Making Prom Affordable

 Prom. One of the most expensive things in a high schoolers life. But does it have to be?  You can make prom affordable, if you plan ahead and watch your budget.

The Dress - got to resale shops and look for a second hand prom dress. Most prom dresses get worn once - that's it.  They are still fashionable and in excellent condition. By looking in resale shops, on EBay or Craigslist, you can often find a prom dress for less than half the original price.  Even if it doesn't fit quite right, the cost of having it tailored to fit you is still worth it, you will still come out financially ahead.

Another suggestion is to go to the after prom sales and get next year's dress this year. I have seen prom dresses on sale for 75-90% off. Again, if it doesn't fit quite right, get it anyway and have it tailored to fit you. The cost for alterations is usually less than $50. This applies to shoes as well.

The Hair/The makeup/The nails - the do it yourself approach may well just be the best bet.  Guaranteed, someone among your female friends can do hair really well (or their mom can), someone is very good at doing nails, and someone else is really good at doing makeup.  You could make a pre-prom party of it as a group of you all get ready together.

The Tux - This is going to be the more expensive item, sad to say.  You can find second hand tuxes for sale, but it is still usually cheaper to rent them.  The big thing here is PLAN AHEAD.  If you go for the standard black tux and reserve it months in advance - even if you don't know who your date will be yet - you can often get a discount.  Another approach is to rent a tux in one of the less popular colors. Just make sure it's not going to clash with your date's dress. Rent your shoes too - it's only one night, and unless you;re going to have a use for fancy dress shoes, it is cheaper to rent. The tux shop rents shoes that match the tux.

The Flowers - Guys, get creative. Call around and see who is willing to offer you a break if you come learn how to make the corsage yourself. Some florist shops will do this.  Also, consider going to a grocery store florist - they are often much cheaper that any other florists, and offer you the same quality and style.

The Car  - get creative with this as well. Do you have a relative that has a classic car they'd be willing to lend you for the evening?  Do you need a driver or can you drive yourselves?  How about renting a party bus with a group of friends instead of a limo? They are often cheaper and stock snacks and soda, and can possibly even be more fun than the prom itself!  If you decide you need a limo, split the cost with a few other couples. Worst case, tightest budget, get your car cleaned up real nice and drive yourselves.

The Dinner - there is absoltely no reason to go to a really expensive high end restaurant just because it seems the thing to do. Trust me, if you've never had caviar before, you may not like it, but you'll still have to pay for it!  Pick a restaurant that both you and your date like, with food that you know you're both going to enjoy.

If your budget is really tight, how about getting really creative and having a picnic dinner waiting in the car, and take your date to a nice local park for dinner?  An alternative, in case the weather is bad, see if your local botanical gardens is open in the evening and go have your prom picnic there.

The Hotel Room/After Party - Teens renting hotel rooms isn't actually that big a thing anymore, and lots of parents are glad about that!  When they do, it's often so they can hold an after prom party.  Now unless you're collecting funds at the door, the hotel room can be expensive, and a lot of hotels tack on a cleaning charge when they know a room is going to be used mainly for a party.  So instead, let's revisit that party bus idea - you can put a lot of people on a party bus, they have lights, music, and are willing to stock whatever snacks and drinks you would like.  best of all, your party bus driver can take you to prom, pick you up, drive you around and then drop all of you back home.  Again, share the cost and it will be minimal.

The other option is seeing if you can convince someone's parents to open their house to your after party. Not all of us parents are so uncool that we'd say no.  If you promise to clean up after ALL the messes afterwards, I bet you can find someone's parents who will say yes.

The most important thing is to remember that you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to have a wonderful prom.  The more interesting you make it, the more likely you are to have a memorable time you'll look back on happily as you get older.