How Much Did You Spend On Your Child’s Prom Night?

Remember when going to the prom meant buying a dress at J.C. Penny for, like, $50, picking up some heels at Nine West, and renting a tux with a loose collar at Men's Wearhouse? Throw in a corsage and tickets, and the whole thing set you back maybe $250. For that you ended up with a photo, which would both horrify and humor you years later. Well, prom has gotten a lot more expensive. Visa said prom spending this year will average $1,139. That's up nearly six percent from 2012, and up a whopping 41 percent from 2011.

I have two friends who's daughters went to prom this year.  One was her first prom and the other was her final senior prom.  The daughter who was attending her first prom bought a very nice pre-owned dress.  It was absolutely beautiful, still more than what I spent on my first prom dress but not overly expensive.  The daughter who was attending her senior prom spent much more on her dress.  When I spoke to her Mom about it she said that she had been very conservative when she purchased her other dresses so they decided to splurge on her senior prom dress.  It was beautiful and a LOT more than I spent on my senior prom dress.  But I have to admit she looks absolutely beautiful.

When you break it down by region, the biggest spenders are in the Northeast ($1,528), while sensible Midwesterners spend the least ($722). In a surprise, the less a family makes, the more it spends on the prom.

Here may be the most surprising finding of all: Single parents will spend on average $1,563, almost double the amount that married parents plan to spend at $770.

If your child attended prom this year did you go conservative or overboard?