No Taylor Swift tickets pushed me over the edge tonight

[SadUselessMum]

I know this is 1st world problems but I’m feeling so sad tonight. I’m just sat here sobbing. My DD has saved up £200 from all the birthday/xmas money to try and get a TS ticket and I’ve been saving a bit every week so we would have enough for 2. We didn’t get any with our code (as it wouldn’t work) and I stupidly thought that £400 would be enough to get 2 tickets even if they were really rubbish seats.

I’ve been looking for weeks. Anything within the price range is rare and gets snapped up. I even looked tonight for short notice and the cheapest were £800 for 2. One ticket was going for 7k!

This has been the final straw for me. I work all the hours god sends, missing time with my kids, just to keep a roof over our heads. We have no money for fun. I go to bed worrying about money and wake up worrying about it. My DD had no presents or trips this year as she wanted money for one measley concert ticket! But no! All the ticket touts got there first. She’s being brave about it as she can see I feel bad but I’ve heard her crying in her room tonight. I didn’t have much when I was a child but I had more than this. I’m a shit mum and my DD is having a shitty childhood. I wish I’d never had her.

If this is life, I don’t want it anymore.

Plenty of people who really wanted Taylor Swift tickets didn't get them.
It was sheer luck if you managed to get a code to even try and purchase one.
I know people who got tickets for £70 and others who paid £200+ so it's also not really about money.
I think there is value in learning you can't always get what you want and sometimes things are just not worth the price (even if you could afford it). It's ok to be upset.
This is in no way a reflection of your parenting.

How about organising a Taylor Swift themed sleepover with a whole gang of equally obsessed friends? You can set up a dance room with cheap amazon disco lights. These are really good!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B7B2GK9B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And play TS really loud? Lots of crisps and treats, maybe some fancy mocktails? You could even hire a karaoke machine - it'd work out cheaper than tickets would have but I bet they'd have lots of fun with it.

I could be a millionaire and I still would not pay these sort of prices for concert tickets. It’s madness!

Oh go easy on yourself OP. Sending best wishes to you and your daughter. Please try not to get caught up up in the hysteria. It's hard to keep plodding on and taking the high road when you look around and it feels like crap. Sending you beat wishes and good luck for some alternative plans. X

OP I’m truly sorry you and your daughter are disappointed, ticketing really is shit.

you have saved up so much to give her a great experience and there are a range of other things you might consider when this has worn off, from hot air ballon rides to overnight stay at a zoo - just don’t present it as a make-do

This sounds like depression, not just disappointment. Living with very little money will make anyone depressed.

Make sure that you are getting all and any benefits that you are entitled to, including for DD: https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/claiming-benefits/checking-benefit-entitlement

As you say first world problems.
I’ve just had to deal with news my DC will have to attend a special
school because they won’t cope in a mainstream school. It’s heartbreaking and caused me stress and anxiety for years (on antidepressants) because I don’t know if they will ever be independent.

I’d swap situations in a heartbeat!!!

Does your child have a roof over her head? Food on the table? Clothes to keep her warm? A loving mum? You are not a shitty mum and she is definitely not having a shitty childhood. I understand your disappointment but it's absolutely absurd the price of tickets and I for one refuse to pay the amount they are asking, then you have the risk of scammers, it's ridiculous. You tried your best to secure tickets and unfortunately you were unable to get them, but you tried... The rest is out of your control, unfortunately, so I agree with what the previous poster said about spending the £400 on something else.

OP I get it, it's a real shitter for your daughter who's gone without and saved 😢
It is unfair and the hype surrounding this person and the tour are beyond ridiculous. I think those that got tickets were incredibly lucky, my friend managed to get two tickets from a man who was selling them at her work.
Try to squash down the disappointment you're feeling for your daughter and think of something else she would like to do that you could treat her to instead.
It's not the same but can be equally as good.

Mist kids won't get to go to a TS concert for whatever reason so no need for the angst.

