Prom is the biggest milestone in high school history. It’s every young girl’s dream to go to prom with their significant other. It’s about being able to dress nice, go out to eat, and overall have the time of their lives with friends. But the expenses for prom can be between $175 and $2000 dollars. Is that too much for some students and parents’ wallets to handle?
Mrs. Nicole Murray, a teacher and head of the prom committee at Bob Jones High School, said, “Prom honestly isn’t expensive. The tickets start out at $35 dollars and they jump to $50 dollars after Christmas, and that’s when people start to freak out. The prices are high because I have to request the location 5 years ahead, so I have the place for 5 years.”

Caleb Tollison, a senior at Bob Jones High School, and Nicole Archer believe the tickets for prom could be a bit cheaper. Caleb said “I do think they could bring the prices down a little bit lower than what they are but I understand it’s a fundraiser and they are trying to make money.” The average price for prom tickets are between $20 dollars and $250 dollars depending on its location. If it’s held at a fancy hotel of course the tickets are going to cost more than they would if it was held at a gym.

Prom, to most people, is very expensive. They could end up spending up to $600 dollars on hair, nails, shoes, a dress, and the ticket. That’s a lot of money. According to Kyasia Turner, a senior at Hazel Green High School, “It’s all about planning. If you know you’re going to go to prom you need to start preparing for the expenses ahead of time.” Planning for prom is very important. You need to know where you want to get your nails done. Another thing to plan out is where you want to purchase your shoes or your dress and who you want to do your makeup, if you decide to get someone to do that for you. It helps to know these things. It makes things easier for you to budget your money if you already know where you want these things done. Plus, you can have your money ready because you’ll already know the prices. Also, you can buy your dress and shoes ahead of time. Looking to deals online can be a great way to cut down on prom spending.
Mrs. Murray said, “There are ways to find cheap prom dresses and tuxedos. Zulily.com has a lot of cheap prom dresses. Also if a group of guys go into a tuxedo place, they might give them 50% off on their tuxedos. You just have to plan and look for cheap prices.”

Prom isn’t the only thing that’s expensive. The prom proposal can be quite expensive. Some men spend up to 200 dollars on the tickets and flowers and gifts for their prom date. You would think it would just be a simple “Will you go to prom with me?” But nowadays, these guys are going all out. They set up scavenger hunts or make up cute little sayings using food or gifts. It’s cute but it can become very costly for these guys. The cost of the tickets, the attire, the gifts, the flowers, and sometimes the meal can really kill a man’s pockets.

It wouldn’t be prom if you didn’t show up in style. Transportation is important. How else are you supposed to get to prom? A limo is the number one use of transportation to prom. It looks nice and it’s a ton of fun to ride to prom with all your friends in a limousine. Only problem is they can be quite expensive. A limousine rental can cost from $200 to $500 dollars. Most people just decide to drive themselves to prom. The money they don’t use on a limo can be used towards their shoes or their hair.

You can’t dance on an empty stomach. Many people before and sometimes after prom go out to eat. Most of the time they go to a fancy restaurant. Nicole said, “I went to The Bottle in downtown Huntsville, and I spent about $90 dollars including my date’s meal.” Dinner before prom can normally cost about $40 to $200 dollars depending on where you wsant to eat. Since prom is such a classy event, many people decide to go somewhere classier than IHOP or a fast food restaurant, but that’s not to say people don’t go to IHOP for prom.

Yes, prom is very expensive but it’s worth all the money that it consumes. You get to have a great time with friends and look good while doing it. It overall turns out to be a great night even though it may break the people’s bank.