The Economy of Halloween
Don’t fool yourself. Halloween is big business. As a continent, we spend billions of dollars in the fright department. As predicted by the National Retail Federation, our neighbors to the south (Americans) will be spending $6.86 billion on Halloween this year. That’s the 10th ranked most expensive holiday, averaging out about $72.31 on treats, tricks, costumes and parties.
Halloween expenses have jumped up about 8% since 2008, so the spooky spending is definitely on the rise.
Rather than try to find quick savings on Halloween this year, especially if you’re a big fan of the occasion, why not just look for the best way to spend your $72.31? If you get the value out of spending $65 on a costume and the other $7.31 on candy corn, go for it!
Sometimes it’s just best to accept the costs and have fun with it – there’s no sense feeling bad about the money you spend on fun occasions. So embrace the purchases and have a fun (safe) Halloween.
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Halloween economics for kids (and parents/chaperones)
Something I learned when I was technically too old to trick or treat (but was taking advantage of my “too youthful” face) is that Halloween is just like work – you want to minimize effort and maximize results. Here is where population density plays in your favour.
Focus your energy on neighbourhoods that:
- have many homes in a small area (think townhouses)
- have younger families – they’re still in to Halloween and probably won’t give you raisins
- are well lit and populated (less likely to encounter fireworks or creeps – safety first!)
What special tricks have you picked up for treating?