A WOMAN spent a year saving up for tickets to Taylor Swift's final Era's Tour show – by recycling bottles and cans.
Katherine McKenzie, 31, became a fan of Taylor Swift after the popularity of Era's Tour in 2023 prompted her to delve deeper into the artist's discography.
Catherine started recycling plastic bottles and cans in November last year.
In just 12 months, she had saved $905, but the high cost of resale tickets left her just shy of the minimum requirement of $1,045.
However, just when all seemed lost, Katherine heard from her sister-in-law's friend who was able to offer her two $11.15 limited-time tickets to the final show of the tour.
“It was amazing luck,” said Catherine, a cat groomer in Victoria, Canada.
“I worked hard and was looking forward to this experience for a whole year.”
Catherine came up with the idea after recalling a time in her childhood where she executed a similar scheme.
“In fifth grade, I was completely obsessed with Elvis, and my mom said if I could save up money for a plane ticket, we could go to Memphis,” Katherine said.
“When I was a kid, there were limited ways to save money, so I thought about recycling bottles and cans at factories where they give you money to hand them over.
“I saved for months and months and finally saved enough for us to go.”
Catherine began helping a few friends by giving them empty plastic bottles and cans
Four months later, Catherine discovered she was pregnant, but this did not deter her and she continued.
“It didn't take long for me to decide to go through with the plan,” Katherine said.
“I knew I would be pregnant by the time of the concert but that didn't stop me.
“It changed my approach to collecting, but I knew I wouldn't be as active towards the end of the pregnancy.
“I reached out to a Swiftie group on Facebook in the neighborhood when I was still more mobile and asked if anyone had any litter they would like to give me.
“The response was overwhelming and soon I was making weekly trips to collect everyone’s rubbish, organize the recycling and then take it to the factory.”
Within 12 months, Catherine had saved a whopping $905, but the high cost of resale tickets meant she didn't have enough.
But in a stroke of luck, Catherine's sister-in-law's friend had two extra tickets and was able to purchase two $11.15 tickets for the final show of the tour.
“It was very frustrating to think it would never have worked out, so I'm glad I was able to go with my sister,” Catherine said.
Much of the remaining money went to merchandise while at the party.
“We spent a total of $208 on merchandise that night,” Katherine said.
“The rest of the money will go into our savings to put into a house in Vancouver and will likely be spent on our new arrival which is scheduled to be on New Year's Day!”
