How to Cut Your Genealogy Conference Costs

     Technically, Rootstech 2013 will be my third genconference event after one at the LDS Stake in Colorado Springs which was great and the November Texas Genealogy Society Conference in my back yard of Fort Worth.  They just keep getting bigger and better! At first I wasn't sure I could manage to budget the conference, but then applied some assertive qualifying and price fishing tactics that made it possible.  I think other conference goers and especially many want-to-go-next-timers will find this analysis useful in making a possibility into an exciting actuality on their genealogy desired to-do lists.  Personally speaking, I was so excited in 2010 and 11 to keep up with the first conference, but also bitter sweetly depressed that I couldn't be there to offer the thousands of tech savvy genea-cohorts there the most amazing and innovative tools that genealogy has seen since the designing of the first pedigree chart and first family group sheet!  It pushed me though to compete from home in 2012 in the Developers Challenge which I sadly didn't place in.  So my resilience and a holiday loan at the last minute made it possible for this grass roots innovative style of free genealogy tools to launch in a few months into the biggest brightest genconference in the entire United States!

First Cost Estimates:
Registration (early bird)................$149
Lunches 3 days of conference.......$75
Air Fare......................................$1,055
Lodging.........................................$370
Total...........................................$1649

     It was looking like I'd need a few book publishing deals to even start to afford this estimate.
Then I dug deeper...

Final Cost Pricing:
Registration
(early bird Student rate at DeVry......$39  Great! - cut $110!
Lunches 3 days of conference...........$75
Air Fare......(via priceline)...............$394 WOW - saved $661!
Lodging..........................................$370
Total..............................................$878 = Phenomenally more affordable!

So if you get frustrated with pricing, be sure to TRY AGAIN especially with airlines and double check if you can qualify as a presenter (who may still receive FREE lodging as was provided in 2011), student, vendor of key conference services or products, etc.

If you are headed to Salt Lake in March, I can't wait to see and talk with you!