6 Tips to Save on Halloween Candy

When the last days of Summer fade to Autumn, it’s time to start stocking up on candy for Halloween. Americans spend over $2 billion each year on candy for the spooky-themed holiday, so it’s understandable if your wallet starts to quiver in fear every time October rolls around. However, you don’t have to spend your life savings on candy to avoid the neighborhood children taking disappointment out on your home. Keep your pocket and your neighbors happy with these 6 tips to save money on Halloween candy.

1. Buy in Multiples

Almost every candy manufacturer and supermarket provide incentives to buy more of candy. Many stores offer discounts for multiple purchases, like 2 for $5, or buy 1 get 1 free. Then there’s stores like CostCo, where you can find larger sized bags of candy for the same, or even lower, prices. That way you aren’t left opening hundreds of tiny candy bags on All Hallows Eve.

2. Fun Size Vs. Full Size

Everyone wants to be the cool house that gives out the full-size candy bars, but it’s hard to pass up the lower cost of fun-sized bars. You might be surprised to learn full-sized bars can be equally affordable when you keep an eye out for sales, or use coupons to buy a handful at a time. If you’re lucky, you might be able to use a coupon to buy chocolate bars already on sale. With the right tools, you’ll pay as low as quarter per bar and be on your way to ‘best house on the street’ status.

3. Check Out Sales and Coupons

There’s always candy on sale if you look hard enough. Instead of throwing those catalogues straight in the trash and deleting junk mail from your inbox, scan or scroll through those pages to see if there’s any candy deals.

Yes, retail stores want to rake in the bucks for Halloween, but they still have to beat their competition, and sales are a tried and true method of doing just that. You can even purchase different items from different stores for more variety in your Halloween pumpkin.

4. Be Patient

When Halloween candy starts to appear on the shelves, it’s tempting to jump on it before the best items sell out. But this is the most expensive time to buy. I know you’re excited for those fun size candy bars and candy-corn mixtures, but be patient if you want to save money.

Stores will be desperate to get rid of excess candy just before Halloween as they don’t want to have leftover inventory. That’s when the best sales can be found. Another benefit to waiting to buy is your waistline. The longer candy sits around your house, the more likely you are to eat it yourself.

5. Don’t Buy All Chocolate

Chocolate may be the favorite snack of the average trick-or-treater, but you’ll spend more money if you only buy chocolate. Hard candy will save you a lot of cash and fill up a lot more Halloween bags. Think about it, if you give each child 2 snack-sized chocolate bars, you’re giving away a lot more money than you would with a handful of Jolly Ranchers.

6. Buy a Mix of “Good” and Cheap Candy

As long as you have a 1 or 2 high-value candy bars in your collection, the neighborhood kids won’t mind the rest of their loot being filled with no-name brands. You’re not going to win any awards for having the best candy on the block, and the kids aren’t going to remember which hose gave them which candy. They’ll just be happy to have a bag fool of bubble gum, lollipops and Tootsie Rolls, which are often the cheapest in the stores. As they say, money can’t buy happiness!