Halloween can be an expensive holiday, with projected average spending of $82 per shopper, up 12% from last year. A little creativity and Strategic Shopping using Coupon Mom’s savings tips will help keep the fun in Halloween without breaking the bank.
Stephanie Nelson
The Coupon Mom
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend an average $82.93 per shopper as compared to $74.34 last year, a 12% increase. In total, Americans will spend $8.4 billion dollars with the majority of the spending going to costumes, candy and greeting cards. However, using proven savings tips from Stephanie Nelson, the Coupon Mom, parents can make sure everyone has a fun Halloween at a fraction of the average spending. Use her Five Ways to Save this Halloween to avoid scary bills later!
1. Costumes: Instead of buying full-priced costumes at a party store, shoppers can challenge their creativity and get simple costume ideas from Google, Facebook or Pinterest. Thrift stores are a great source of costume ideas. Parents can make it fun for the kids to come up with inexpensive costume ideas by rewarding them with a few dollars if they come up with free or inexpensive costume alternatives, saving the cost of the $35 party store costume. Parents will be teaching a valuable lesson at the same time as saving money.
2. Candy: Take advantage of national stores’ sales on Halloween candy, and stack their sales with store and newspaper coupons. Many of the major drugstore chains like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid will also have automatic rebates on Halloween candy, making it possible to save 70% or more on name brand candy that trick-or-treaters love. Find the best candy deals from the store deals lists at http://www.CouponMom.com.
3. Halloween Greeting Cards: Save the $3 to $5 per card by making a homemade version or shop the two for $1 card section at the dollar store or discount stores like Walmart.
4. Pumpkins: Shoppers should buy pumpkins on Halloween Day when the pumpkin sellers are willing to drop their prices to clear out their inventory.
5. Halloween Decor and candy bags: Head to the dollar store and get great Halloween decorations at a fraction of the cost of the big party store. Save the expense of Halloween candy bags or buckets and use a pillowcase which is more durable and less likely to tear.
Stephanie Nelson is the Coupon Mom. Her web site, http://www.CouponMom.com, has 7 million members, and she is established as the nation’s top expert in couponing across the country. Stephanie has been on every major national television talk show and taught millions how to save money for the past 12 years. She has been called ‘”the rock star of the recession” by the Washington Post and her book, The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half, is a New York Times best seller.
