I bet you are wondering: Why is this girl talking about finances on a pageant blog? I am glad you asked. Well, it takes money to compete in pageant so it is important that you are financially prepared. The only way to properly prepare is to save and formulate a budget. Yes, I said the dreaded B-word!
Trust me it is not going to kill you or cause you to break out in hives. Developing a budget for your pageant is essential if you want to compete stress free and not rely on credit cards. A budget is not hard to create, and it only takes a few minutes of your time. For the sake of this example, let’s say you worked and saved $2,000 to compete in a pageant!
All of your working, hustling, and sacrifice paid off, and now you have cash to pay for your pageant (See Five Ways to Pay Cash for Your Pageant). You only have $2,000 to work with so it is important that you carefully and strategically allocate your money to the appropriate and necessary components of your pageant. When you are formulating your financial plan aka budget, do not forget about items such as hotel costs, meals, etc. because they are major components of the pageant experience. Also, it is best to create a zero-based budget where your income minus expenses equals zero. You want to spend everything on paper first so you know exactly how much you are willing to spend on each line item. Below is an example of a budget that is similar to one I created for a pageant I competed in last year.
Income
$2,000.00
Expenses
Registration Fee-$600.00
Optionals-$50.00
Gown-$300.00
Hair-$200.00
Makeup Artist-$150.00
Shoes-$50.00
Accessories-$50.00
Interview Attire-$50.00
Talent Attire-$50.00
Alterations-$80.00
Swimsuit-$50.00
Hotel-$120.00
Meals-$100.00
Pageant Coaching-$150.00
Miscellaneous-$50.00
Net Income-$0.00
It is important that you exhibit discipline with your budget. No overspending and no stealing from other categories! I mean it! Stick to the budget, and you will have a financially successful pageant. As far as I am concerned, I like pageants that do not follow me home. That is what happens when you use debt to finance your experiences. You may have to forgo certain things with your pageant in order to adhere to your financial plan, and that is perfectly fine. In the words of Chris Hogan, “Don’t just focus on what you’re giving up; focus on what you’re gaining.” Happy Budgeting!
#TheFinancialQueen
That great