Still, $2,200 for a limousine ride to a high school prom? Do people actually spend that kind of money? Please comment on what prom expenses are like. I do not have children, so I missed all that.
Related: My job is offering me a payout. Should I take a $61,000 lump sum or $355 a month for life?
Dear Astonished,
Your friend made a promise for which you pick up the tab? No can do.
Limos are for those who can afford to ride in them. The most astonishing part about your letter is that your friend was only contributing $600 toward this extravagance and asked you to pay the rest. Her son may have good grades and a good broad bridge 鈥 as my dentist refers to a nice smile 鈥 that help him win the hearts of friends and relatives, but requesting so much money for something as random as a limo ride is the stuff that brass necks are made of.
At the very least, she could have given you a list of options of things you might like to do for her son鈥檚 prom, if you had expressed interest in being a part of this big night. But $1,600 is nearly the average monthly rent in the U.S. You could buy a Thermomix, a kitchen device that weighs, chops and cooks your food, if you wanted to spruce up your mealtimes. You could even buy an iPhone 16 Pro
Don鈥檛 miss: What on Earth is going on with the American consumer?
Paying by the hour for a limo
A limo can cost a pretty penny 鈥 anywhere from $75 to $400 an hour 鈥 depending on the car, the city where you live and whether there is high demand on the night in question. 鈥淢ost limo providers charge per hour or offer a package that includes a limo for a whole night,鈥 according to Jet Black Transportation, a luxury car service in New York and New Jersey. 鈥淚f a pick-up and drop-off at different locations are all you need, then the hourly rate will work better for you.鈥
Meanwhile, 鈥渂ooking a limo package is a better investment if it will be used most of the night,鈥 the company adds. 鈥淟imo rental for prom usually lasts between three and six hours, and that time duration is adjusted to include all travel. More often than not, companies also include a few other amenities in these packages, like free drinks and options to be dropped off and picked up at different locations or even photo stops.鈥
You had the wisdom and healthy boundaries to say 鈥渢hanks a lot, but no thanks鈥 and to explain your decision. Whether it鈥檚 a prom, a destination wedding or a birthday or wedding gift, people often struggle with how to respond to such requests. It took this reader 25 years to ask for a separate check. Social anxiety often leaves us tongue-tied and makes us forget that the truth is usually the best way forward. It leaves little room for misunderstanding or, hopefully, resentment.
Spending thousands on one night
Prom goers might get lucky by picking up a tuxedo for $100 in a secondhand clothing store or bagging a lift in their parents鈥 old jalopy 鈥 surely the coolest way to travel 鈥 but commerce has taken over prom night in the same way that it has caused the cost of weddings to soar. (Why save $30,000 toward a down payment on a house when you can blow it all in one day?) But I get it. What 19-year-old doesn鈥檛 want to be James Bond for a night? It鈥檚 a rite of passage.
Call me a lace-curtain-twitching killjoy, but I worry that this kind of conspicuous consumption teaches kids that it鈥檚 OK to throw money away in order to spend an hour in traffic, waving out the window with a champagne glass. It doesn鈥檛 help young people learn about financial literacy. It starts with a limo ride, or an elaborate first communion or bar mitzvah that costs thousands of dollars, and where does it end? It doesn鈥檛. It鈥檚 a life of champagne wishes, caviar dreams and credit-card bills.
If your friend can鈥檛 afford a limo, tell her to find an equally groovy, but less expensive, alternative.
Related: I paid $70 for a seat with more legroom, but two women grabbed similar empty seats for free. Is that fair?
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
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