By Andrea Park & Sarah Pfander
Gargoyle assistant editors
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007, The OG, features & multimedia

Narrated by: Andrea Park, Sarah Pfander & Ruth Welch
Photos by: Andrea Park
Produced by: Andrea Park & Sarah Pfander

WHEN CASH IS thrown at buying that beautiful $400 dress, renting a limo for 10 of your closest friends, or dining at the finest restaurant in town, everyone can see that prom can get ridiculously pricey.

For girls the average expenditure for prom is well above an affordable price. Factor in the ticket, the meal, the dress, the hair, the shoes, the accessories, and possibly even a manicure, and we're looking at a total cost of around $500. That's half a grand!

Guys don't have it much better. The tux rental, the corsage, the ticket, and the meal can get comparably expensive.

However, prom doesn't have to be so traditionally pricey. In fact, it's completely possible to spend only a thrifty $100 for prom night. That's right, you can have the perfect prom under $100.

Junior Ruthie Welch was on a tight budget for prom this year, which will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

“I had spent a lot of money on dresses in the past, and this year I wanted to try my luck at thriftiness,” she said.

With five $20 bills in her purse, Welch was on a quest to find the perfect dress.

But before she could begin scrounging the clothing racks, she had to lay down the money for the ticket and the meal at Radio Maria in downtown Champaign.

— Started with: $100

— Subtract: $25 (half the cost of a couples ticket)

— Subtract: $17.25 (the cost of Adobo Pork at Radio Maria)

— Subtract: $2.60 (15 percent tip for the esteemed waiter or waitress)

——————————————-

Total remaining: $55.15

Welch had $55.15 left to spend on prom attire — a fraction of the money she had spent on the designer dresses she had previously purchased for winter formal and spring fling. To save a couple of bucks, Welch toted a bag with three pairs of heels she had worn to previous dances.

Could Welch pull it off? Click on the audio slideshow to discover how Ruthie's excellent shopping adventure turned out.

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