Halloween, trick or treat… broke or free!

The weather is finally starting to change, there are pumpkin spice lattes everywhere, and Halloween is just around the corner. If you are like my wife, that loves her lattes, then this season is full of joys and fun days to make you happy. The signs of Halloween are everywhere. In fact, it seems like every year retail stores start earlier and earlier to promote and sell Halloween merchandise.

For retailers Halloween started last year. There is no secret that retailers are expecting to cash in more than 9 billion dollars this year. That is right, more than 9 billion!! In fact, that number has been growing for a few years (it was about 3 billion in 2005) and it is projected to go up about 8% this year from 2018. Halloween retail is an industry that has doubled since 2009. That alone should tell you people are spending way too much on Halloween, without thinking about financial consequences.

That is why stores start earlier and earlier to put Halloween (and other holidays alike) items on shelves. However, you don’t have fall for it! Forbes estimated that holidays will keep getting more expensive, and people will keep spending on them, Halloween not being an exception. Retailers use all kinds of tricks to push consumers to spend more and more. Don’t believe us? Read this article. However, if you want to break free and not be broke after Halloween, read on.

In this article, we at Saving For Hope wanted to give you some suggestions to help you save some money during our beloved spooky hollow day’s eve.

First, understand that Halloween is a fun day for the entire family, but that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to enjoy it. Celebrants this year are expected to spend over $85.00 each. For a family of 4, that is over $340.00. Click To Tweet Of course, memories for family fun are worth much more, but what if you could save half of that money and still have a pretty fun and memorable Halloween? That is what this post is all about.

Home and yard decorations: If you are that guy in your neighborhood that goes all out on each holiday, consider this: only 50% of people that celebrate Halloween decorate their houses. Decorations will account for almost half of the estimated spending amount. If that is not enough to keep you interested, think about this: an average family of 4 will spend over $160.00 for one day’s decorations. Think about that for a bit. A good way to save on decorations is to be simple, or to decorate only your main door. That can save you more than half of that money.

Chocolate and sugary treats: 70% of people will be handing candy out this year at a price tag of $16.00 per person. Again, for a family of 4, that is $64.00 in just candy!! But giving candy away does not have to break the bank. You could save money by planning ahead and buying in bulk at stores like Costco or Sam’s club. Another tip is to use less chocolate. Hard and sugar candy is less expensive than ones containing chocolate. Websites like Oriental trading sells bulk candy by pieces or by weight really cheap, and if you buy then online some sites have 2 days shipping.

Clothes and costumes: The idea to dress up for Halloween is not limited to kids these days. Adults and even pets get into the trend to dress up and spend money on costumes. According to the National Retail Federation over 3 billion dollars will be spent this year in costumes. 18% of celebrants will dress their pets up! And that number will be increasing in the future, because millennials are more likely to dress their pets up. To save money you can make your own costumes and get great ideas on DIY sites like Pinterest.

With all these tips, we are not saying be a grump and never celebrate anything! But what we hope is that these suggestions will help you and your family save some money this week. On an era when being broke and in debt is the norm, you and your family can choose to be different. Click To Tweet Dave Ramsey said: “being broke is normal, be weird” we agree. You don’t have to fall for the peer pressure to have the best decorations, or the best candy on the block. After a few days people will forget the candy you gave away, but your credit card company will not forget what you spent. Some of these principles apply to most holidays (not just Halloween) and they will keep you on budget without having you to compromise on fun or family time.

Go ahead make those memories but keep your budget and your priorities straight. Those few hundred dollars you save each year will be great when paying for college for your kids in the future, for example.

As always, we hope this article was helpful to you and your family, and we will love to hear back from you! leave us a comment and share with us, if you have a good Halloween savings story! As always, Enjoy!

Leave a Reply