Save Money on Prom Expenses: Prom Dress to Limo
The Dress
Make a point to browse dress sale racks at the department stores, long before prom season. Off-season shopping can be the most fruitful, because stores are unloading last season's fashions for upwards of 75% off. The department store off-price retailers, like Ross, can sometimes be surprise fun finds for $20.00 or less.
Don't be a thrift store snob, either! Thrift stores, like Savers, are a wealth of gorgeous gowns and one-of-a-kind creations. It is not uncommon to discover a vintage treasure for under $10.00. Consignment stores might offer you the opportunity to trade-in clothes you don't want any longer. In return, you can receive credit toward the purchase of clothing items in the store, so find out what the store's rules are about qualifying for such purchases as formal wear credit.
Finally, get creative and wear the dress you wore last year - Yes, I said wear a prom dress twice! Wear entirely different accessories than you did last year - For instance, if you wore a lace shawl over your dress last year, wear a feathered boa or a silk shawl in a different color this year.
Accessories
Yes, the prom is all about accessories and keeping the look as hip as possible, for the least expense possible. Have fun with jewelry, and keep it simple. Don't overdo it. Dancing until midnight is not so fun with huge earrings whacking you in the eye! Jewelry sales at Target are good. Hitting the bargain bin at church rummage sales is better. Borrowing from your mom is free! Hooray! Prom expenses for accessories can be virtually zero!
Don't stress over shoes, but never buy used shoes. Because of fungal infections that can be passed from one person to another through the materials in worn shoes, always buy new shoes. Black is always classy and dresses up pretty much everything you put it with. If you don't have black shoes that compliment your dress, try stores like Payless Shoe Source for a good variety of choices and bargains.
Hair, Nails, Makeup
Invite your friends to your house for a "Prom Styling Party" three to four hours before the prom. Encourage everyone to bring a magazine model or celebrity face and hair photo. If you and your friends see examples of hair and makeup styles you're hoping to achieve, then your home can be a fun style salon for the afternoon.
Each girl brings their own makeup, nail products, and hair brushes. For sanitary reasons, no one should share these items, but each girl can help one another do their nails, makeup, and hair. If you go to a beauty shop, these services can easily cost over $100.00. Save your money and make memories with your girlfriends.
Dinner & Limo
Eating out at a restaurant can make prom expenses soar quickly. Ask a parent of the group who loves to cook, to be the chef for your big night - or do it yourself! A simple menu can be quick to make, tasty, and fun, like spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. Made at home and splitting the grocery cost between friends, each person can pay less than $5.00, even if you add dessert.
Transportation does not have to take a bite out of the prom wallet, either. It is not uncommon for groups of friends to attend formal high school proms without couple dates, just going as a social troupe. Buzz quickly turns to pooling funds for a stretch limo! This is a great way to save money on prom expenses, since a limo rental can easily start at $200.00, depending on where you live.
Another option is to skip the limo. Carpool with friends and share the gas cost. Better yet, get a parent to drive the group, so all the prom-goers can relax and no one has the responsibility or hassle of driving. Maybe the parent will gift the ride to the prom, and no one has to pay for transportation at all!
Follow these cost-cutters to save money on prom expenses. Saving money on even a few things now, creates great life patterns - You'll be more likely to have cash for necessities and fun things still to come, in high school and beyond!
Published by Lynn Pritchett
Lynn's dedication to writing at Yahoo Network is inspired not only by her professional background in health care (pharmacy) and in education (grades K to 12 special needs & general classroom), but by her dai... View profile
- Saving Money on Prom ExpensesA USA Today survey indicated prom expensees range anywhere from $400 to $1500 depending on the location and how elaborate everything involved is. Here are a few suggestions for ways to cut prom expenses:
- A Few Ways to Save Money on PromTips for Prom expenses
Enjoying the Prom on a BudgetHow to save money on limo costs, dinner, prom dresses, hair, makeup and nails.- 8 Ways to Save Money on Your PromProm can quickly add up to a lot of expenses. This article gives you some ideas on ways to save money on prom.
Tips for Finding a Red Prom Dress that Will Match Your Skin Tone Do you want to wear a red prom dress, but are not sure you can pull it off? While not everyone can wear every color, there are some things you can do to make a red prom dress wo...
