11 Things That Are Scarier Than Halloween

I read a stat yesterday that said Americans will spend $185.50 on average this Halloween.

Not too scary if it’s going towards something cool like Halloween Index Funds or Debt Slaying Parties, but then I saw that $76.05 of it is going straight to candy – whaaaaaa? How many Kit Kats and sugar babies does a person need?? (And why do people keep giving out sugar babies anyways? Ain’t no kid ever wants those!)

Reminded me of a bunch of other things that are pretty scary too… Maybe you agree?

Things that are scarier than Halloween:

  • Credit card debt
  • Spending more than you make
  • CLOWNS!!!
  • Day trading
  • Not being yourself
  • Bankruptcy
  • CLOWNS!!!
  • Clutter
  • Losing your job
  • Not saving 10% or more on your car insurance
  • CLOWNS!!!

Yup, I think that about sums it up…

What I miss? 😂

scary clown gif

UPDATE: Looks like the 2022 spending average is now hovering around $100.45 – not too bad! I guess my post successfully terrified everyone ;) Now if only we can do this with inflation!!

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62 Comments

  1. Kate October 31, 2018 at 5:53 AM

    “Let’s split the cheque!” (when you are teetotal and had only a main, no starter or dessert) LOL!

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 6:43 AM

      Good one!

    2. MW November 4, 2018 at 5:20 PM

      Neither I nor my spouse drink, and never have. I HATE splitting the check in situations like that. I remember one time where I must’ve thrown in ~$40 more that I needed to, only to be told that I was still too low. That was the last time I ever spent any time with that group of people.

  2. [HCF] October 31, 2018 at 5:57 AM

    You miss some more CLOWNS!!! from the list ;)
    Our spending includes $2 spent on a pumpkin and the wifey bought some candy.
    So the final bill is around $10 I guess. Not that bad for a former anti-Halloween-ist, right?
    I wrote about my relationship with this celebration last year (https://www.haltcatchfire.com/who-killed-my-halloween/). I got used to it and even this year I was shocked that some Christian parents went bloody serious about banning this event… in the Kindergarten. Not that we had plans on summoning any demons or witches, just some kids in costumes having an hour of fun and eating some candy. Is it that bad indeed?

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 6:50 AM

      Oh yeah – my wife wasn’t allowed to participate in anything dealing with ghosts or goblins either growing up in a super religious household. She could still go trick-or-treating thank goodness, but def. had to be careful of what she dressed up as :) And to this day it still haunts her and is her least favorite holiday, d’oh.

    2. DLK October 31, 2018 at 5:14 PM

      Oh yeah, the Christian crazies! *eyeroll* I remember another kid telling my 4 yr old once in gymnastics ‘people who celebrate Halloween are going to hell’. Nice. But they have ‘harvest’ parties. Not that they harvest anything, or do anything different than halloween….

      1. Betsy October 31, 2018 at 11:33 PM

        No name calling please. My church’s Christian teens and pre-teens trick or treated for canned goods in costume and collected 2000 cans for local food banks.

        1. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 9:57 AM

          Beautiful!

  3. Your Money Blueprint October 31, 2018 at 6:13 AM

    – No food in the fridge
    – Financial dependence
    – House prices
    – Suze Orman
    – No food in the fridge

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 6:53 AM

      You had me at Suze Orman…. ;)

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 6:54 AM

      Haha, truth..

  4. whiskey October 31, 2018 at 6:38 AM

    Teenagers with new license
    New insurance payment for new teenager driver
    Newly licensed teenager in a clown costume driving on Halloween…

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 6:58 AM

      I think I just passed out.

  5. frugalshay October 31, 2018 at 7:01 AM

    I was the only one collecting sugar babies since I loved them. I can’t eat it now though I would not if I could.

  6. Jacq October 31, 2018 at 7:24 AM

    Driving home last night, my brain saw a shadow move and assumed it was headlights through shrubs, and then I realized it was a deer running across the road! Having had deer related car repairs last year, THAT was scary!
    Stay safe out there!

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:19 PM

      ACK YES!! I’ve been hit by a deer too – not fun!!! (and I specify “hit by” there as this thing came charging for me on the side of my car and hit ME – I did not hit him!! ;))

  7. COD October 31, 2018 at 7:48 AM

    Mimes, even just one.

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:19 PM

      Now those things are okay in my book :)

  8. Stephen @ the FIRE Lane October 31, 2018 at 7:55 AM

    The fear of the alarm not going off when it’s supposed to before an important meeting or an early flight.

    Also spiders.

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:22 PM

      Haha yes – all very much scary.

    2. Danielle Ogilve November 4, 2018 at 8:48 AM

      This is too true! And then being grumpy the next day for not getting decent sleep because you were so worried about your alarm not going off!

