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Tuesday’s Tip: Spooky Savings

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Ah, yes. ‘Tis the season for scaring . . . and morphing into a gnarled, screaming, growling, lunatic of a monster after paying what you just paid for your kids’ Halloween costumes!

But fear not, my spooked friend. Halloween doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. (That’s just gross.) Think of it as a chance to stretch your creative muscles. And if you feel you don’t have any of those, here are some tips to (hopefully) return you back to your calm, beautiful self so you don’t look like you just stuck your finger in an electrical socket.

1: If you were blessed with creative genes, then you might want to try your hand at making the costume. I made Belle’s gown (Beauty and the Beast) for my daughter one year and she ended up using it to play dress-up with her friends for the next few years. Yes, it took time. Yes, it took some work. For me, it was worth it because she got a lot of use out of it and loved every minute of it.

2: Recycle old costumes. If you have kids of different ages, save costumes for use in the future. The younger kids may really love what the older ones have grown out of or no longer enjoy.

3: Arrange a costume trade with family or friends. Kids always seem to be fascinated with everyone else’s stuff, so why not suggest a costume circle? Get the whole gang together, display all the costumes everyone has saved, and let the kids have fun trying on different looks.

4: Use what you already have and put a different spin on it. My mom made Musketeers capes for my boys once, and this year one of them will be put to use as a magician’s cape instead. He has dress pants, a shirt, shoes, and a magical fantasy wand – all I really need to buy are some white gloves and a top hat and he’s good to go. (Lots of places sell accessories separate from the costumes so you’re not trapped into buying it all.)

5: Go Resale. Not all resale shops sell costumes, but ones that do offer them at greatly reduced prices. If you have old costumes you know you’ll never need again, bring them in and you may get a discount on something you buy. Just be sure to ask what the store’s policy is on trade-ins.

So, before you get scared pants-less as you cough up tons of cash at the register, try one (or more) of these money-saving tricks so you can enjoy the holiday treats. And above all, try to remember what Halloween is all about – shrieking kids and mummy’s hands, blood soaked fangs and fairy’s wings, witches’ cackles and sugar highs . . . sheesh! I just gave myself goosebumps . . .

Tuesday’s Tip: BYOL

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Bring Your Own Lunch! It only takes a few minutes to throw a lunch together and you can make it hearty and healthy so it fills you up for the rest of your day. If you’re short on time in the morning, try making it in the evening. Hubby will sometimes make his lunch for the next day as we’re cleaning up from dinner. He packs the leftovers, then puts it in the fridge. Done.

You may also want to consider buying a “lunch system”. I’ve seen them sold as a whole system, but you can put your own together based on what you like to eat and what kind of food containers you may already have in your cabinet. (You know, the booby-trapped one where all your plastic ware falls out when you open the door.) A lunch system consists of a thermal lunchbox or tote, a small bottle for a drink, a plastic sandwich container, and one or two other plastic containers for snacks and fruit. I even send my kids to school with a lunch system and just wash it – including the plastic spoons. I bought an all-in-one salad system that has a covered bowl complete with a snap-in dressing container and a snap-on fork. Pretty nifty for $2.50.

While you may spend a little money up front by buying some of these things (unless, of course, you have these things already!), you’ll be saving money in the long run because you won’t constantly be buying paper or plastic bags that you throw away every day. You can just wash and reuse your system. And with no daily waste, you’ll be helping the environment, too! You’ll also save money by not paying for take-out one, two, or (EEK!) five days a week. Even if you buy the cheapest things on the menu, you’ll be paying at least a few bucks, and over the course of a year, you’re spending $250, $500, $750 or more! Go to a sit-down place, and you could spend twice that much! Yikes!

So, before you order from another menu, grab a calculator. Estimate how many times per week you eat out and how much you spend on lunch. Then multiply that number by, say, 48 to 50 (depending on how many weeks of vacation you get) and see what your take-out number is. Once you’re over the shock, ask yourself, “What else could I be doing with that (fill in the number here)?”

Tuesday’s Tip: Fresh (Air) Idea

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Personally, I love fresh air. I love being outside. But if I can’t be outside, I at least want a taste of it, so I open the windows as often as I can. If it’s not too incredibly hot or cold, or you don’t suffer too badly from outdoor allergies, turn off the air and give it a try. It not only saves money on the cost of electricity to run the air conditioning, but it moves the air through the house, getting rid of the stagnant air that’s trapped (and recycled!) inside.

May I also suggest using a ceiling fan or oscillating fan to circulate the air. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed to keep things (and people!) cool. We installed ceiling fans in the spring and we’ve saved about $40 to $50 per month on our electricity bill over last summer – even with the terribly hot temperatures we’ve had! Not too shabby! 😉