How much money I spent in 3 days at Gov Ball music festival

• I attended Governors Ball this year, a three-day music festival in New York City.
• Larger music festivals have plenty of food and beverage options, but the prices tend to be high.
• In three days, I spent $105.60 at the festival itself, plus $8.25 on transportation.

A ticket to a music festival can set you back hundreds of dollars, but what about money spent during the event itself?

On Friday through Sunday, I attended the 10th annual Governors Ball at Citi Field in Queens, New York.

I was thrilled for the opportunity to see some of my favorite artists perform, including Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, and Phoebe Bridgers. But as a longtime festival enthusiast and four-time Gov Ball attendee, I knew my wallet would take a hit.

On top of the $319 price tag for a three-day general admission wristband (plus service fees), festival expenses can include transportation, meals, and water - and that's not to mention alcohol, if you're over 21 and that's your thing.

Food and beverage options are many-varied but prices tend to be high, and you can't bring any snacks or drinks with you from home. For first-time attendees, the grand total may come as a shock.

I tracked my spending over the course of the weekend and broke down the daily totals below.

Friday: $44.65

I live in Brooklyn, so I took the subway to and from the festival every day. The 7 train stops right in front of the venue at Mets/Willets Point, and one ride costs $2.75.

This was very refreshing in comparison to previous years, since Gov Ball typically takes place on Randalls Island and requires either a ferry pass or a long walk across the 103rd Street footbridge.

I arrived to Citi Field at noon and decided to eat around 2 p.m. I spent $20.70 on these chicken nuggets with truffle fries, including a 15% tip. They were only $6 more than the plain nuggets, and the toppings (scallions, bacon bits, and parmesan cheese) seemed worth the extra cost.

My festival strategy is to arrive early, beat the late afternoon crowd, and front-load with food and leisure. This strategy is particularly important if you're trying to get a good spot for the headliner, which I was.

I also bought a beer, since I had some downtime in between sets. This IPA was delicious, but the festival up-charge was hefty: $16.20, again including a 15% tip.

Before heading to the main stage at 5:30 p.m. to camp out for Eilish's set, I spent $5 on water.

Most festivals have free water stations, but you usually need to buy one first to refill or bring an empty reusable bottle. For the rest of the weekend, I chose the latter option.

At the end of the day, due to thousands of people trying to leave from the same subway station, police officers opened the gates and didn't require us to swipe again. Cost home? $0.

Saturday: $34.95

For lunch on Saturday, I went for Roberta's, one of my favorite Brooklyn pizza joints.

I bought the signature Bee Sting, topped with soppressata, chili flakes, and honey. It set me back $20.70 including the standard tip. For context, it was about the size of a classic paper plate - a bit smaller than a typical Bee Sting from Roberta's, which costs $22 at the Bushwick location.

Unfortunately, while it was delicious, I did get very hungry a few hours later. (To be fair, this is a normal eating schedule in the real world, but festival mealtimes operate very differently.)

Around 8 p.m., just before heading to A$AP Rocky's headlining set, I waited in line for 30 minutes to spend $11.50 on some cheese fries. Ouch.

Sunday: $34.25

Sunday lunch was a little rough. I waited about 20 minutes for a chicken sandwich, which was much smaller than I expected.

It was also supposed to come topped with pickles and pineapple slaw, but mine didn't. However, I did tip 18% because the workers seemed very stressed out. The total cost was $17.70.

A few hours later, I stopped by the Big Mozz food truck.

These $13.80 mozzarella sticks were easily the yummiest meal I ate all weekend.

Total: $113.85

For three Metrocard swipes and one or two small meals per day, this may seem very expensive. But in my festival experience, it's pretty standard - except for those who drink alcohol throughout the weekend, in which case it would be much higher.