Competitive Dance Expenses: Shopping Smarter October–December | A 5, 6, 7, and Shop! Edition

Competitive dance expenses have a way of showing up all season long.

Some are obvious. Competition fees. Costumes. Conventions.

Then there are tights, makeup, hair supplies, travel stuff, replacement dancewear, competition bags and the 72 other little things that individually don't seem terrible until they collectively say:

Ma'am.

But lately I've been thinking less about how much stuff dance requires and more about when I'm buying it.

Because we have a dance calendar.

And retailers have a shopping calendar.

Why aren't those two calendars talking to each other?

That's the idea behind something new I'm calling 5, 6, 7, and Shop!

Because good timing isn't just for the dance floor.

I'm Looking at Competitive Dance Expenses Differently

This isn't about waiting until the month we need something.

Actually, sometimes it's the complete opposite.

If I already know competition season is coming, there are things I can anticipate needing before January ever gets here. And if one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year happens in November, I want to know whether anything on that future list is worth watching then.

On the other hand, I don't want a sale convincing me to buy something simply because it's on sale.

That's the distinction I'm trying to make.

What's coming up in dance?

What are we likely to need?

What shopping opportunities are coming up before then?

Then I can decide whether buying now, waiting, or simply watching the price makes the most sense.

That's 5, 6, 7, and Shop!

October: Restock + Get Convention Ready

October is still early in the dance season. We're settling into schedules, and convention season may be starting or right around the corner.

It also happens to bring Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days on October 6–7, 2026.

Amazon says the event will include deals across more than 35 categories, including beauty, tech and fashion.

So I'm not going into Prime Big Deal Days asking:

What dance stuff can I find on sale?

I'm starting with what makes sense for this point in the season.

Hair and makeup organizers. Beauty and hair tools. Dance-bag restocks. Portable chargers and small tech. Everyday dance essentials. Anything needed for an upcoming convention.

If something already on the list gets a worthwhile discount? Great.

If not?

I haven't “saved” money by finding something else to buy.

Funny how that works.

November: This Is Where I'm Watching the Bigger Purchases

November is probably the month I'm most interested in for this first edition of 5, 6, 7, and Shop!

By then, convention season is underway, costumes may be arriving, and competition season is getting much closer.

And then there's Black Friday on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30.

That's where I want to think bigger.

Competition bags and rolling racks. Luggage and travel gear. Steamers. Warmups. Dancewear. Electronics. Even teacher or dancer gifts that I already know I'll need.

This is also where looking ahead matters.

Maybe there's something for recital or Nationals that I already know we'll need. I'm not suggesting buying six months' worth of random dance supplies because Black Friday exists.

But if it's a known purchase, I want to at least know whether November gives me a better opportunity to make it.

That's proactive shopping—not panic shopping and definitely not sale shopping for sport.

December: Complete the Competition Kit

By December, my focus changes again.

Some studios may already be competing. For others, January starts competition season.

Either way, we're getting close enough that I want to move from watching to making sure we're ready.

That's when I'm thinking about competition tights—and backups—hair supplies,

makeup restocks, required undergarments or body liners, costume-specific necessities, competition-bag supplies and the emergency-kit things you don't want to discover you're missing at the venue.

December isn't necessarily when competition shopping starts.

I'd rather it be when the competition kit gets finished.

And that's an important difference.

5, 6, 7, and Shop! Isn't Just About Sales

I think this may be my favorite part of the whole idea.

I don't want 5, 6, 7, and Shop! to become a list of sales.

We have Google for that.

I want it to connect where we are in the dance season with what's happening in the shopping season.

Sometimes those two things will line up perfectly.

Sometimes the best move will be to buy something months before we need it.

Sometimes I'm going to wait because we don't know enough yet—especially when sizing, costumes or specific requirements could change.

And sometimes a giant sale can happen and I need absolutely nothing from it.

Imagine that.

Competitive Dance Expenses Aren't Going Away—So I'm Working on the Timing

I've already written about the costs of competition dance because there are a LOT of them. Tuition is only part of the story; costumes, competition fees, travel, shoes, dancewear and all the extras layer on top throughout the year.

5, 6, 7, and Shop! isn't going to make competitive dance expenses disappear.

That's not the promise.

What I can do is get better at seeing what's coming and stop treating the dance calendar and the shopping calendar like they have nothing to do with each other.

So this first edition covers October through December.

Next, we'll tackle January through March based on what's happening in the dance season then.

Because if we're already going to need the stuff, I want to be a little more intentional about when I'm buying it.

And if I find an easier way to do that?

You already know I'm sharing it.