- How to Save Money on Prom Expenses: From Your Prom Dress to the Limo
- Saving on Prom Costs, from Limo Rental to Prom Dresses
- Discount Prom Dress Shopping
- Get a Beautiful Prom Dress on a Budget
- How to Save Money on Prom Expenses
- Save Money on Prom Expenses!
- How to Save Money on Prom Expenses
- Invite your friends to your house for a "Prom Styling Party" three to four hours before the prom.
- Ask a parent to dress-up as a limo driver, with hat, gloves, tie, and have some fun with it all!
- Don't stress-out, but never buy used shoes. Fungal infections are spread through shared shoes.
34 Comments
Post a CommentI had to send this one to a friend because they are planning for the prom already. :)
One girl in the article had a payment plan to pay for her dress that was $170 for a coral beaded gown. I would not buy a dress that I had to get a payment plan for. Hell, even getting my dress made, I believe I paid upfront, but I think I paid less than store prices because it was the same tailor who made my junior bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding. The great thing about it is that I can still wear both of those dresses, so I feel I got my money's worth. I'm still the same height as I was in 8th grade. My weight fluctuates, but I wore the bridesmaids dress a couple of years ago. Now all I need is fancy dates to wear these two dresses again. Ah, poor me. :-( LOL
I saw an article in the "Chicago Defender" this week about unemployed mothers who are standing in line for free prom dresses, buying inexpensive shoes, and getting samples of make-up instead of buying the "kind Beyonce wears." They had some great tips like yours.
excellent advise!
Excellent money-saving tips! I love your line "Don't be a thrift store snob either." :-)
Yes, Shamontiel, you are a most 'lovable' little nutcase (and aren't we all)!
Wait, I forgot to clarify one thing. All of that goes out of the window when it comes to furniture. I bought a couch from a rental furniture place back in college in 2001, and I still have that lovely couch to this day. At my last apartment, somebody moved and left a marble black coffee table in the lobby. I hiked that thing up against my shoulder and scurried upstairs before they could change their mind and come back for it. (No, I didn't steal it. There was a lot of other stuff that said "Take Me" in the lobby. I loved my last apartment for that. I got so many great kitchen appliances when people moved. I'd disinfect them and keep it moving. It's solely putting used clothes on that bothers me. I like to step out of fashion magazines when it comes to dressing up. It's a shopping sickness that I acquired from my mother who has [literally] nine full fold-out closets.
Herstory, I've seen people dress as fierce as ever when shopping at thrift stores, but I'm such a germophobic that I can't do it. Ask me to donate a bed. I'll do it. I wrote an article about that too. The Salvation Army is impossible! Ask me to donate clothes. I'm all over it. There's a YMCA booth on just about every corner of the northside of Chicago, and I don't throw clothes away unless I've messed them up. But I just can't wear the clothes. I'll donate the money instead. I won't even go to yard sales. I was buying something one day and the cashier wiped her eye. My bottom lip quivered while she bagged my stuff. You would've thought she gave me pink eye. I'm hopeless. (And no problem for my random messages. I am proud of being a borderline nutcase. Borderline nutcase is me.) Ha, ha, ha.
Shamontiel: Yes, there are thrift stores, and there are 'Thrift Stores.' I have walked in many, just to turn on-a-dime and whip right back out the door - If a place smells of mildew or mothballs, or it's a veritable pile of junk, I'm outta there fast! I expect nothing less of a thrift store than any other decent place of business - clean, organized, well-lit, and helpful staff. If the thrift store helps a non-profit organization, such as a community food bank, then I'm even more ready to spend, spend, spend! :-) BTW: I'm known to carry n' use handy-dandy waterless sanitizer many times daily - It's part of my "uniform" in my high school classroom, and everywhere else I go. Yep, I soooooo hear you!
For the life of me, I can't understand how people wear thrift store clothes. I'm borderline obsessive compulsive (ex. I put antibacterial ointment on my hands whenever I touch a doorknob, minus my own that I clean all the time), so putting on someone else's clothes makes me cringe. Maybe I'd have had a more open mind if I had a sister growing up. I can count on one hand the number of times that I've worn someone else's clothes, and it was mostly my mother's.