SAVING CENTSABLY: Saving money when things get spooky
Stop the presses! Halloween is just three days away! Have you suddenly found yourself unprepared for this weekend's events and festivities?
Whether your church holds a Trunk-or-Treat, your neighborhood allows trick-or-treating, or your community holds a Fall Festival, the chances are good that you'll need some sort of costume and some type of contribution.
Candy-wise, I believe the best place to get the goods is Sam's! I've written columns previously in which I encourage you to know the unit cost of whatever items you are purchasing. There is no difference when it comes to candy.
Whether you have $10 or $100 to spend on sweets for this weekend, be sure you are getting the best price per piece.
Given that the weekend is just 72 hours away, you probably won't want to chance ordering candy online, but instead will want to head to the store.
Wal-Mart has reasonably priced candy, and of course Dollar Tree will allow you to purchase pre-wrapped candy for $1 per package. I find Target and most grocery stores to be a little over-priced when it comes to candy. This year, our family took advantage of that Sam's membership we purchased back in May and we did our candy shopping there.
We only spent about .07 cents per piece of candy. We were able to score 450 pieces of candy for less than $30. This candy was some of the good chocolate varieties that everyone is always angling for at a Fall Festival. I believe if you tried, you could score hard candies for even less per piece than what we spent on the chocolate candy.
When it comes to costumes, simple is best -- even on a time crunch and tight budget. Consider the Peanuts characters, since there's a new movie coming out about the characters. Characters from this comic series wear the easiest little costumes that you can make quickly and with little cost.
Why? Because these characters simply wear everyday clothing!
Take Charlie Brown, for example. If you'll grab a yellow T-shirt at a department store, color a black zig zag on it, and put your family member in that with a pair of pants, you have a costume! If you want to get the whole family involved quickly and inexpensively, consider Linus. He wears a red shirt with pants and carries around a baby blanket. Easy enough, right?
Pig Pen, one of Charlie Brown's friends, wears a brown outfit. Brown pants and brown shirt with brown shoes and a grimy face can make the outfit quickly and easily. Honestly, a quick Google search for the Peanuts characters' costumes will give you all the ideas you need to make a whole family costume without a lot of expense.
If Peanuts isn't the way you want to go, take a step back and examine your child's closet. Do they have dress-up clothing? Do they have sporting gear? Do they have a uniform for cheering or for football that is just collecting dust? Turn these into a costume.
It's for just one night -- and truthfully, sometimes simple is the best way to go! Have fun and be safe!
Contact writer Rachael Mercer at savingcentsably@gmail.com.
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 10:10 PM with the headline "SAVING CENTSABLY: Saving money when things get spooky ."