Three savvy money tips to keep down the costs of your kids' prom
But bigger bashes have meant growing costs for parents.
Here's how to keep a lid on your budget. . .
EARLY OUTFITS: Looking for outfits in advance gives you plenty of time to find a formal outfit for your child.
Renting a dress or suit is typically cheaper than buying new.
You could try John Lewis rental, where dress hire starts at less than £30.
Suit jacket are available from around £33.
By Rotation is another rental app, and H&M also does rental on select collections.
You can get great bargains through second-hand clothing apps, especially if looking in advance.
Scour Facebook marketplace or Vinted and eBay.
Search by brands and be specific as possible to find what you want.
RAD RIDE: Arriving at the prom in a flash ride is all part of the experience.
Try asking for a favour from any friends or family with a cool car to see if they'll play chauffeur.
Book the Lux ride through taxi app Uber for another option.
Only selected top cars such as Mercedes, BMW and Jaguars will come through the service.
You can expect a ride that would usually cost around £10 to come in at around £30 instead when booked on the spot.
Find a friend to refer you if you haven't used the app before and you'll save up to £5 your first five rides.
GLAM UP: Getting hair and make-up done is a fun way to get ready for a prom.
Why not watch a few make-up tutorials to try your hand at applying all the beauty essentials?
Just get in a few practice sessions beforehand.
Or on the day, head to a department store where make- up counters are often able to apply make-up professionally.
Ask around at hairdressers if they need models for up-dos for a discounted service.
You may be lucky and book one on the day of the event.
All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
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Cheap treat
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UPGRADE your coffee to a Nescafe Aero mocha, £2.20 for seven sachets, from Iceland.
Top swap
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TUCK into Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream, £5.55 from Sainsbury's.
Or try Asda's loaded cookie dough ice cream, £1.98.
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It's such a good feeling to be prepared and save money at the same time. I also stick to a budget of around £10 per present. If I can grab a deal like two toys for £10 that would normally cost £17 each, then the child is still getting a really nice gift, but I'm not overspending. For older kids, I'll often just put money in a card – it's practical and lets them save for something they really want. Being savvy with toys and gifts has saved me so much over the years, and it's a great way to always have something ready without breaking the bank. Saving and making money There are so many clever ways to save money when it comes to driving and parking. For starters, to maximise your car's mileage, try only half-filling your fuel tank each time. A full tank adds extra weight, which causes your car to burn more fuel. You can also save by removing roof racks when they're not in use and clearing out your boot to avoid driving around with unnecessary weight. 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Money saving challenges Here's some of our favourite money saving challenges to h Here's a rundown of some of the most popular schemes: Weather saving challenge - Save the amount equal to whatever the highest temperature was that week. £1 = 1C. 1p challenge - save 1p a day for everyday of the year, but it increase the amount by 1p each day. So day one you save 1p, 2p on day two and 3p on day three. When you reach 100 days you start adding a £1 coin each day too, while this increases to a £2 coin each day plus pennies at 200 days, and £3 each day on top of pennies at day 300. 20p a day challenge - Start by putting 20p in savings, then increase the amount by 20p every day. For example, the first week will look like this: 20p, 40p, 60p, 80p, £1, £1.20, £1.40. £5 a week challenge - Like the 20p challenge, put aside £5 a week and increase it by a fiver each week. Eg £5, £10, £15, £20 Round-up challenge - Every time you buy something, round up the purchase to the nearest £1 and put the difference in a savings account. Eg. You pay £2.60, so you put 40p in savings. You can use an app such as Monzo or Starling to do this. Bingo challenge - Here you have a bingo card with different numbers on it and you tick them off when you've put that amount in your savings account. It can be ad hoc but you have to tick them all off by the end of the month. Monday to Sunday challenge - With this challenge, you simply save £1 on Monday, £2 on Tuesday and so on until the weekend where you don't save on Saturday or Sunday. 365 day challenge - Every Sunday you put aside £1, followed by £2 on Monday, £3 on Wednesday and so on. On Saturday you'll put away £7, and then the process repeats and you'll put aside £1 on Sunday as the new week begins.