  9. Raina October 31, 2018 at 8:45 AM

    Speaking of sugar babies…
    True story: my six year old daughter in the back seat of the car and asks

    “mom, what’s a sugardaddy?”

    Me: (Jaw drops) “Honey, where did you hear that term?(!)”

    Daughter “Ugh, mom, I just want to know what kind of candy it is!”.

    Whew

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:23 PM

      HILARIOUS!!

      That would probably be the first thing I’d think of too out of context like that!

  10. MKC October 31, 2018 at 8:52 AM

    Dating – no thank you!!

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:28 PM

      Awww

  11. Martinus October 31, 2018 at 9:11 AM

    I think you may have forgotten CLOWNS.

  12. Jessy October 31, 2018 at 9:25 AM

    via GIPHY

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:29 PM

      STOP!!!

  13. Jody October 31, 2018 at 9:31 AM

    I spent about $10 on three pumpkins, which is a rip-off but I’ll likely wind up toasting the seeds, so at least I get two uses out of them for that price. Another $10 on candy. I’m generally happy with my Halloween spending compared to the national average, holy catfish what are people thinking?

    Things scarier? I was about 5 seconds away from a close encounter of the skunk kind on Monday night. If my timing going outside had been 5 seconds sooner….yikes.

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:32 PM

      Very cool you toast the pumpkin seeds!! Bringing back memories from my youth!

  14. Joe October 31, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    My son isn’t into Halloween at all. He hates dressing up and doesn’t care for the whole thing.
    So we’re not doing anything. We also don’t get any trick or treaters. Ha! It’s a nonevent for us.

  15. Kyris October 31, 2018 at 10:46 AM

    Spiders and a rattlesnake on the trail when horseback riding. My poor horse HATES those darn rattles! It is truely amazing how fast a 1000 pound animal can turn 180 degrees on a narrow trail! :) Spent about $15 on the big bag of candy at Costco. (We get well over 100 kids each year.) I use 15-20 yr old decorations. LOVE Halloween. I used to dress as a witch and go with my son when he was young. He was trick or treating, I was trick or drinking. LOVE our neighborhood! My hubby stayed home and made the BEST homemade spaghetti with sauce. Now we all three stay home and make the sauce together and admire the costumes that come to the door. (Our son is 22 now.)

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:33 PM

      TRICK OR DRINKING!!! YES PLEASE!!!!

  16. Chris @ Mindful Explorer October 31, 2018 at 11:06 AM

    I totally get halloween and love the fun and the festive nature of it. What I do see that concerns me as environmental concerns continue to cause massive problems for the earth is the waste this time of year. The amount of land, water and energy required to produce those pumpkins that will in turn just get tossed in the garbage (I hope composted or organic collection instead). As well as the massive amount of plastics generated from millions and millions of wrappers and packaging. Yup, I’m a bit of a green guy out here in the PNW but it is my observation.

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:35 PM

      Definitely true with all that candy :( Plus all the costume stuff too that’s usually only worn once in its lifetime… But it’s good we have people like you around to remind us of it!!! We get so sucked into the fun that we’ll forget! (At least I do!)

  17. Janet October 31, 2018 at 11:13 AM

    Stock market drop? Inflation?

    1. J. Money October 31, 2018 at 1:35 PM

      The drop is good!!! More stuf on sale!!! :)

  18. Eric @ Flip n Finances October 31, 2018 at 3:42 PM

    I’m surprised you didn’t put Clowns at all in this post ;) My wife hates them haha.

    Also scary: An exploding rear windshield and not knowing exactly what even caused it (which happened to us 2 weeks ago :)) It’s all good though, no one was in the car!

    I blame it on meteorites.

    1. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 9:58 AM

      Freaky?!

  19. David October 31, 2018 at 4:53 PM

    I know my wife and I fall into this range of “… will spend $185.50 on average this Halloween.” We hand out about 3 bags of candy, ~ $30 every year to kids in the neighborhood. We have 4 kids. Each kid gets a new costume budget of about $25 = $100 there. Older 2 are reusing costumes form last year as they spent $50 for them. We get pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch and make it an afternoon trip and hay ride to get them ~ $30, And wife buys 1 -2 new Halloween decoration for the front of the house ~$15.

    1. Ryan November 1, 2018 at 8:28 AM

      If it makes you feel better, I wouldn’t count the pumpkin patch trip as part of Halloween. That’s more of just a family fun fall activity.

      1. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 10:00 AM

        oh yeah – totally! we easily spend $40 there every year ourselves. Such a fun activity in beautiful weather!

  20. Kris October 31, 2018 at 6:34 PM

    Hey you forgot to add another clown on that list!! Spending $185 for Halloween!? Man that’s a lot, I would think spending $50 would be kind of high.

