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Visa study finds that the avg teen's family spent nearly $1000 for prom in 2014/2015

X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/13/at-many-high-school-proms-teens-and-families-spare-no-expense/

The high school prom has become a big business that can eat a big hole in the family budget.

In a study conducted by Visa Inc., the average prom-going teen spent almost $1,000 on the event in 2014 and 2015. Costs include attire, limousine or car rentals, tickets, flowers, pictures, food, accommodations, the “promposal” and an after party, to name a few.

Danny Phomvilay, 17, a senior at Richmond High School, is saving some costs by not renting a car or limo, but he’s still forking over about $650, including a new suit and the $85 that prom tickets cost for those who didn’t buy them early in the year at $65 a pop.

As for the costs, Danny said, “it’s frustrating. But I saved a lot so that I can have a nice prom. This is like a last goodbye for seniors.”

Ivan Hernandez, 17, another senior at Richmond, had similar thoughts.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said, explaining that a suit, tickets and the cost of sharing a car rental to take him and friends to the prom venue — the Rotunda Building in Oakland — will cost him a few hundred bucks.

Kelley Sheen, a senior at Branham High School in Campbell, attended her senior prom recently.

“It was fun, but I definitely feel like people hype up prom more than they should,” said Kelley, who had attended the prom in past years. Tickets for that prom started at $90 for those who bought early and increased in the weeks leading up to the event, she said. That covered dinner and the dance at the Tech Museum in San Jose.

Kelley said she saved money by wearing a dress she had already worn to another dance and carpooled with friends to the event. But she saw others who “went all out.”

“Another friend I know rented a party bus and everyone chipped in, and someone last year rented a Porsche,” Kelley said.
Click to expand...

In the western United States, teens or their families spent an average of $596 on prom night and $342 on the promposal for a total of $938, according to the study.

Retailers are capitalizing on that trend. Men’s Wearhouse established “National Promposal Day” (March 11), urging high school students to share their elaborate proposals on social media channels. The retailer, which rents tuxedos and suits for the event, collaborated with Snapchat’s advertising program, SnapAds, to create a prom-themed game.

Then there is the prom dress. No one wants to have the same one, and teens are careful to make sure that doesn’t happen. Teens at Richmond High created an Instagram feed that students can contribute to let others know which dress they are picking. Others in the Bay Area have Facebook groups or pages with the same purpose.

Trudy’s, a bridal and formal wear store in Campbell, had even created a registry in the past few years so as to not to sell the same dress to girls attending the same prom. It dropped the practice this year as more girls turned to social media to create their own monitoring system and competition from online retail heated up, said store owner Steven Blechman.

Blechman said the prom began turning into the elaborate event it is today in the past 15 years. He said Trudy’s, which has been around for more than 40 years and does most of its business in the bridal department, starts to see girls shopping for their spring proms in November and December.
Click to expand...

While the dress or suit is a big cost, it’s often the little things that add up to make prom costs so high, said Kelley, the Branham High senior. That can include things like dinner (if the school doesn’t serve it), accessories, or the costs for an after party, for which teens rent hotel rooms or other venues. Sometimes those require buying another dress or outfit, Kelley said.

“It’s a big financial burden, and as we progress, prom becomes more of a big deal,” said Victoria Candland, the chairwoman of marketing for the Princess Project, which provides prom dresses and accessories for teens who can’t afford to buy them in the Bay Area and Southern California. “People have parties and dinners, and it becomes a big financial burden for families.”

Fortunately for those teens, the Princess Project steps in to help. This year in Silicon Valley, it collected 3,500 donated dresses and had 800 volunteers involved to help over 1,000 teens. In San Francisco, it collected 2,500 dresses.

“This is a big deal in their lives,” Candland said. “It’s not a necessity, but it’s a big deal. They want to feel beautiful and not miss out.”
Click to expand...
 
cr0w

cr0w

Old Member
Jesus, and I thought paying $50 to rent a tux was outrageous. That was 19 years ago, though.
 
B

besada

Banned
I spent $150 for a Tux, a Lincoln Town Car, and a corsage for my date. I also spent about $200 for booze.

The latter purchase was much more satisfactory. I suggest saving your money for the after party.
 
M

Mushroomer25

Member
Wait, an average of $342 for the PROPOSAL?

This seems extremely suspect. I absolutely can see plenty of families dishing out $1000+ for prom - between the limo, dress/tux, dinner, etc. But the lavish proposal seems like a much more rare occurrence, and would happen at half the rate of other expenses.

Something seems off.
 
L

Lkr

Member
Everyone rented beach houses for the after parties for my prom. I think $1000 was the bare minimum for the kids in my school. But I mean if I was a parent and could afford this crazy shit for my kid I would prob spend the money
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Mushroomer25 said:
Wait, an average of $342 for the PROPOSAL?

