The BeyHive has been buzzing ever since their queen Beyoncé announced her world tour on the first day of Black History Month. While many felt stung by the super expensive price of the tickets, some were flying high because like good busy bees they prepared for what many believe will be the concert of the decade.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Ms. Knowles-Carter simply posted an image of her in a silver and rhinestone bralette and panty set, silver sequin cowgirl hat and sparkling fringe boots, while riding a silver sequin horse. The words in the caption were simple, “Renaissance World Tour 2023.”
Hottest Ticket of the Year
According to Ticketmaster.com, tickets range from a couple of hundred dollars in the balcony to about $3,000 in the standing-room-only section.
The tour starts on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and, according to ABC News, the first concert sold out on Tuesday, Feb. 7, days after Beyoncé’s epic Grammy win — where her win for the “Best Dance/Electronic Album” for “Renaissance” earned her the record-breaking 32nd Grammy Award. This made her the winner of most Grammy wins of all time. There will be two shows at Stockholm’s Friends Arena, a multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof. It is anticipated 65,000 fans will be in attendance.
Outside of the chart-topper’s excellent performance while in concert, part of the reason there is such a high demand to see Beyoncé perform is that she has not solo toured since 2016 with her Formation World Tour, Money.com reports. Some fans were lucky enough to catch her and her husband on their co-headlined On the Run II Tour, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, in 2018.
Bucket List Comeup
One of those fortunate fans was a Twitter user named @shizzyshane215. The music lover, whose real name is Shane Bernard, got to see Beyoncé in 2018 during her HBCU Homecoming tribute at Coachella. After experiencing Beyoncé’s outstanding showmanship, he suspected the tickets for her next show would be expensive and started saving up.
He tweeted, “I’ve been saving $20 a paycheck for Beyonce tickets since 2018 after I saw her at Coachella. I knew this day would come 😭 Shoutout to @allyfinancial for their “saving buckets” feature.”
The tweet went viral with others marveling at how well his plan worked for him.
In an interview with Afrotech, he said, “I remember her for the first time at Coachella in 2018 on stage backed by a full HBCU marching band and dance team and saying to myself, ‘I will be at the next solo tour.’ From there, I created a bucket in my savings account specifically labeled ‘Beyoncé Tickets.’”
Saving Buckets
What is Ally Financials’ “Saving Buckets” feature?
According to the company’s website, the saving buckets feature is a way customers can organize their money within their savings accounts.
“Think of buckets as digital envelopes —they allow you to divvy up your savings into different categories … without the need for multiple bank accounts or complicated math,” the website says.
Those who have accounts with the firm “can create up to 10 savings buckets within one account, each dedicated to a different goal.”
Bernard took full advantage of the feature, using it to help him not only save for the concert but keep a healthy financial inventory for his savings, inching him to important goals like Rihanna tickets and a new car.
“A percentage of each one of my paychecks would go directly into my savings account and out of that amount, $20 would go in a ‘Beyoncé [Tickets]’ bucket,” Bernard explained.
“I then forgot about it over the course of the next five years until she announced her Renaissance World Tour. I initially created it because I was proud of myself for setting a goal, being disciplined in contributing toward it, and being prepared when the moment finally arrived.”
Ally Financial also wanted to celebrate Bernard for setting a goal and sticking with it, saluting the success of his plan and the free promotion with a check.
Two days after his tweet, he posted, “UPDATE: They cut the check. Happy Friday!”
Bernard says the bank holding company blessed him with “a hefty cash bonus,” posting what looks like a message from Ally that said, “Thanks! As a special thank you for being a loyal customer— check your Online Savings Account for a little surprise. You can’t go to a concert and not buy some swag!”
Ally Financial shared why the banking institution sent a financial gift to Bernard.
“This is exactly what our savings buckets were designed to do. We’re thrilled that with the help of our tools and rates, Shane is on his way to the Beyoncé concert,” a rep from the company shared.
“We topped off his savings bucket with an extra $500 to help him level up his experience,” the statement continued. “Ally customers like Shane who use these tools are saving two times more than those who don’t. We hope Shane’s friends and followers take note! There’s nothing we love more than helping people reach their money goals.”
Gen Z’s Saving Habits
While the additional dollars brightened his day, Bernard is most proud of meeting his goals, an act that helped him appreciate the discipline of saving money.
He is not the only one. Many Gen Zs have learned the practice of saving. According to the State of Gen Z report, since the pandemic, 54 percent of Americans between the age of 13 and 26 have started saving more, and 38 percent have even opened an online investment account.
Bernard said it made him “think twice about buying that designer jacket,” particularly if it meant he would have to “empty” his “’Beyoncé tickets bucket’ to fund it.”
