DD wants to spend £800 on concert ticket

[11112222]

DD (17) has just inherited £1800 from the sale of her grandfathers car who recently passed away.
She is autistic, and has special interests which change after around a year or so.

At the moment it's Taylor Swift, which is the concert she wants to buy a ticket for next year. She reckons it will cost £800 for a 'pit' ticket, where you will (might) be close to the stage.

In a few years, she will need to buy a car, and also needs a laptop.

How would you feel if this was you?
She is quite right when she says it's her money, she can spend it how she likes, but I think it is such a waste of a lot of money.
AIBU?

I have an autistic 18-year-old daughter and I am laughing at the pps suggesting the OP sits down with her daughter and tries to explain. To quote my son 'that's not how it works' with autism. There are no words to describe how stubborn my daughter is, and how utterly, utterly useless she is money, despite her good intentions. My girl doesn't 'get' cause and effect either, so the saving for a car etc argument would just wash over her. OP, you have my sympathy.

Hmm, it's a lot but I'm inclined to go with the 'it's her money' view. Out of interest, what do you think her grandfather would want? Just thinking that if my DD inherited that from my mum she'd want her to spend it on something she wanted/splurge on the tickets, if it was from my in-laws they'd probably be horrified at the thought of spending that much and would want DD to save her inheritance/spend on something less frivolous. If you think her grandfather would fall into the first category then that might help you reconcile the expense?

All that said, there's no way I'd spend £800 on a concert ticket!

YANBU that it is an insane amount of money but the tour hasn’t even been announced yet and is nothing more than rumour. I would be inclined to do some mild ‘that’s nice dear’ and then say no more about it until there is actually something to book.

Make it clear you won't pay for anything else if she blows £800 on a concert ticket.
FWIW I earn a 6 figure salary and wouldn't dream of spending £800 on a concert ticket.

Unfortunately the time to correct her attitude to money was years ago. It's going to take a real loooong time now because you didn't back when she was younger.

If you're lucky she'll learn through some painful life experiences (this could be one). Alternatively she may never learn and will live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of her life.

Financially educating your children young is important. Waiting until the rebellious teen years is a recipe for disaster.

@120go did you miss the bit about her being autistic? I bet you tutted at meltdowns in younger kids too.

Don't get me wrong, autism isn't a free pass for bad behavior but it's clear from most of the posts on here that most of the pps haven't got a clue 😭

it wont be 800 unless it is a tout site,whichi wouldn't ever buy from their a con. also it won't be her last tour she's not adele. tell her to wait and see when it's announced

Does she have direct access to the money? If so not really worth saying anything as she'll obviously just go and buy them. I was left a similar amount of money at the same age. 50 now - can't remember what I spent it on so obviously just frittered it away. Wish I could say I went to see my favourite band at the time and was in the pit.

I absolutely adore TS but I can't fathom a pit ticket costing that much

must be some kind of misunderstanding.

It’s her money. Has she ever expressed a desire for a car? Is £1800 even enough to buy a decent car? Let her do as she likes with it, we learn from mistakes.

@Katypp

Haven’t RTFT
YOLO - seriously though it might be wishful thinking on her part. Going to a big gig like that, standing, alone, could be pretty overwhelming. Has she considered how she will get there and back? Better off getting decent tickets and going with a friend.

This all seems a bit premature… if she gets a face value ticket it will probably cost more like £100! Problem solved.

I’m so sorry you face this dilemma. £800 will by her a great laptop and so many good things instead of a concert. I’m a lover of music like no one else but I would never attend a concert for this price. I listen and buy good quality music from home.

OP your attitude towards your daughters autism "cope when she wants to" leaves a LOT to be desired.

Second point: it's either her money or it's not.

When I saw the price but before I read the post I knew it'd be a Taylor Swift concert at that amount of £££ 😂

Taylor puts on such a good show, a pit ticket would maybe even lead to eye contact, selfies with Taylor, grabbing her hand when she does a crowd walk, maybe even a free meet and greet if her promo team spot a mega fan in the crowd. It'd be such a great experience she won't forget.

I'm considering an upper budget of £500ish for a pit or floor ticket but I'm 30 with a job, cheap hobbies and no responsibilities. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I can't find it now but the Taylor Swift reddit had a good guide for getting tour tickets. As people say above the dynamic pricing on Ticket Master goes up if demand is high (this is not the same as scalpers who buy cheaper tickets and sell them with mark up).

It also said that not all tickets are released at once and hardly any stadiums completely sell out so in the run up to the show more reasonably priced tickets will be available - unlikely pit tickets will be available then though.

Lastly she needs to sign up to all newsletters and social media for Taylor Swift and Taylor Nation (her promo team) to increase her chances of having access to the fan presale so she has more choice of which tickets to buy.

I don't think it's disrespectful to spend the money on what she wants. We've all been young and reckless with money. As they say "you regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did do".

Also - what a truly wonderful way to honour her grandfather with an experience of a lifetime that she will never forget.
Golden.

@11112222

I'd like to see proof of this ticket price. £800?!

Also, what tour? I don't think any 2023 UK tour has been confirmed yet, and certainly no prices have been confirmed.

DD saw her about 3 years ago. Was around £90. Certainly not £800.

That's ridiculous. The money is an unexpected windfall.

It’s a waste to me and I would try to convince her of a cheaper option. But in the end it’s her money and she can do what she wants with it.

We went with the kids to the last tour and both girls still say 4 years later it was the best night of their lives. We had amazing seats £200 ish each not sure how she’s getting to £800

Who will she be going with?

Tahoe Swift is bloody brilliant in concert. Also, s your DD sounds like a full-on Swiftie with her comments so I can understand. TS has not announced a concert or tour although there are rumours of something coming. Also, last time I got a TS ticket 4 years ago it was £75 for bog standard seats. Somehow Pink tickets are now £110 each for standard seats which makes me think Taylor tickets will be in excess of this if she announces a tour. So her estimates for pit may be close, although probably a couple if hundred too high. I would let her go if she wants, she’d have the time of her life if she’s a true fan. She’d regret not seeing her.

Slightly different but my DS spent £400 of his own money watching American football last week and said it was the best day of his life so far. He’s 22.