Last weekend I was at a music festival that experienced a very wide range of weather.  We had sun.  We had rain.  We had wind.  It was hot.  It was cold.  It was muddy.  Something for everyone.  And watching how the people around me dealt with the fluctuation was a lesson in economics.

The people who had checked the weather forecast in advance were fine.  There’s really no such thing as bad weather…just inappropriate clothing for that weather.  The prepared folks had appropriate clothing.  Rain gear.  Mud boots.  Layers that could be added as the sun went down.  And even more layers that could be added when the wind kicked up.

And then there were the people who were not prepared.  Shorts and t-shirts in 50 degree weather.  Flip flops in deep mud.  Lack of sunscreen on the one very hot and sunny day.  No layers to add.  I looked around and saw a lot of foolish, unprepared people.

But there was another crowd of folks who were delighted by the unprepared.  The merchandise vendors.  They were prepared with sweaters, sweatshirts, blankets, and even rubber galoshes.  And they were more than happy to sell these items at a premium price to the shivering crowd.  It’s quite likely that all of these unprepared people had the appropriate clothing already…probably left behind at home.  Because they didn’t check the weather.  So they dropped $60 for a sweatshirt here and $100 for a blanket there.  It’s a pretty expensive way to make up for failure to plan.

With most things in life you can save a lot of money by doing some advance research and going in prepared, whether it be a music festival, a PSU football game, or even something as simple as packing your own snacks for a short road trip.  What was that Boy Scout motto?  Be prepared!  It can save you a lot of money.