3 Common Halloween Buys That Break Your Budget
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Every spooky season, you do the Time Warp again — and not just on stage at your local “Rocky Horror Picture Show” revival. Your credit card statements are full of more tricks than treats because you’ve overspent on Halloween goodies yet again. It’s a seasonal habit that’s far less fun than your yearly horror movie marathon. How do you fix it?
Understanding where you’re likely to overindulge is a huge part of taking the scares out of your finances and putting them back where they belong. To help you make savvier choices this season, GOBankingRates peeked into the witches’ cauldron and found the three most common areas where you’re breaking your budget.
Giant Outdoor Decor
Is an animatronic dragon that stands 8 feet tall, moves its mouth and roars a very cool addition to your front lawn this Halloween? Yeah, it likely is. Is it a smart financial decision? No, it’s definitely not — not when getting one of these animatronic dragons would set you back nearly $400. That’s right, $400 — at Home Depot.
You’d be far better off putting that money into your emergency fund or investing it than using it on giant decor that scares the neighborhood kids.
Let’s be honest: These Halloween-themed animatronics and outdoor decorations are usually wildly expensive — especially since you can only use them once a year. Just look at some of the options from Home Depot alone:
- 9.5-ft. Gruesome Grounds Giant-Sized LED Arachnophobia Spider: $349
- 7-ft. Dead Water LED Megalodon Shark: $349
- 8-ft. Gruesome Grounds Giant-Sized Animated LED Tumble the Troll: $249
- 5.5-ft. Grave & Bones LED Gargoyle: $99
When the cheaper options are still nearly $100, it’s time to stop spending your hard-earned money on decor. If you want to see it in person, visit your local Home Depot instead. Looking is free.
Costumes
You’ve never been someone who can toss on a witch hat or pop in a set of vampire fangs and call it a day. You’re on a mission to win every costume contest with the boldest look. And you’ve probably paid a lot for that look.
While some Halloween costumes are relatively inexpensive, there are plenty of outlets where fans can splurge on costumes that may look incredible — but that comes at a high price. Take the Adult Authentic Optimus Prime get-up on HalloweenCostumes.com, which retails for $499.99.
Want to be a Xenomorph this Halloween? That could set you back $129.99. Even a simple Ghostbusters jumpsuit for women costs $79.99. Going to a specialty store or a theatrical costuming shop isn’t worth the investment — not for one night of use.
Remember, Halloween is your favorite holiday because it’s fun. Get creative with your costume and make your own with items from a thrift store. You can also recycle old costumes with new ideas. What if you paired your old cheerleader or football player costume with a cheap wooden stake and became a teenage vampire hunter?
Candy
You want to be the house known for having great candy. It’s a point of pride. You’re hardly alone — in 2024, S&P Global estimated that Americans would spend a record $4.1 billion on Halloween candy, or roughly double what they spent just a decade ago.
Before you take that as license to stock up on full-size candy bars instead of the $10 bag from the dollar store, consider this: S&P estimated that the $4.1 billion total averaged out to about $30.89 per household. That’s a reasonable amount to spend on candy — if you live in a busy neighborhood. If your block is less crowded, scale back on how much you purchase.
And if Halloween candy is going to take a big vampire bite out of your grocery budget, there’s no shame in turning off the porch light this year.
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