The Progressive Party: Ease the financial burden of throwing a party by collaborating with others by throwing a progressive party. This works well if you live in a small town or have a bunch of friends who live nearby (apartment complex, anyone?). You go in with about 5 or 6 friends, and each of you hosts a different portion of the party at his or her respective home. In essence, the party moves to 5 or 6 locations throughout the night. Save more by carpooling to each spot, or get creative and ride bikes or skateboards. Try having different themes, like Hawaiian, Mexican, Barbecue, or even Mystery theme décors and refreshments. The bottom line is you end up sharing the financial responsibility between the different friends who host their portion of the party.

Decorations: Getting elaborate on the décor of your humble abode for a party can also prove to be expensive and indebting. Throw a theme party. Tell guests to come dressed a certain way, and their costumes become the aesthetic focal point instead of streamers or crazy lighting. If everyone dresses for a Luau, people will be checking out costumes instead of the apartment/house décor that's been around the past year. You'll be surprised at how outlandish people get with their costumes when they aren't contributing financially for food and drinks. Color theme parties are also good. If you have a Red Party, you can purchase red colored light bulbs for about $1 each. If you replace all the regular light bulbs in your house with colored ones, it will give your home a new look. It's quite impressive, and is a tactic that clubs around the country use to differentiate different nights of the week. A fresh look will definitely impress the guests and get your party off to the right start.

For more party BIZ-ness be sure to check out Work Hard, Party Harder.