BY ALEX PASSAUR, Blake High

The day of homecoming, people often update their status to “Go Hard or Go Home,” but who says you can’t “go hard” somewhere else? A homecoming ticket at most schools is around $45, on average a dress can be around $100, shoes at least $30, dinner at least $20 per person, and if you plan on taking a party bus or limo, you can count on staying home broke for the next few weekends. •  Yes, homecoming is a lot of fun but it’s also about dropping $200 on ONE NIGHT. So, if you’re “anti-homecoming” this year, here are a few suggestions of things to do for half the price.

Halloween Horror Nights
Buy a Saturday night “STAY & SCREAM” ticket to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights for $66.99 and enjoy the park during the day and the haunted houses during the night. Or for $81.99, buy a “Rush of Fear” ticket and come back up to 15 times. (It helps if you have friends/family in the Orlando area, so you can bunk there, no hotel costs, yay.)

AWOLNATION
AWOLNATION, Imagine Dragons and ZEALE are performing at the Ritz Ybor Oct. 24! Okay, this is a Wednesday, not the night of anyone’s homecoming, but change it up! General admission is $28.85 (Ticketmaster), about the same price as those sparkly heels you wanted for the dance (but that hurt so much you’d kick them off anyway).

Waka Flocka Flame
In all honesty, who doesn’t crank the volume all the way up when “Hard in Da Paint” plays on the radio? On Nov. 15 Waka Flocka Flame comes to the Ritz Ybor, feauturing Wooh Da Kid and Reema Major. General admission is $20 and early entry is $35 (on TicketWeb).

Camping on the beach
 What a more perfect time to camp out in Florida than fall? The weather isn’t too hot, or too cold, and it’s easy to enjoy the scenic view at Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg. For about $40 you can rent a campsite for the night on the beach and enjoy falling asleep to a sunset on the beach, waking up to the gentle sound of waves. Every tourist’s dream, our backyard.

Drive-in movies
For $6 a person, $4 dollars less than most regular movie tickets, you can go to the Fun-Lan Drive In and watch a movie from your car. It’s a more fun night with your friends, and it’s something totally different from how you usually spend your Saturday nights. You don’t have to worry about frigid air-conditioning, or the creeps behind you who won’t shut up. 2302 E Hillsborough Ave., Tampa.