Halloween is right around the corner. While the stores seem to like to skip Halloween and Thanksgiving and shoot right to Christmas (in September!), the majority of us like to embrace each holiday as it comes.
Halloween is one of those holidays that is fun for both kids and adults. However, it can also be an expensive holiday, if you’re not careful. Kids’ costumes alone can run upwards of $50. Here are some ways you can enjoy the holiday and get a little Halloween spirit for less:
Costumes
Costumes don’t have to cost a fortune. Using these tactics, you can get what you need for less than a Benjamin (or a Ulysses, as the case may be).
1. Shop resale stores.
National chains like Once Upon a Child or Goodwill have plenty of costumes for $10 or less. At our local Once Upon a Child, costumes were about $6.50 each. That beats paying $25 or more.
2. Put out the word.
Let your friends and family know you’re looking for a costume. When my son was 18 months old, we borrowed an adorable, homemade Robin Hood costume. We paid nothing, and my son received many compliments while trick or treating.
3. Check Craigslist.
Many parents also listed outgrown costumes on Craigslist. Remember, you’re free to negotiate on Craigslist, so you may be able to haggle for a lower price.
4. Make your own.
Pinterest is filled with adorable costumes for both those who sew and those who don’t. You might be able to make a costume from items you have around the house or that you can buy cheaply. Don’t forget that items can do double duty. If your son has a fireman raincoat, there’s no reason that can’t be a costume. Does your child have skeleton pajamas? Great, there’s a costume. Does your daughter take ballet? Her recital costume or her dance leotard and tutu can be her costume.
How to Decorate on a Budget
Part of the fun of Halloween is not only dressing up the kids, but dressing up your home. If you go all out, decorating your home can be pricey, but it doesn’t have to be. Try these tips.
1. Buy on clearance.
As soon as Halloween is over, go to the stores. You’ll find Halloween decor on sale for 50 to 80% off. Now is the time to buy decorations for next year. The same is true for next year’s Halloween costumes.
2. Pinterest to the rescue again.
Pinterest (Beating Broke on Pinterest) has tons of low cost decor suggestions. I saw a cute pumpkin decoration for a table top that used old canning jar bands. If you have those around, your decoration is free. You can also have the kids create Halloween themed crafts and decorate the house that way.
Halloween is a fabulous holiday for kids and adults. Decorating and dressing up can be so much fun, but it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. By using these techniques and taking advantage of the many frugal crafts and ideas on the web, you can have a great Halloween while keeping your hard earned money where it belongs, in your wallet.
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
I never watched The King of Queens during its primetime run, but I have watched it quite a bit on reruns. My favorite episodes are those that are about money. Since Doug and Carrie make a fairly decent living (as a delivery driver and a legal secretary, respectively), but have wants a lot bigger than their wallets, money (and how to find more) seems to be a recurring theme.
The main financial issue with the couple, especially Doug, is that he can’t rein in his inner child. Let’s call it the Heffernan principle.
1. He sees what others have and wants it too.
In the most recent episode I watched, Carrie’s father, Arthur, who lives in their basement, won $2,500 at bingo. Doug decides the money should be theirs since they help support Arthur. Even though they need a new refrigerator, he wants the money to buy new golf clubs. Once he manages to get the money from Arthur, he’s not satisfied and wants more new clubs to complement the ones he just purchased.
2. He blames others for his mistakes.
In one funny episode, Doug and his friend, Deacon, are following in a car behind their wives in another car. Deacon mentions that they’re passing a strip club that sometimes leaves the door open and that he likes to peek and see if he can see anything. Of course, Doug can’t resist, so he takes his eyes off the road and promptly crashes into the car the wives are driving in. Doug has to pay for the repairs to Deacon’s car, but he doesn’t want to because he claims Deacon really caused the accident even though Doug was driving.
3. He’s envious of others who work hard and save for their goals.
In another episode, Deacon and his wife, Kelly, invite Doug and Carrie up to their new vacation home–a cabin. Doug and Carrie are immediately envious and determine that the reason why Deacon and Kelly could afford such a nice home is because when the couples go out together, Doug and Carrie pay for everything. Of course, this is not true, but they just can’t accept that another couple making about the same wage as them could save their money and buy something substantial. For Doug and Carrie, money leaks out of their hands far too easily to save for such a large purchase.
The King of Queens is a humorous show about a couple trying to live their lives in Queens, New York while living with her father (who’s also broke, by the way). Like many couples, they struggle with money, but a main reason for that is because Doug can’t rein in his inner child.
While Carrie is well-intentioned and more mature in this aspect, she inevitably is persuaded by Doug and follows along with his train of thought and his antics.
Sure, as the audience, we have fun laughing at Doug and his misguided thoughts and actions, but have you ever thought if you, too, are like Doug Heffernan deep down? Have you silenced your inner child when it comes to money, or are you still struggling as Doug is?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
The other day, as my daughter was on her way to the car when I picked her up from daycare. Along the way, she noticed something on the ground. In the excited voice of a 4 year old, she said “Daddy! Look! A rainbow!”, and then pointed at the spot on the ground she was looking at. As I got closer, I found that she was looking at a spot on the wet ground where some sort of oily fluid had likely leaked out of the bottom of a vehicle. Of course, oily fluids, on wet ground tend to separate out into what you and I would probably best describe as an oil slick. But, to my 4 year old, it was a rainbow on the ground. As we drove off to pick up her brother at school, I began thinking about what had just happened.
The thoughts were amplified when she noticed another “rainbow” on the ground on the way into the school. On our way back out of the school, with her brother, she excitedly called her brother over to show him what she had found. My son is 6 (nearly 7), and so has a slightly more advanced knowledge of the world than his sister. I fully expected, in the way that only a brother who doesn’t understand a 4 year old is likely to do, that he would quickly dismiss it for what it was, an oil slick on wet ground, and that her excitement would quickly dissipate. Instead, as she pulled him over and pointed it out, saying “Look!”, he quickly said “A rainbow!”. He saw it too.
As parents, we’re always so excited to teach our children new things. We’re often quick to correct them when they don’t get something right, or don’t understand it. They saw a rainbow. I didn’t. All I saw was an oil slick. Obviously, I saw the resemblance. But, I knew what it really was, so the wonder that my children had for it was lost on me. But, it kept me thinking.
How often do we take what we know, and use it as a filter for the world. Surely, that’s what knowledge is for, right? I know that 1+1=2, and that certain letters spell words, and that drops of oil on wet ground make a oil slick. Yes, it’s colorful, but it’s an oil slick, not a rainbow. How many times do we become so certain in our knowledge, and the filtering that we use it for, that we fail to see the rainbow?
How many people out there are so set in the knowledge that a bank is the lender, and use that to filter the idea of peer-to-peer lending as a sham, without allowing for a little of the rainbow to shine through?
The point is this: If you never question what you think you know, how will you ever know if you’re wrong? Sometimes the formula and constants change. Sometimes, the environment itself is what has changed. Heck, look at the newspaper industry. How long did they refuse to see the emergence of blogs (like this one) as a major change in the dynamic of how people get their news? Some of them still refuse to see that rainbow.
If you do one thing to improve your personal finance today, question what you think you know. Most of the time, you’ll still be right. But, maybe, just maybe, you’ll see a rainbow instead.
What are some rainbows that you’ve found by questioning what you thought was true? What methods do you use to find the rainbows in your life?
I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.
