This frugal post is another one aimed at those of us who own teens. The teen years should be fun, but don't necessarily have to be expensive. Hopefully as you have raised them up this far, you have taught them some frugal habits, like not being afraid of hand me downs or second hand clothes, not having to follow the latest fads, having fun in old fashioned (non-electronic) and cheap ways.
But there are uniquely teen things that do come up that are expensive.
Like cars.
You can buy your child their own, if you wish and can afford it. Or, you can encourage them to work and save money to purchase one of their own. Or, you can let your child earn the right to use yours from time to time. Either way you chose, having a teen driver is going to increase your expenses. Insurance being the one you have the least control over. Not no control, however. Talk with your insurance agent about the most affordable option for adding your teen to your policy. Usually it is putting that child as driver on the oldest vehicle you have, with just minimal (known as PLPD around here) coverage. Unless that older vehicle doesn't have safety features like air bags or anti-lock brakes, in which case it is actually cheaper to put them on a newer car. Now, they don't actually have to drive that vehicle, mind you, their name just has to be attached to that one in the insurance files.
Parties. Another thing that seems to go along with teens. These don't have to be extravagant and expensive. Got a big back yard? Have a camp fire or bonfire. Provide some music and a few munchies. Let the kids hang out. That's all they really want to do anyway--hang out with their friends and be seen by the opposite sex. A basement will do the trick if your yard is lacking in size.
Prom. This is a big deal. Also an expensive deal. But it doesn't have to break the bank. In Frugal February #12 Bargain Clothing, I shared how I scored a prom dress in pristine condition for just $7.99. If you own a teenage girl, keep your eyes open for used prom dresses. They're out there, and not just in the spring. Try Craigslist, consignment stores, thrift shops, eBay. . . don't be too shy to ask around of parents whose daughters are now in college. I bet they'd love to off load those formals their daughters left at home and will never wear again. Even for guys, you can save money on clothing. Our school is rural enough that not many guys rent tuxes for Prom. Most just wear a suit. Some all ready own a suit that they wear to Sunday services at church. If your son doesn't own a suit and wouldn't mind wearing one for prom, try the same places I suggested above for finding dresses. Buy or borrow a tie that matches/compliments the color of his date's dress, and you're all set. If your child and their date agree they don't care about flowers, then you can eliminate the cost of corsages and boutonnieres. Girls can get together with their friends to do each other's hair, or seek out someone in cosmetology school (our local vocational ed has a program for this) willing to give them an updo for cheaper than a hair salon would charge. Fancy cars or limos don't have to be rented to go arrive at the big dance in. Maybe you know someone who trusts your teen enough to loan them a car for the night. Or, perhaps your teen is perfectly happy driving their own car (helps if it's all ready some what sporty and red, with a manual transmission). Or they can carpool with a friend who does have access to a 'cool' car. Or a large van--one son had a friend whose parents owned a 12 passenger van; five couples rode to prom in their 'super tall limo'.
Graduation. The cap and gown/announcement companies will try to take you for a bath on graduation items if you're not careful. Think long and hard. Does your child require anything more than a cap, gown and tassel for the ceremony and some announcements to send to relatives alerting them to the big day? Have you had one child graduate all ready and a younger one who can reuse that robe? (And cap if you still have it?) DS1 is about 3 inches taller than DS2. So, I hemmed his robe up a few inches and saved on having to buy one for DS2 to graduate in. My girls are only 1 inch different in height from each other, so I am planning on reusing DD1's robe for DD2 when the time comes (here the girls wear a different color robe from the boys, otherwise you can bet I'd be doing some more alterations on the gown we all ready own!).
Announcements I do purchase, but not hundreds of them. We get them mostly for giving to our close relatives. Those friends and family who we know don't care so much about the actual commencement as the open house, we just give an open house announcement that we have designed and printed out ourselves on heavy duty paper or cardstock. You can design your own at most online photo storage sites. I don't bother with the fancy initialed stickers or any of the other extras offered for purchase by the graduation supply company. Years ago I bought a rubber stamp of a cap & tassel. Inked up with some appropriate color ink for our school, that gets stamped on the back of each announcement envelope. Cheap, fancy, and no need for stickers with our initial on them. Plus, I can reuse it for all four kids!
I could go into more detail on graduation, and cover the party/open house itself, but that will be quite long. I'll save that for it's own post this spring.
Teens can have a lot of fun without costing you tons of money. They can drive, have parties, go to prom, and graduate in a frugal manner that won't detract at all from their enjoyment of these milestones.
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