 |
Halloween spending doesn't have to be scary
 |
The Toronto Star-By Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew
We make the best of what we’ve got at Halloween – it helps us not break the bank.
Since we live in a condo, there’s not much to decorate and no candy to buy. (Door-to-door trick-or-treating is not allowed, but we buy a couple of bags for the festivities in the party room downstairs.)
I don’t mind buying costumes from the store. The children love wearing them over and over again, so it feels like money well spent. We have a pretty good costume collection: a couple of princess costumes, ghost, caterpillar – I’ll get them out of the closet, clean them and make any little repairs in the next week or so they’re ready to go.
The girls are often happy to put on a costume from a previous year, and we’ll take them trick-or-treating in a neighbourhood nearby. My kids are still little, and big costumes are often too big an ordeal. Last year, my four-year-old just wanted to carry a purple magic wand and my little one wore a princess crown.
In 2009, Money.ca reported that Halloween is a $1.5 billion holiday in Canada, and the fourth busiest shopping event of the year.
Each year, families spent an average of $90 on candy, costumes, and a trip to the pumpkin patch.
"It is easy to take your children to the closest retailer to choose their Halloween costume but it’s paying the bill at the end that may be scary," said Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director, Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc. "Use this Halloween as an opportunity to teach your children good money management skills by giving them a budget to create a fun experience at your home."
Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc. a national non-profit credit counselling organization that teaches consumers about personal finance, has a few tips to help you save money this Halloween:
•ask the children what they want the house to look like this year: haunted house? Graveyard? Spooky spiders?
•Figure out what you need to bring these ideas to life
•Encourage them to find what they need around the house – everyday items such as garbage bags and newspapers can go a long way.
•Try a costume swap with neighbours and friends or encourage the kids to make their own costumes. There are dozens of websites that can help with ideas.
Also read:
398 page views
|
|
|
|