This seems extremely suspect. I absolutely can see plenty of families dishing out $1000+ for prom - between the limo, dress/tux, dinner, etc. But the lavish proposal seems like a much more rare occurrence, and would happen at half the rate of other expenses.

Something seems off.
Click to expand...

More from the article on that:

But the costs can start way before the actual event. Promposals are elaborate invitations to the prom that have gained traction on the web in the past few years, with teens plotting big events to ask their date to the prom and often publicizing it through YouTube or other social media channels.

Some promposals have involved buying expensive gifts. Others have enlisted celebrities or public figures (one teen got presidential candidate Ted Cruz to read a promposal script). Visa included promposal spending in its 2015 study, finding that families across the country spent an average of $324 on promposals.
Click to expand...
 
cr0w

cr0w

Old Member
Wait, prom 'proposals' are an actual fucking thing now?

Jesus I feel old.

besada said:
I spent $150 for a Tux, a Lincoln Town Car, and a corsage for my date. I also spent about $200 for booze.

The latter purchase was much more satisfactory. I suggest saving your money for the after party.
Click to expand...

I wish I'd had your connections. We'd have been arrested if we even sniffed a wine cooler.
 
Ron Mexico

Ron Mexico

Member
cr0w said:
Jesus, and I thought paying $50 to rent a tux was outrageous. That was 19 years ago, though.
Click to expand...

For some reason, I think mine was slightly higher than that. Like $80 or something and I thought it was highway robbery.

For shits and giggles, I just pulled up an inflation calculator-- $120 in today's value.
 
D

Dot-N-Run

Member
Is this a uniquely American thing or are there other countries with this outrageous spending on proms? I've never heard of anything even close to this happening where I live.
 
F

Faiz

Member
I rented a tux, kicked in a little on a limo that I did t want with a bunch of other friends. If I had even suggested hundreds, never mind 1000, pretty sure my parents would have fainted.

Kinda wish I hadn't gone at all, it wasn't a good time.
 
N

NESpowerhouse

Perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane.
I spent $0.


I was shot down and didn't go. Story of my life.
 
S

see5harp

Member
I don't understand why a kid or even a parent would want to actually buy a suit at that point. When I was in high school, a lot of the kids just rented. Plus it's not like a tuxedo or whatever from high school is even something you'll need to wear ever again.
 
cr0w

cr0w

Old Member
Ron Mexico said:
For some reason, I think mine was slightly higher than that. Like $80 or something and I thought it was highway robbery.

For shits and giggles, I just pulled up an inflation calculator-- $120 in today's value.
Click to expand...

It was a spur of the moment thing, I cheaped out and got a white tux. Thought I was hot shit until we got to the Italian restaurant, then I truly knew fear.
 
U

Umbooki

Member
Prom was 6 years ago and I can barely remember a damn thing. Too much drama and teenage fuckery to unpack from one night.

Couldn't imagine being a chick having to deal with a dress and all that.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
I had a friend who was throwing a birthday party for his four year old son.

The guy was going all in with full expenses in the thousands... For a 4 year old.

I was like, WTF, you make the same salary as me. That is overboard.

We did not agree, he thought I was being a cheap ass

But man, I barely remember any of my birthdays

Some people just are careless
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
Damn, what the Hell?

Is this a regional thing? I live in New England and prom budgets around here are, like, $100 a person. It does seem like it's a bigger thing out west. The thought of renting a hotel room or something for prom is insane to me. It's like an alternate dimension.

I have a sister eight years my junior, so I know it hasn't changed since I graduated. Prom is a tiny thing here.

Afterthought Edit: I am sure it varies greatly from school to school, too. Once a few popular kids go all out on prom, the whole expectation is raised. This makes everyone spend more money to compete and meet the standard.
 
G

Gai Murakumo

Member
I rented a Tux for about $100 Canadian this was 10 years ago. I knew girls who just made their dresses so it did not cost them that much, just the money for the materials.
 
cr0w

cr0w

Old Member
gutter_trash said:
I had a friend who was throwing a birthday party for his four year old son.

The guy was going all in with full expenses in the thousands... For a 4 year old.

I was like, WTF, you make the same salary as me. That is overboard.

We did not agree, he thought I was being a cheap ass

But man, I barely remember any of my birthdays

Some people just are careless
Click to expand...

The only birthday I remember is 1991, when my parents got me a sweet ass Schwinn Predator BMX with black mags and a super '90s paint splatter color scheme.

I remember it because I didn't know what lactose intolerance was and I shit my pants after I gorged myself on ice cream and milk in front of all my friends. Had to ride that bad ass bike 3 miles home.

Good times.
 
C

CDX

Member
finding that families across the country spent an average of $324 on promposals.
Click to expand...

$324 on a promposal!?!?

I feel SO old right now. Promposals weren't a thing back in my day.
 
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