Women's Money Wisdom

Episode 172: Financial Lessons from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour

• Melissa Fradenburg, CDFA®️, AIF® • Season 3 • Episode 172

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In this episode, Melissa Fradenburg, CDFA®️, AIF® shares the financial implications of Taylor Swift Era's Tour tickets and how parents can use them as a valuable lesson in financial decision-making.  How resisting the urge to overspend can teach our kids valuable lessons about choices and opportunity cost. We explore what it means to set realistic expectations about budgeting, and how to have honest conversations about our financial decisions with our children. Whether you're a Taylor Swift fan or not, this episode offers insights and lessons on financial responsibility that we can all learn from. If you spent too much on tickets and feel regret or if seeing the images of others at the concert is making you green with envy, Melissa will help you turn this experience into a teachable moment for financial responsibility and wise decision-making.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the 52 Pearls Weekly Money Wisdom Podcast. I'm Melissa Joy, a certified financial planner and founder of Pearl Planning, and I'm Melissa Friedenberg, financial advisor with Pearl Planning. Pearl Planning is a financial planning and investment management company located in Dexter and Gross Point, michigan. We work with clients all around the country. The purpose of our podcast is to explore specific financial topics and provide advice you can use in your everyday life.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to the 52 Pearls Weekly Money Wisdom Podcast. I'm your host, melissa Friedenberg, and this week I am going to be talking about the ever popular Taylor Swift Eris Tour and what that means as far as teaching financial responsibility to your kids, and if you did not attend what wanted to and were not able to obtain tickets because of the outrageous prices in the secondary market, i want to try and help you feel better and also use this as a learning experience for you and for your kids and tell you that I'm proud of you for being responsible and not overspending on those tickets. So, whether you went to the concert, whether you didn't go because you couldn't afford them maybe you don't have kids that are interested in the Taylor Swift concert, but using this as an example of how we can teach our children responsible spending and budgeting at an early age. Jackie, my 14-year-old daughter and I did attend the Friday night in Detroit at Ford Field Show. Our situation is unique in that I did not pay the secondary market price for tickets And in fact I decided back when we didn't get the initial presale tickets that I was not going to pay that price. For once my cheapness actually paid off because initially the verified fan for Taylor Swift tickets were through Ticketmaster. You had a special code to get in the queue.

Speaker 1:

Let's just say that I spent most of my work day trying to get these tickets and there was something wrong with the system whether I guess the claim is that bots took over or there was just so much volume and demand but especially in our market here in Metro Detroit, the ticket purchasing process was a little messed up, right, so we did not get tickets that day. Every time we had tickets or every time we got in the queue, it would bounce us out And then, when we did get in the queue and get tickets in the cart, it would not let us check out. Anyway, of course my daughter was upset, i was frustrated, but back then I think it was October And really we had no idea how hard it would be to get a ticket. I guess in the back of my mind I thought if we don't get these pre-sale tickets, there will be tickets to be had, might be up in the nosebleed, but we'll get them right Fast forward. And tickets for this particular concert were it was like the hottest ticket here in the area And tickets did not become available.

Speaker 1:

In fact they continued to go up outrageously in price in the secondary market. I know a few people that their plan was to go down there on the day of the show and wait for prices to drop and then buy last minute tickets and go in. Some of them still purchased last minute tickets but the prices did not drop like they usually do for concerts. So I know people who spent $7,000 for three people to go in And one person I know ended up sending their daughter in alone with one $2,000 ticket. So prices again for this particular concert were outrageous. I also have a friend who decided that that point that the ticket cost for the Detroit Ford Field Show was too high. It was actually cheaper to buy tickets for their daughters and fly to Las Vegas to see Taylor's concert there. So again, parents were doing kind of outrageous stuff to sort of make this dream happen for kids. It really made me think I should have a podcast on this, because I think one. There are parents who spend more than they should have on tickets to make their kids dream come true this past weekend. And then I also think there are people who didn't buy tickets who are seeing everybody's posts and feeling maybe regret that they didn't try harder or spend more money to get tickets. So back to how my cheapness paid off.

