Paying for My Semi-Formal

            Hello, readers.  Are any of you parents out there?  Well, I am not.  In fact, I am your average seventeen-year-old girl, and for those parents with average seventeen-year-old girls, you all must know the drama/excitement/hole-in-your-wallet that ensues generally all of the time but particularly this time of year.  Yes, I am talking about semi-formal. My school hosts the dance in the winter, so preparations for the event started about a month ago. 

            It was one morning when I was sitting with my mother at the kitchen table, talking about the expenses of semi, when we began to devise my budget.  I named every item needed and its estimated price, and later she tallied it all up.  Here’s what we brainstormed:

• ·         Ticket                                                               $60
• ·         Dress                                                               $400
• ·         Body shaper                                                      $80
• ·         Hair                                                                  $100
• ·         Tanning                                                            $40
• ·         Mani/Pedi.                                                        $40
• ·         Shoes                                                               $60
• ·         Accessories                                                      $50
  • o        Clutch bag, jewelry, makeup, etc.
• ·         Limo                                                                 $55

             Added together, it came to a grand total of $885.  I know what you’re thinking: What sane parent would spend nearly a thousand bucks on one stupid dance?  But these are the maximum numbers. When we actually went out and bought several of the items, most were half of the anticipated price.  For example, we found a dress for only $260, and that’s including alterations.  There’s an extra $140 in my mom’s pocket.  My ticket to attend the dance, originally $60, is now free on account of the pies I sold to friends and family (sell eighteen, your ticket is free of charge).  And just today, when my mother and I headed to DSW, we found a gorgeous pair of silver strappy sandals for only $30 – half the cost we had estimated.  Thus far, that’s $230 saved. 

             Before all this spending, though, I had to find a way to pay for it all.  My parents would fund most of it, and my grandmother contributed $100 to the cause (thanks Nana).  Even so, I felt I should donate something to the costs and for this reason I started saving a month ago – $20 every week out of the $50.00 my mom pays me for babysitting my younger sister. Most of you may not think twenty bucks is much, but for a teenager with a car needing gas each week, lunches to buy and a social life, saving that $20.00 has been a challenge.  With my $80, my grandmother’s $100, and roughly $300 from each of my parents, this doesn’t seem so unrealistic, does it?

              There are still things on the list we need to buy, but based on the experiences so far, I am expecting to spend far less than projected.  The date of the dance is November 19, so I’ll keep you all posted on the expenses, how I raise the money and how much we save on our budget.

Wish me luck!

P.S. – Shout out to my girl Connie Martin for buying those fabulous black leather boots.  Even though you didn’t make your mama proud, you made me quite jealous.