Thursday thoughts: Penny-pinching prom!

Monica Laliberte did a very interesting segment on WRAL-FM with Bill & Lynda this morning about the high cost of prom expenses. If you have a teenager, you probably have experienced the sticker shock yourself. Please share your thoughts and ideas on how to make prom more affordable, yet still special and exciting.

Monica had some great ideas, like buying the prom dress at a consignment store and having a fabulous meal for a group of kids at the home of one of the students. The parents can work together to serve a delicious, frugal meal complete with candles and music!

Here are some other tips:

Even more frugal than buying a dress at a second hand store is borrowing a dress from a friend's older sister.

If the kids are going to go out to eat, make sure they have a discount of some sort (Groupon, restaurant.com, Living Social, Entertainment Book, etc).

Have the kids come back to your house for movies, pizza and snacks for the after-prom party. The safety concerns after the prom are tremendous and having them at home ensures they are not out taking unnecessary risks.

I have a few more years to go before my girls are in the world of prom and when I went to prom all those years ago, things were not as extreme as they tend to be now. What other ideas do you have for a frugal prom?