$50 Prom Challenge

I was going to make this a video series and put it on YouTube, so that my channel would have more than one video, but then I realized that out digital camera had no battery, Santa had failed to bring me a camcorder, and that filming on various Apple products belonging to my father is both difficult and obnoxious. Instead I'm just going to write about it, and hope that you find it just as entertaining (not likely...).
Two things led to the Challenge:
1) One of my best friends (and former prom date) asked me to prom.
2) I got $50 from my great grandmother for Christmas.

These things combined together and challenged me to see if I could attend prom for much less money than I managed my senior year of high school. I guess at this point I have to admit how much my parents spent on my prom:
There was the dress: $100 (This was back when JCPenny's still took coupons mind you)
Alterations for dress: $30 (The thing was made for eight foot ogre women.)
The shoes: $50
The fake nails: $5 (I have ugly crafter's nails)
The limo: $720 (None of us could drive past 10:30. True story)
Did I mention the intense emotional agony brought on by spending three months dress shopping with my mother??? Because that? Priceless.

All in all though I spent $905 dollars on prom (that I can remember, I feel like there's something I've forgotten. Probably therapy bills). This year though I am resolved to be a financially responsible and thrifty human being (which resembles an adult, but comes with cute shoes and a kick butt awesome prom dress). This means that I have to manage my finances carefully and the best way to do that is to actually use my money (unlike two years ago when my parents payed my prom tab).

A lot of these expenses are really easy to eliminate, because not only do my date and I possess actual driver's licenses, but also because I know things now (many valuable things, that I hadn't known before! Into the Woods? Anybody? No? Cool. You stink).
First let's talk about expenses I am getting rid of:
The limo (Date is driving. It's Her prom after all).
Fake nails (I spent the entire night unable to tie knots, and besides the glue ruined my actual nails for weeks).
Alterations on the dress (More on that in a second).

So what does that leave me with?
Shoes and a dress.
Although technically I could just wear my old prom shoes. They're only a little scuffed and unlike last time they're broken in. Unfortunately they also lack grip and the metal spike in the back of my right heel kinda sticks out the bottom. I did mention they were broken in right?

Right now though, I want to talk about the dress. A hundred dollars for something I wore once? (And hated. We might as well clear that up now). That is not happening. So here's the Challenge:
Spend $50 on the dress and make it something you will wear at least three times this year.

How am I going to accomplish that?
I'm not going to buy my dress.
That's right, I'm going to use my Christmas money to make a prom dress that will actually look good and function properly (Also, it will have sleeves. I am not dancing around with my elbows glued to my sides like a handicapped monkey. Not this time).
 
Now how am I going to keep it at $50 or less?
Coupons.
Lots and lots of coupons.
For example: Hobby Lobby, Michael's, JoAnn's, and Hancock's Fabrics all make  point of circulating 40% off  regular priced item coupons (Available in Sunday paper ads, websites, apps, you name it). Roughly once a month several of these companies even release 50% off coupons. In addition to that, joining their mailing list can gain you access to coupons ranging anywhere from 15%-25% off entire purchases including sale items.
I plan to take advantage of all of these things and maybe even make it out of this with a little pocket change left over.

This post got really long, really quick (Just kidding, it took me an hour to organize all these thoughts), so I'm going to stop here and the next time you hear from me I will have either spent money or made a doll (or found my billfold. I will totally tell you if Satan Doll surrenders).