Nobody is ever going to accuse Formula One of being a cheap spectator sport. Everything about it is expensive from the tickets to the concessions and everything in between. In 2010 my wife and I went to the Singapore Grand Prix for our 10th anniversary, and as we were flying home, we decided we needed to go back. We both love F1 and Singapore, so it seemed like a natural fit. We decided 2015 would be the year to do it again - then we stood some chance of being able to pay off the first trip before doing it all over again.
So a couple of weeks ago, the Singapore GP facebook page posted "super early bird" tickets for the 2015 race - two weeks before the 2014 race had taken place. Essentially, the day that the 2015 calendar was announced, the tickets went on sale.
Normally I don't pay much attention to these sorts of things, but knowing that 2015 is when we are planning to go again, I figured it was worth a look. The executive summary is this : I saved $640 by booking the tickets two weeks ago. If I were to buy them right now - today - they cost more. And if I wait until almost any time after January 1 2015, the cost goes up again.
So when is it "too soon" for things like this? I would argue 'never'. If you know you're going to want to do something, and an offer or opportunity comes up, take it. Like oil changes. You know you're going to be changing the oil in your car this year at some point (hopefully twice). If you see a coupon for money off, use it - get the oil now, and use it when the time comes.
Same for almost any sort of maintenance. So you're supposed to take your car in in November for it's annual checkup and lookover. If the dealer you use is having a promotion this week, then do it this week.
When you save a little bit of money here and there, it all adds up. Being smart about when and where you save the money - that's the key. And if you want to do anything to do with F1 as a spectator, snap up the bargains as soon as you see them because they don't happen often.
