Don’t let candy scare your Halloween budget!

It’s one of those expenses that can creep up on you (pun intended). Halloween, while not a gift-giving holiday, involves a lot of extra spending on things like Halloween treats and candy, much of which you’ve likely not budgeted for.

Wait it out

There are a number of good reasons to wait until very close to Halloween to buy your candy. Firstly, stores tend to discount the closer you get to the date to unload unsold stock. Don’t forget Christmas décor and the like will be filling the shelves mere hours after you turn your porch light out on Halloween, and shelf space is at a premium.

Secondly, if it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it before you hand it out, and have to restock.  Oh, how many times has my family made this particular mistake- even when I’ve very cleverly hidden the boxes (from my husband and my children).

Have no Candy Allegiance

You tend to gravitate towards the candy that you prefer yourself. Don’t. Again- there will be less temptation for you to consume it all before the night.

You should select your candy based on price. Go for what’s cheapest or what’s on sale.

Be Restrained

There is no need to give each kid that comes to your door an enormous handful of candy. Chances are, they are bringing home a huge stash, much of which ends up in the garbage after a while.

You can give out less (it is ok!) and spend less too.

Couponing

Use your same principles for candy shopping that you do for other groceries. That is, get out the flyers and scrounge the internet, and get yourself some coupons.

Use price match where you can too for deeper savings.

Get out the Calculator

How many kids came to your door last year, roughly? Figure out literally how many pieces of candy you might need and do some calculations. Don’t overbuy.

Look for Alternatives

Who says you have to give out candy? Hit the dollar store for small toys (think stuff for loot bags, which is usually cheap and comes in large amounts). Fast food restaurants sell small denomination gift certificates which are good too.