There are crunchy orange leaves on the ground and the air is cold. That can only mean one thing. It’s spooky season! When visiting the shops, it can be difficult to hold yourself back from buying all the Halloween décor. This article will cover exactly how you can budget this October and not overspend.
DIY Costumes
Buying a Halloween costume which you’ll probably only wear once can seem a little pointless. Why not make your own?
Begin by looking in your wardrobe. Search for old clothes that you don’t wear anymore. Alternatively, you can explore some charity shops where the clothes are usually cheap. Next, get some ideas together! Think about what you can do with these clothes to put together a costume.
Remember, for Halloween, you don’t always need to dress scary. Having this in mind will broaden your options. If you have cotton balls lying about, you could glue them to a black shirt and dress as a sheep. You could simply dress in dark clothes with a hat, have a magnifying glass in your hand, and say you’re a detective. You don’t have to be an extremely creative person to put something together.
Affordable Decorations
There are plenty of affordable decorations out there. When shopping for these, set yourself a budget before heading out. This way, you won’t spend more than you need to.
If you have the right materials, you could make some decorations yourself. It’s simple to make Halloween garlands. You can do this with string and printed images from the internet. If you have a cardboard box, you can cut it up into strips. You can then write ‘keep out’ or ‘this place is haunted’ across them. These can be stuck to your front door or put around the house.
How to Host a Halloween Party on a Budget
Put together a list of everything which is needed for your party. Write next to each item how much you’re willing to spend when buying it. This will help you avoid overspending. Try to stick to your budgets closely.
Low-Cost Halloween Drinks and Snacks
Ask people to bring their favourite Halloween dish to your party. This way, it creates a fun twist for the party. It also saves you time and money.
Another way to budget is to split the cost of food and drink with your housemates. If you’re making party food, put sandwiches on the table too. A loaf of bread doesn’t cost much, and you can do so much with it.
Another alternative is ordering a takeaway and splitting the cost between you. You may be able to apply a student discount to this as well.
Affordable Activities
Games like ‘truth or dare’ and ‘never have I ever’ don’t cost any money. They can also go a long way in creating memories and providing a good evening. Sometimes however, it’s nice to show your guests that you put some effort in and have something to show. When in your local supermarket, go to the party section and you might find some cheap games. This could be a pack of cards or a drinking game. Charity shops are a good place to look too. You might find a board game, like monopoly or snakes and ladders, for a low cost.
Group Costumes
When planning to create your own Halloween costume, ask your friends to do the same. Deciding on a group costume plan will help you all save money. It also allows you brainstorm ideas together too. Team effort means you could use someone else’s old clothes, or someone may have some spare materials at hand.
Shop Early
Don’t leave your Halloween shopping to the last minute. The selection of items won’t be as good. It’s ideal to start shopping early. This way, you can find the best deals. When creating your own costume and decorations, you should start as soon as possible. This gives you time to get everything together and made in time.
Save Money with The Student Energy Group
At The Student Energy Group, we’re committed to helping you save money. We’ll combine all your bills like electric, water and gas and put them into one monthly student bills package. This can then be split between you and your housemates. Signing up with us means we’ll plant a tree as well! Get a free quote from us today – it’ll take you less than two minutes.
