honeychile...thanks for that piece of advice. The thought of an "entertainment budget" (haha) was not even on my radar screen. And a bit about the business budget stuff. We really never really did that for ourselves personally. We always just profit shared at the end of the year, etc, but when the boys started in college and financial aid documents started to be filled out, it changed everything. Add to that the abysmal year most businesses had last year and it has gotten important to do that kind of stuff. I can't say my husband doesn't care if it's $150 or $1500, but he is really just looking for a number, and I know if he looks at me over the rim his glasses with that "look" then I will hedge it down...just like when I open my vanity drawer and find my American Express bill with a frown on it...lmao. I guess the good news is I researched dues at the schools that are on the top my daughters list and asked my sister about the dues she pays for her girls and found the most expensive one I could find and put that on my budget list under "dues & subscriptions" and all I got was a "really?" To which I replied "really." Our son's frat dues are/where much less and I think he remembers paying about $50 a quarter. But he is old, and I remind him of that daily.:p

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. When we were shopping for my daughter for recruitment, there were many suggestions on GC about getting a white dress. We got one and needless to say she has already worn it for a sorority function. Her Pi Chi told her that she would not need one. I know the Boy Scout motto is be prepared. It should be the GC motto as well.;)

Eightisgreat, it's good to plan early, since there are some things that you can count on needing.

• Solid white dress, not low cut or too short. If strapless, get a solid white shrug or cardigan. Many groups require white garb for certain ritual events, and I have heard lately of several groups being very specific as to modesty requirements.
• Encourage her to get a beautiful, elegant cocktail dress for prom rather than a long prom-y dress. It can be worn for pref.
• SEC sorority girls dress up for football games. If she is going south to school, look for sundresses and cooler weather dresses appropriate for tailgates and games (in school colors too)
• A great little black dress will get a lot of use in college. Some schools encourage the PNMs to wear black at pref, some schools, the actives often wear black for pref.

We found that my God daughter's recruitment at SC was not all that stressful clothes-wise, since they wore Panhellenic-issued "go Greek" T shirts for the first two rounds with flipflops. Third round sundress and Pref cocktail dress (her sr. year prom dress) rounded out the week.