Speaker 1:

This was back in October where we didn't get the pre-sale tickets and I saw that prices were kind of outrageous. I think at the time I was looking they had like $600 per ticket, nosebleed seats, and I was like I just never spent $600 on a concert, not even for groups that my husband and I want to see together. And then Christmas that's all my daughter, my 14-year-old, that's all she wanted for Christmas were Taylor Swift tickets. And I kept looking and checking and I'm like no, it's not going to happen. I remember seeing pictures on Christmas morning of all these girls opening up their Taylor Swift tickets and I'm thinking like, oh, maybe I should have done it right. I didn't. I decided this is not in the budget. This is not how I'm going to allocate our funds to do this.

Speaker 1:

About three months ago my daughter got an email from like Taylor Swift verified fans saying we apologize that you weren't able to get tickets in the pre-sale and it was such a challenge. So here is a code to get back in the queue and purchase tickets. I have to say you didn't know what you were going to get. Said to put in a maximum that you would pay per ticket. We got amazing seats for that price. We went to the concert and we enjoyed it, and I say that not to brag. And if you paid a lot more than that for your tickets, i am not judging you. I get it. I thought about it. I was close. You know they were in my cart. I was back and forth.

Speaker 1:

To those who didn't purchase tickets and didn't attend the concert and sort of feeling like left out and their kids are kind of angry at them as they see all their friends at the concert, i want to say this I'm proud of you. I get it. You had to set limits. You decided this was either not worth it the opportunity cost of where that money could go or it was just out of budget and you stuck to it, so that is a good thing And it's also a teaching lesson for kids. I wanna say, if you were one of those people that spent the $2,000 a ticket, i really urge you to share with your kids how much you paid, and I also wanna put it in perspective It's probably about your mortgage payment, maybe even more, especially if you feel like you regret spending the money on the tickets. That is something that is important to share with kids as well, because they are learning about saving and spending and big purchases, and we're human as parents. We make mistakes, sometimes buy things that we shouldn't, and I think it's so important to share with your kids what that is, what that feels like, and really let them know that it's part of being an adult.

Speaker 1:

When we went to the concert, she was really amazed at how much just food and beverage cost at the concert. So we got there early, walked around and we got she got a diet Pepsi, i got a Bud Light and we shared a pretzel And it was $29. For two drinks and a pretzel And she was like, oh my God, is that really how much it costs? Yes, yes, that's how much it costs, right, one of the things that inspired me to record a podcast on this subject. A client of mine who has payrolls said in this last week that she had two moms who happened to take their kids to Taylor Swift that needed an advance on their paycheck. So they just got paid on Friday but they needed an advance on their next paycheck. So the pressure put on parents to get this hot ticket item that everybody's going to, right, everybody's going to Taylor Swift, mom, like you have to be, we have to go, we have to be at the show, so that pressure. There are people that chose to purchase these tickets over literally paying their bills, buying groceries, and that is a problem.

Speaker 1:

And I really want to sort of use this as an example, because it's not just Taylor Swift in the concert. I think. If it's not Taylor Swift, it's Lululemon leggings, it's a Canadian goose winter coat or what are those ugly shoes that are so expensive? I don't even remember what they're called. Luckily my kids have not asked for them, but they're like $600 shoes that look dirty. Whatever it is, i want you to listen and understand that it's okay to one say no when kids ask for super expensive things or set limits. In fact it's healthy. It's really important for kids to know that there are limits and that it doesn't mean you love them any less.

Speaker 1:

So Maybe if they ask for something, one of the best things that you can do is make sure that they still want this in a few months. So getting them to maybe not pay for the whole item but to put some skin in the game and say you've got to save up allowance or save birthday money to help put towards this item and then match it. That's a way to really see if it's something that they want in the long term or if it's something that they just saw somebody wear at school and thought it looked cool and they wanted to. So, really focusing on how badly do you want this, even in the end, maybe you say you know what. I'll cover the whole cost, or it's going to be your Christmas gift this year. Give it to them for their birthday and not make them pay.

Speaker 1:

But again, teaching them how to delay gratification and save up for a big ticket purchase is such a valuable lesson, whether you went or you didn't go, to talk about opportunity cost, i tried to break it down in terms that my daughter would understand. I showed her what tickets were going for in the section that we were in. I said we could resell these tickets for this amount and talk to her about not that I was trying to get her to sell it, because I don't even know if we could sell ours because of the way we got them through the verified fan page But either way, i didn't really cross my mind to sell them. But I did want her to think about how many pairs of Lululemon leggings because that's something she cares about and knows about the cost of that this one ticket for one night would pay for.