Im so sorry. I would say tickets come up on the day or shortly before. I know people who missed out and got face value tickets the day off in Edinburgh.

Do you live closeish to a venue? People are also just turning up at the venue to chance getting in those that don't can still hear and have a party outside together.

Failing that you've done amazing to save up so much money. What about taking it and making it into a girls trip. Book into a spa hotel for one night, use all the free facilities. Bring food to have a picnic in the room. Download a free trial of disney plus and watch the concert together. You see more than you would ever see at the actual event. A private concert just for you two.

Also, it's shit. Worrying about money, not being able to give your kids everything, struggling when social media is nothing but bragging. Its ok to feel its horrible and unfair. Be kind to yourself. Your daughter is lucky to have a mum who wants the world for her and works hard.

i know it’s not quite the same, but is there somewhere you can listen to the concert outside the stadium. Thousands of people did this in Edinburgh.

Also, can you go to a a much cheaper concert. I know it’s not TS, but there’s lots of other good music out there.

I fully understand your disappointment but I’d try be more positive for your dd. I’m sorry but your comment wishing you had never had her is too much.
There will be other concerts, there will be other things that she will like. Why not suggest going away with some of the savings or buying a little treat for herself and then continuing with her savings?

A good parent isn’t necessarily someone who can spend a fortune on tickets. It’s someone who wants the best for their child and tries their best for them. You’ve tried your best for your child, you’ve instilled such a hard working effort in her that she’s saved up a lot of money for herself. You haven’t failed her at all, you’re doing a great job!

FFS there are more pressing issues in this world, or even this country, to worry about than couple of tickets of someone's concert who probably doesn't even know you exist!

Which one is she wanting to see? I’ve been monitoring the Liverpool show tonight as dd is going to it tomorrow, and there’s last minute tickets that have been released just before and after the show has started, there were a few dozen tickets available for restricted view for face value that had been freed up due to the vip seats fiasco. Also people on social media selling them for around £200 each who will meet you at the gates and you pay cash when you’ve got proof they’re genuine

I agree with this.

Get a grip OP. Your insecurities about yourself will be rubbing off onto your child.

Just look out for second hand tickets

I’m in Australia and she’s already been here. The local movie theatre had an event where they played the tour and heaps of people went and watched in the theatre and dressed up and danced. Not as good sure, but something.

As per usual some unkind comments from people who fail to see how reasonable it is to feel upset you can't get your kid a ticket for a concert, when you have saved so hard.
The tickets feel like they are the straw that's broken the camels back for you. Tickets for these big gigs are horrifically priced and impossible to get.
How about trying to find an up and coming artist, playing a smaller venue. Use the money for tickets, a night in a hotel, and a nice meal before the gig.
You're not a bad mum, you're doing your best. Life is horrifically expensive now, kids have so much more. 💐

So what are you going to do about it OP? Work more hours, get a second job, retrain, move to a cheaper area? How old is your dd, can she get a job to pay for things she wants?

We missed out on tickets for dd’s favourite band a few years ago and she was desperately disappointed. But they headlined a festival last summer and she was now old enough to go with a gang of friends and had a brilliant time. There will be other opportunities even though it feels upsetting now.

as an aside I thought tickets were now capped and couldn’t be sold on more expensively?! Hadn’t the vendors cracked down on this years ago?

You and your DD are getting drawn in by hype. Yes, TS is a popular and talented singer, but the fuss over this round of concerts is absolutely ludicrous.

Be less gullible, both of you. Get reasonably priced tickets for an up and coming artist no one has heard of, instead, and have a great night.

But as soon as you got into "shitty childhood wish I never had her don't want to live if this is life" stuff you lost me sorry.

Don't ever be a workplace mental health first aider. You'd be useless at spotting depression symptoms in colleagues.

As disappointing as it is, I think she will remember that you at least tried your best to get her the tickets rather than just a straight out “no” like thousands of other parents will have had to have done. You sound like a good mum and she will know that you are.