Every penny counts when planning a successful event in the current economic climate. But what corners should you cut without sacrificing the quality of your event?

M&C Magazine dishes the top ways to trim your event budget.

M&C Magazine recently enlisted the help of top meeting planning professionals to compile 50 ways to trim your event budget.  From staffing to food and beverage to décor, M&C details easy, money-saving tips you can implement now.

Here are some tips they shared:

• Utilize student workers. Hire local college students who require lower wages than an experienced event staff. You may also offer college credit for the work experience.
• Lower the bar tab. Dramatically lower an event budget by limiting your patron’s alcohol intake at your event. Instead of hosting an open bar, provide a couple of drink tickets per person followed by a cash bar.
• Scour the D-list. Save money on speaker fees by researching speakers that haven’t made it to celebrity status yet. Their speaking fees are cheaper, but no less inspirational.
• Reuse name-badges. Recycle plastic name-badge holders and lanyards so they can be used at your next event (have volunteers collect them or set up a well-marked drop-off bin). Or eliminate the cost of holders completely by using name badges that don’t require them, such as TempBadge from PC/Nametag .
• Make use of free or included resources. Ask the venue to use house table linens, rather than ordering custom linens from rental firms. In addition, instead of renting furniture to stage an event, explore what the venue has to offer from their lobby or other spaces.

Check out the full article on M&C’s website.

What other money saving tricks to you use when planning an event? Feel free to post your tips below.