With prom season right around the corner, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to afford your daughter’s prom dress. Not only is this an expensive process, but one that can be time-consuming and meticulous planning. However, it’s also about giving your daughter one of the best nights of her life. And if you’ve been considering how to tackle affording her prom dress and experience, then I’ve provided a few helpful tips to get started. Check them out below:

Start Shopping For Deals Now

If you’re going to be looking for a prom dress, then starting to shop for the best deals now is a must. Not only will this give you the best opportunity to find the perfect thing with your daughter, but you’ll additionally live with the comfort of knowing that you got prom shopping out of the way early. Plus, as noted by USA Today, with prom dresses costing an average of around $600, this is definitely an item you want to start looking to save on as soon as possible.

To begin your search, start looking around to popular dressmakers, whether that be in person or online. While it might sound silly to look online, you can not only find better deals but additionally can still get the same custom fitting process that you would in person with some companies. In diving into search terms, don’t just go after prom dresses, but rather looking into a sorority dress or even other formalwear. All-in-all, the goal is to find something that your daughter truly loves, which you both feel the best about getting.

Don’t Loan More Than You Can Afford

Another important aspect of purchasing your daughter’s prom dress is the actual affordability of it for you. After all, in the midst of trying to make our children happy, it can be easy just to put something on our credit card or spend a little bit more from our checking accounts. However, this can be not only detrimental to our finances, but additionally leaving us with the same credit mistakes we’ve made before.

Before buying a dress for prom even becomes a part of the conversation, sit down and map out the affordability of what your budget is. As noted by Value Penguin, with the average credit card debt coming in at around $5,700, adding an additional $500 to $1,000 that can be quite the hit, especially when you factor in the interest and fees. Once you’ve figured out your perfect number, sit down with your daughter and talk about affordability, giving a number as an ultimatum at first. Because as special as prom can be, you need to put your foot down on what works within your budget first-and-foremost.

Use This As A Reward

Another strategy regarding prom and affordability is using this experience as a reward to them. And whether that be because they just got an internship or straight A’s, having an objective is always a great strategy to get them engaged. However, the key here is showing that prom is an expensive venture as well as what that value means.

According to The Guardian, the average parent spends approximately $1,160 in total on prom, which is a pretty staggering figure when you consider everything that goes into. Which, that cost is one of the first things you need to relay to your daughter, as well as why this is an experience that’s earned, not given. Use something like a vacation in comparison, because even if your child doesn’t fully grasp the gravity of how much that figure above is, the weight of if it all might come across. All-in-all, while you might not be able to get this general idea across to your kid, make it the value of it something that will stick to memory, giving them an incentive to work harder.

Work With What Your Daughter Wants

Finally, as this occasion is all about your daughter, it’s important to ask her what she wants and why. As noted by CreditDonkey, 40 million teens attend prom every year, which believe it or not, your daughter might not want to be a part of. Even if this is something you want for them or they’ve expressed before, maybe that money could be used elsewhere, such as for them to take a trip. And if prom is something they’re definitely after, talk to them about how they want to look and the experience they want to have, as this could become one of the most memorable nights of their life.

What are you most excited about in helping your daughter with her prom shopping? Comment with your answers below!