  21. Robin October 31, 2018 at 6:45 PM

    Spent about $10 on candy. Been in my current neighborhood for three years – have yet to get a trick or treater. Though couple of weeks ago one kid said he came to my house and no one was home. So I bought candy and i’m sitting here waiting for this one kid to come by. Oh yeah I did spend money on materials to make my grand kids costumes.

    1. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 10:01 AM

      DID HE SHOW UP????

      I HAVE TO KNOW!!!! :)

      1. Robin November 2, 2018 at 12:45 PM

        That little joker did not show up. Cornered him at a soccer game last night to ask what happened? He said his parents (blame it on the parents) took him to another neighborhood with more houses. I did get four kids and one adult – yes the mother held out a bag for candy.

        1. J. Money November 2, 2018 at 1:42 PM

          Haha…

          Thanks for allowing me to sleep peacefully now :)

  22. Bryan November 1, 2018 at 6:27 AM

    The President…………………….

    1. Ryan November 1, 2018 at 8:26 AM

      Yaaaaassssss!!!!

    2. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 10:03 AM

      You win!

  23. Ryan November 1, 2018 at 8:26 AM

    You missed: Living Paycheck to Paycheck; Not having an emergency fund and………….CLOWNS!!! :) Happy Halloween.

    p.s. I spent $20 on one huge bag of candy. I had probably $60 in my cart at first then I got my sense together and found a $20 bag and called it done.

    Debt Slaying Party on Halloween, I love that idea!!

    1. J. Money November 1, 2018 at 10:07 AM

      I think we should start it as an annual tradition :)

  24. Melanie November 1, 2018 at 8:54 AM

    Clowns are freaking terrifying! Why is that?? But I’d also add trying to time the market

  25. Revanche @ A Gai Shan Life November 1, 2018 at 4:20 PM

    The politicians driving our country into a fascist hellhole and what I’m imagining last night’s bill is for the one house on the corner that was decked out top to bottom and were handing out candy, hot drinks, and WINE AND BEER ALL NIGHT.

    1. J. Money November 2, 2018 at 12:04 PM

      This comment was getting pretty depressing up until that last half of the sentence ;)

  26. Sandy November 1, 2018 at 11:11 PM

    – People sleep walking through life.
    – Expired license plates on luxury cars, (More sad than scary I guess).
    – News in general.
    – Frenemies. Scary that there is a word dedicated to these kind of people.
    As far as Halloween goes, I live in a high rise so no one comes trick or treating. My neighbor on my floor is a 92 year old sweet little lady and neither of us knocks on the other person’s door for candy once a year. :)))
    Loved “Not being yourself” item on your list. It is exhausting and scary at the same time.

    1. J. Money November 2, 2018 at 12:05 PM

      100% on sleep walking through life.

      It can pass you by so fast if you’re not paying attention!

  27. Debbie November 2, 2018 at 7:15 AM

    Being 63 years old with NO retirement savings living paycheck to paycheck (family friend). Says he’ll work till he dies or can’t stand up anymore. *PS ALL retirement savings contribution limits are being increased in 2019 due to inflation! So check out the new increased limits for SEP, 529, IRA’s, 401K, etc, etc.
    We spent $5 on 2 huge pumpkins. Will toast the seeds. Spent $6.50 on 3 bags of candy (on sale plus used coupons). Only had 11 kids. Too much leftover candy!
    PPS did you see Mr. Money Moustache did a segment on PBS last week? Nice to put a face to a name. He mentioned how costly it is to own a car & he bikes everywhere. Not sure if that means he & his wife don’t own even one car?

    1. J. Money November 2, 2018 at 12:07 PM

      Yes – it was an excellent clip!

      And yes – they own a car too, he just prefers to bike as often as possible :) Although without a helmet apparently, and when people called him out on it he got pretty defensive. Guess safety isn’t as cool as FIRE.

  28. Jen November 6, 2018 at 9:29 AM

    I spent about $120 on candy, pumpkins, costumes and a fall wreath. Money well spent. I hope as a parent I have given my child wonderful memories the way my parents gave me. How much is that worth? My heart literally skips a beat when I see the beautiful foliage and homes with pumpkins on the front stoops with fall wreathes and cornstalk decorations. I remember the weekend trip of apple picking and choosing my pumpkin from a local farm. The apple cider and apple cider donuts completed the day. The apple pies we baked from the fresh apples were amazing. I remember trick or treating with the neighborhood kids and my pillowcase stuffed with candy. The chilled air, the leaves crackling underfoot, the pumpkins, the excitement etc. Sometimes living a little and spending some money is so worth it. I got my $120 worth. If my daughter is left with good childhood memories than my return on investment was priceless.

    1. J. Money November 6, 2018 at 9:53 AM

      AGREED!! 100%!!! You are making me so warm and cozy over here! Haha…