Speaker 1:

Because, again, it's important to teach kids opportunity, cost and decision making, even though it's not their money. Yet they will be making decisions for themselves And sometimes they're going to decide to buy the purse, the shoes, go on the trip instead of saving for their future, because that's normal to do that. But I want them to have the skills and the ability to lay that out and make thoughtful decisions when it comes to how they're going to allocate their money, and so really bringing them in on this process is so important. I also think it's important to talk to your kids If you were one of the people that did not get tickets or decided that you could not pay for them. It's important to talk to your kids about the feelings they may be having seeing other kids at the concert and sharing that you may have those too. Just reinforcing. Like I really wanted to take you to this concert. I know you're a big fan. I see my friends on social media that took their daughters in. I get upset, wishing we were there. It just wasn't in the budget And make sure you have that conversation Now.

Speaker 1:

Alternatively, if you did go to the concert and you did spend the money, also share the gratitude that you feel that you were able to go, as well as any financial sacrifices that you made in order to make that happen. I know as a mom, we wanna really want things for our kids and sometimes we reason with ourselves, whether it's with clothing, i know for a while I would buy name brand clothing for my kids and then I would get clothes at Target because I had a certain budget for clothing. I never believed my mom when I was younger that she got more satisfaction out of buying things for me than for herself, but that is one of the true mom feelings that I do understand now as an adult, be sure to share with your child the things that you have sacrificed in order to do the things they wanna do, whether it's this concert or something else, or clothing items or travel, whatever it may be. Kids understand not make them feel guilty, but again make them feel grateful that not everybody got to do that and it was something special. So, again, those key takeaways are opportunity, cost, gratitude and then really working through and talking about the feeling of jealousy and seeing that their friends may be attended and they did not.

Speaker 1:

One of the biggest things that adults struggle with that I see as a financial planner, is spending to keep up with the Joneses right That expression. But it's true If someone in your friend group just bought a new home or got a fancy new car, or maybe they went on a trip to Italy or Hawaii, and then maybe it's not in the budget for those things for you, but you feel jealous or resentful. Again focusing really on gratitude for what you have as well as prioritizing what are those things that are important to you. Do you really wanna go to Italy or is it just look fun on social media? Social media just magnifies this feeling of jealousy or keeping up with what other people have, not having any idea whether they can actually afford the things they're buying or doing on social media. And that is a key, important factor here, because I know a lot of people who spend everything that is coming in right now and maybe people forego certain things, but they have a nice nest egg saved up for retirement which gives them so much more flexibility in the latter part of their life. I see this with my retiree clients where they're able to travel, go visit their children and grandchildren, maybe get a condo down in Florida for three months in the winter, and those people who spent above their means during that time period where they could have been saving more for the future, they won't have that same flexibility in their retirement.

Speaker 1:

And lastly, when having this conversation, maybe if that mom guilt is really getting to you, deciding on a budget, it could be as little as $100 or $50 if that's what you have. And talking to your child about, i know you're disappointed that we couldn't go to the concert. Here's what I have to spend for a special treat. What would be fun. Maybe go get your nails done. Maybe just go to Starbucks and splurge on a $5 or $6 coffee during that you don't normally do, making sure one. They know that it isn't about the special time or doing something, but it's also helping them plan, within their means or your means, something special. And really that's what this is about. We all want our children to have special experiences, and with a concert it is an experience, but it's important to bring them in on that process, to set a budget, because in the end, has parents more than just giving everything to our kids so they have stuff. It's important to teach them how to be successful and thrive without us. And by having these conversations and teaching these lessons although sometimes hard lessons you are helping them figure out how to set financial goals, get better at saving and, in the future, investing. And by starting these conversations early and laying this groundwork, parents can really equip their children with the tools to make sound financial decisions throughout their lives.

Speaker 1:

I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you found it helpful. we always appreciate when you share And also it helps us out if you go to Apple Podcasts and give us a rating And always thank you for listening. You can access our first two seasons of this podcast on our website at wwwpearlplancom or on Spotify If you're interested in learning more about pearl planning, feel free to sign up for our newsletter, also found on our website.

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Melissa Joy, CFP

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