Those of you who have been to Italy recently (esp. Rome and Florence) what was the average cost of admission to museums, etc? I am trying to finalize my budget for my trip in Oct. I've got food figured out and rental car but don't have a clue about what admission tickets tend to cost. Thanks!

Averages can be deceiving. I always do a google search for the ones I plan to attend and get the latest info on admission prices, free days and operating hours.

I do what Degas does, googling the museums I want to see. Most museums have great websites and the added bonus of looking them up is that you find out what is currently on exhibition. Most guidebooks will also give you admission prices as well, for a rough guide (since they can change at will).

In Rome you can buy the multi-day, multi-site mega pass if you plan on seeing a lot of sites which will definitely save you in the long run.

Just know that even if you check this year's guidebooks, and sometimes even sights own websites, the prices will still be higher. I was in Florence this summer and spent €58 on admissions. It adds up. The Uffizi was approx. €10 and most of the smaller churches/museums were €3-4. The vast majority of churches do charge admission, sometimes even when the guidebooks say the main part of the church is free. It's still worth it of course, just be prepared to shell out a bit.

A note on what we found in Italy this summer.
ALL of the admissions we went to had to be paid in cash. None of them took credit cards. I expected this at the churches but had expected the larger musumes to take a credit card. They didn't.
This is no problem, just have enough cash.
Carl