room. I'll put aside enough for a t-shirt for my brother, maybe $75 if there's any BTSSB hidden away in Kinokuniya, but otherwise I don't spend much on anything, now that you can find it all online. Before it became really easy to find things on the internet, though, I'd drop $200-300 a year, easy, though.

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