"God watches over drunks and fools."
Not sure which I was but I don't remember it ever being a burden and I certainly wasn't well off.
This was years ago and I probably spent $2-300 on the whole event. I would also have been sharing a room with three other friends. We always managed to get the list of hotels a day or two early so we could get the one of our choice. I always like the one closest to the convention center. My dad never cared about the hotel list and just called and used his points to get a better rate at the hotel of his choice.
When I was younger and went with my parents we used to stay a ways outside the city in a cheap dumpy Motel. I think we may have even camped on a few occasions.