Budget professional networking events.
Networking events look cheap individually and add up quickly, because the ticket is rarely the whole cost — travel, parking and the drink afterwards routinely match it. Computing an all-in per-event figure and dividing the annual budget by it gives the number of events you can genuinely attend, which is a more useful planning constraint than an aspiration to attend everything relevant.
Event budget capacity
Cost per event = ticket + travel and incidentals; planned spend = cost per event x events; events affordable = floor(budget / cost per event)
Fewer, more often, at the same events. Returning to two or three communities repeatedly builds recognition, whereas spreading the same budget across a dozen one-off events produces contacts who do not remember you.
Yes for a full picture. An evening event with travel is typically four hours, so eight events is around 32 hours — a full working week, which is often the binding constraint rather than the cash.
Divide the membership fee by the events you would realistically attend. Memberships typically break even at four to six events a year, so they pay off for a regular attendee and waste money for an occasional one.