Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

5 Ways to Have a Frugal Halloween

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While the marketers would like us to think that Halloween should cost a fortune, it doesn’t have to.  On average, Americans in 2013 planned to spend $75.03 on Halloween candy and costumes.  (My guess is those with more than two children will spend significantly more than this, especially if they choose to buy costumes.)

If you use some creativity and resourcefulness, you and your kids can have a fun Halloween without spending a fortune.  Here’s a way to have a ghoulish Halloween without frightening your wallet.

Save Serious Money on Costumes

5 Ways to have a frugal halloween

If you have the cash to spend, you can certainly find costumes at a discount by visiting second hand stores or perusing Craigslist.  However, if you don’t have the money to spend or you simply choose not to, there are still plenty of adorable costumes for your kids:

Use costumes you have around the house.

If you have dress up clothes, those are fair game for a Halloween costume.  Another idea is to use your child’s clothing from extracurricular activities.  Does your son have a little league uniform?  Great, he can be a baseball player.  Does your daughter take dance classes?  She can be a ballerina.  Does your child have a pair of skeleton pajamas?  They could easily double for her Halloween costume.

Marketers want us to think that a child should be able to pick any costume he or she would like for Halloween.  However, you can limit this to whatever type of costume the child can find around the house.

Create your own costume.

With a little creativity (and maybe some face paint), you can likely find a good costume with things you already have around the house.  An old white sheet makes for a great ghost costume and your child’s clothes along with face paint can help create an adorable hobo.  With the help of Pinterest, you’ll find plenty of costume ideas you can make at little to no cost using items around the house.

Have a costume swap.

If you have old costumes that the kids have outgrown or no longer want, why not get together a few of your friends and have a costume swap.  You may leave with a new-to-him costume for your child, and you will have decluttered your home of a few costumes you’ll never use again in the process.

Save on Candy

Reuse candy.

Now, before you get upset with the wording “reuse candy” hear me out.  Buy a bag or two of candy to give to the trick or treaters.   If you have young children, take them early in the night.  When you get home, go through the candy that your kids don’t like.  (As a kid, I hated any candy bars that had nuts in them.)  This candy will likely go in your own mouth if the kids won’t eat it.  Instead, put it in your candy bowl and give it to the trick or treaters at your door.

Turn off the light when the candy is out.

I know some people who live in subdivisions popular with trick or treaters.  These people will buy five, six, seven bags of candy.  That adds up fast!  Instead, buy whatever amount of candy your budget allows.  When you run out, turn off the outside light, turn off the lights in the front of the house, and go settle in to watch a movie or read a good book in the back of the house.  Don’t feel pressured to buy more candy than you comfortably can financially.

What are your favorite tricks to save on Halloween?

Have a Holiday Spending Plan: Don’t Dread January

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Its beginning to feel a lot like christmasHoliday shopping is in full swing now, and you may be feeling the financial pressure.  Shane recently quit his job and is working on a tight holiday budget.  My husband and I are in the midst of being gazelle intense, so we don’t have much extra money for gifts.  Yet even though we don’t have much money to spend this holiday season, I feel great about what we are giving because we are not overspending.  We can truly afford what we are giving.  Instead of overspending, we are empowering ourselves by spending exactly what we are able to spend.  Follow these tips to rein in your holiday purchases this season:

-Freeze the credit cards.

Literally.  Put them in water and freeze them.  Better yet, put them in peanut butter as we did.  Vow not to use your credit cards this month.  There is nothing worse than opening your credit card statement and staring at the large number you now owe.  The presents have been opened, the holiday is over, but you still owe for the holidays.  If, instead, you put the credit cards away, you have nothing to dread come January.

-Set a budget and fund it with cash.

Determine exactly how much you have to spend and withdraw that money from your bank account.  Pay for every purchase with cash.  Feel the pain as you part from the cash.  Acknowledge what you are spending, and feel empowered that you are sticking to your budget.
If you want to shop online, get a debit card.  Just avoid using credit cards.

-Shop the bargains

There will be plenty of deals to come this holiday season.  Stay focused on the deals and only buy items you can get on sale.  Take advantage of buy one get one free sales such as buy one toy of a certain brand, get the second toy from the same brand free.

-Buy sets

For children, especially young children, buy toys that come in sets such as a baby doll with a stroller and a high chair.  Take those out of the package and break them into three different presents for the price you paid for the bundled gift.

-Look in unconventional locations

My children get presents from Santa and from me and my husband.  Since they were little, the toys that get from us are often gently used.  I shop garage sales throughout the summer and hide gifts away.  This year my three year old will get a new in the box baby doll that I picked up at a garage sale for $3.  My son will get a wooden box with five different games in it that I found at a garage sale for $5.

Obviously you may not have time to go to (or even find) garage sales now, but you can shop children’s resale stores for quality toys at a steep discount.

They say ‘tis better to give than to receive, and that is true more so when what you give is what you can afford.  Why not enjoy watching your family open their presents this Christmas without worrying where the money will come to pay for everything in January.  It is possible.  Beating Broke and I are both proof of that.

photo credit: aussiegall