5 Tips For Saving Money This Halloween
by Erik Folgate
Filed under Frugality, Spending and Saving
I’ll admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday, and it’s not because I’m some overzealous Christian who thinks it’s the “Devil’s Holiday”. I am a man of faith, but Halloween ticks me off more from a financial perspective. Along with Valentine’s Day, it has become one of the most commercialized non-holidays that have no meaning. I understand that the kids have a good time with it, and it’s fun for them, but when you take a step back and really look at Halloween, it really is pointless to spend a bunch of money on it. With Halloween parties, costumes for the kids, house decorations, and all of the crap that schools make you buy for arts and crafts time, Halloween can get really expensive.
Last Tuesday, I participated in the #frugalchat Twitter conversation moderated by The Debt Diva. If you’ve never been to her site, you should definitely check it out. She has a great blog and runs a debt management company. I have no clue how she is able to post so much on Twitter, but she has a great presence on there. Some of these ideas were part of a discussion we had about keeping costs down for Halloween.
- Buy your pumpkins the day before halloween. You won’t get as good of a selection, but they’ll be half-priced, and you can buy more than one for decoration. Also, you won’t need to worry about rotting.
- Use everyday items to decorate the house. You can take cereal boxes and spray paint them black or gray to place in the yard to make it look like a cemetary. You can also use quilt padding to make cob webs.
- Instead of throwing a party for the kids, play a game. Video/photo scavenger hunts are really fun. Make a list of things to find or do around the neighborhood (i.e. a black cat or an abandoned “haunted” house)
- Make your own costumes. Dressing like a celebrity or an iconic figure is usually the easiest to do. You can do the same for kid’s costumes.
- For Couples, have a scary movie marathon. Pop some popcorn and bake some spooky looking cookies, and watch scary movies from Netflix or the Red Box.
Links to Halloween Ideas that Save Money:
Quick and Inexpensive Halloween Decorations from Better Homes and Gardens’ Web site
